Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Bits & Bites

Newk's Eatery will open their newest Atlanta area location next week in Tucker.  The new restaurant will open Monday September 24, at the new Tucker Meridian shopping center at the corner of Northlake Parkway and LaVista Road.   
Carlo’s Bakery will celebrate the grand opening of its second Atlanta area kiosk at Cumberland Mall on September 23rd. This location follows the April opening of Carlo's at the center court of Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody.  The Cumberland Mall bakery represents the 20th overall location for the business made famous on the hit TLC series Cake Boss.  Both Perimeter and Cumberland Malls are owned and operated by Chicago-based General Growth Properties (GGP.)

Nancy's Chicago Pizza opened its new Johns Creek restaurant last month and plans to open its new Buckhead restaurant by the end of this month.  The Johns Creek restaurant is located near the intersection of State Bridge and Medlock Bridge Roads in the Medlock Corners shopping center. Nancy's occupies a 4,400 square foot space previously home to Stevi B's Pizza Buffet, which closed in late 2014.   The Buckhead restaurant is located in Buckhead Crossing shopping center at the corner of Sidney Marcus Boulevard and Piedmont Road.  The Buckhead restaurant is about 4,500 square feet and occupies what was most recently Grand Buffet, a Chinese restaurant near Marshalls.   

Peloton Lenox Square has closed for renovations but indicates they will reopen in "late September." The store opened on the second level of the popular Buckhead mall last summer.

The Wendy's restaurant at Roswell and Johnson Ferry Roads in Sandy Springs has officially closed.  As ToNeTo Atlanta previously reported, the popular burger eatery will be replaced by a relocated SunTrust Bank branch.  

Mall of Georgia in Buford has secured a number of new tenants for its popular OTP property.  Indoor kids play center Billy Beez will be opening a 20,494 square foot space located on the lower level next to Youfit Health Clubs.  Women's apparel and accessories retailer Love Culture recently opened in a 3,807 square foot space on the lower level near Macy’s.  The teen and young women targeted retailer previously had a location in Dunwoody at Perimeter Mall.  The store features an extensive selection of plus-size options via its Debshops sister brand.  Watch repair and retail shop It’s About Time USA recently opened its second Mall of Georgia location, this one on the upper level near Macy’s.  Crafted Westside, which features a curated  selection of apparel, jewelry, art, and locally produced goods also recently opened their fifth overall store at the suburban mall.  The store is located on the lower level near Center Court in a 1,476 square foot space.  Crafted Westside opened in Buckhead's Lenox Square last fall and like Mall of Georgia, Lenox is owned by Simon Property Group.  Brooklynn’s, a locally owned women's boutique, which ToNeTo Atlanta previously reported on,  also recently opened in the mall in a in a 4,229 square foot storefront on the upper level near LUSH Cosmetics. 

A new RaceTrac is coming to 3006 Martha Berry Highway in Rome.  Life Church, which occupied the property on which the new gas station and convenience store will be built, is in the process of relocating to 19 John Davenport Drive.

The Burger King at East Main Street (US 78) and Wisteria Drive in Snellville has closed for a complete renovation.  The restaurant, like others in the Atlanta market, looks to be 30+ years old and will be given the brand's latest design elements.  Similar renovations have recently taken place at the Burger King restaurant in Decatur on Memorial Drive and the one in Duluth on Pleasant Hill Road, among others.  

InterContinental Hotels Group, with North American headquarters near Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody, announced Monday the launch of a new hotel brand: avid hotels.   The mid-scale brand will target travelers at a slightly lower price point than its popular Holiday Inn Express brand, a market the company calls vastly underserved.  IHG plans to begin construction on the first avid hotel in early 2018 with the first openings expected in 2019. The brand's prototype design includes a minimum of three stories with 95 to 100 rooms on a 1.5 acre lot. Guests can expect to pay $10 to $15 less than they would at Holiday Inn Express.  The brand's logo aims to be modern with lowercase letters, red and aqua colors and a check mark as the letter '"v." (verizon has had a similar theme since 2015.) The hotels' lobbies will have airy entryways, canopies and red staircases as an eye-catching feature.  Avid's competitive set includes brands such as Tru by Hilton and Marriott’s Moxy, both of which have opened or are opening new properties in metro Atlanta. All avid hotels will be "new build," meaning that IHG will not allow operators to convert existing properties to the new brand.

Dione Drew, previously Director of Customer Loyalty Programs at Bloomingdale's in New York, was recently named General Manager of Bloomingdale's Lenox Square.  At just 29, she is surely one of the youngest General Managers in the Bloomngdale's chain and is walking into a store in need of guidance.  Tom Abrams, the store's longtime general manager, retired in 2015 and was later replaced by an interim manager from the Florida market, according to sources at the store. 

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bloomingdale's store at Lenox is such a massive disappointment, especially their men's shoe selection. The store is in need of a refresh, as well as the selection of clothing they carry.

Hopefully Ms. Drew can breathe new life into the store.

"Tyrone" said...

I had to look up Dione Drew on LinkedIn because being a GM at 29 must mean she comes from a thorough educational background and/or experience history. 2010 graduate of Washington Univ in St Louis with a degree in English Literature-Psychology...probably the most useless and unemployable combo of majors ever conceived. Then managed the gift registry and loyalty programs at Macy's/Bloomingdales. You know, Equifax's Chief Security Officer was a Fine Arts/Music major and we see how well that worked for them. I'm not hating here, just incredulous. Lotsa luck!

"Tyrone" said...

I had to look up Dione Drew on LinkedIn because being a GM at 29 must mean she comes from a thorough educational background and/or experience history. 2010 graduate of Washington Univ in St Louis with a degree in English Literature-Psychology...probably the most useless and unemployable combo of majors ever conceived. Then managed the gift registry and loyalty programs at Macy's/Bloomingdales. You know, Equifax's Chief Security Officer was a Fine Arts/Music major and we see how well that worked for them. I'm not hating here, just incredulous. Lotsa luck!

Anonymous said...

An English Lit major likely was a voracious reader and therefore may be especially creative which works at retail. I find people who read all sorts of things much more interesting than any canned power point presentation by some finance guy looking at head count. See Toys R US. Those T R us finance guys I am sure had lots of power point complete with all different shapes and arrows... How did that work out ? All the best to the new Mgr at Bloomingdales.

Anonymous said...

Girlfriend have better have been reading some economic or marketing books or she will not cut it in this retail environment.

Anonymous said...

Well everyone knows that women, minorities and millennials are the ultimate trifecta in hiring because they work for much less money. A BA is a cheaper hire than a BS degree. You get what you pay for. Best of luck to Miss Drew in the imploding retail environment.

Hmmmmmmm said...

Just curious. Since you can throw verbal stones and are completely not hating. What is your education background and highest level completed and your employment company and title. It's easy to cheer or boo from the sidelines, when you aren't in the game. Just sayin, Not hatin.

Hmmmmmmm said...

For all of you who commented about Bloomingdales. I don't have the stomach for people who judge what they do not know. It is easy to cheer or boo from the sidelines. I could easly assume all sorts of things about you, but your words speak volumes, so I don't have to assume. Choose your words wisely, some day they will come back and bite you.

Anonymous said...

The fact that she is a GM at the age of 29 should speak volumes of what she is capable of achieving. Instead of looking for ways to dismiss someone's success, how about offering words of encouragement on a new career advancement in a tough market? Just a thought.

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