Friday, June 28, 2019

Bits & Bites

Goodwill of North Georgia Wednesday opened its newest thrift store & donation center.  The new store, located at 3840 Financial Center Way, occupies a portion of the old Toys R Us near Mall of Georgia in Buford. The new store is 28,845 square feet and features a drive-up donor door. "Those who visit the store during the first four days of business (June 27 – 30) will have the opportunity to enter hourly drawings for Goodwill gift certificates."  Surprisingly, the new store is in addition to, not instead of, the existing Goodwill at 1550 Buford Highway in Buford Crossing Shopping Center, less than three miles from the new store.
Goodwill of North Ga CEO Keith Parker gives a "thumbs up" at the store's grand opening 
Silvano Pizza quietly opened Wednesday at 25 Irby Avenue where Buckhead BBQ closed this past April.  The new Tuscan pizza eatery is owned by Marco Betti of Buchead's Antica Posta and features not only thin crust pizza but other Italian fare such as rigatoni and al ragu di pollo (chicken) and Gamberi in guazzetto (Red shrimp sauteed in a white wine sauce), among other offerings in addition to assorted salads and sides.

Z Gallerie is actively closing its store in  Atlantic Station amidst a restructuring effort after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.  As part of the restructuring, the home furnishings and décor retailer plans to close 17 of its 76 stores.  The Atlantic Station store, currently offering 25-40% off in-stock merchandise, does not have a defined last day, but plans to sell until their is virtually nothing left to sell.   Founded in 1979, Z Gallerie previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2009 on the heels of a major sales slump. It emerged later that same year after closing some 25 stores including a store at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody.  The retailer returned to Perimeter Mall with a new store in a new location in 2011, after which it closed its store on North Point Parkway in Alpharetta.  The current Perimeter Mall store, located on the lower level between Von Maur and Nordstrom, will soon be the company's sole presence in the state.

Pier 1 Imports announced plans Thursday to close a dozen more stores as it works to turn around its business.  The company in April confirmed plans to close 45 stores.  The home-furnishings retailer currently operates 967 stores including stores on Peachtree Road in Buckhead, at Ansley Mall in Midtown, on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, on North Druid Hills Road near North DeKalb Mall, and on North Point Parkway in Alpharetta, among others.  The company did not detail when the stores slated for closure would be identified or how soon closures might occur other than to say that they would close this year.

The midtown location of frozen yogurt franchise Yogli Mogli has closed.  The froyo joint, located on 5th Street at Tech Square near the campus of Georgia Tech, opened during the fall of 2011 and reportedly closed earlier this week without warning or explanation.  The Atlanta-born but now Colorado-based franchise still has a number of Atlanta area locations including those on North Highland Avenue in Virginia-Highland, Dunwoody Club Drive in Dunwoody and the original, on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, among others.  The chain previously closed locations at Emory Village, Buckhead and Atlantic Station, among others. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

OMG!How many dam goodwills do we need in this state!

Anonymous said...

Wow. After all of that, you'd think the employees working in the Z Gallerie Perimeter location now would greet customers and offer assistance, particularly the customers who are obviously shopping for a specific piece of furniture.

I even got out a tape measure to check the width of a chair and the sales girl behind the register kept chatting with her co-worker and didn't even look directly at me. If I could see her and overhear part of her conversation, I'm assuming she could see me...

But now that I know the dimensions of the chair, I'll just BUY IT ONLINE if I decided to go that route.

Anonymous said...

Have not shopped at a Pier 1 in years, because Cost Plus / World Market has the merchandise that Pier 1 should have today.

@ 9:33 PM Millennials like thrift stores, and Boomers are death cleaning their possessions. Goodwill and like stores are all the rage. Think vintage.

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