Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Bits & Bites

The Limited on the second floor of Lenox Square actively liquidating 
The Limited has closed half of its Atlanta area stores (and many others across the country) as the company continues to struggle.  The Limited stores in Town Center at Kennesaw and The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta in Woodstock have closed. Stores in Perimeter, Lenox Square and Northlake Mall remain open, but are actively liquidating all on-hand merchandise.   Industry observers anticipate the retailer, which was first started in 1963, will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the coming days.  The Limited, previously the flagship retailer of Limited Brands, was purchased by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners in two parts, 75% in 2007 and the remaining 25% in 2010.

In the 80s and 90s, Limited Brands was a powerhouse in retail.  Victoria's Secret, Lane Bryant, Henri Bendel, Lerner, Abercrombie & Fitch, Limited Express (now known as Express), the Limited Too (now known as Justice), Bath & Body Works, The White Barn Candle Company, Structure (now Express Men), and Galyan's (later purchased by Dick's Sporting Goods) are all former Limited Brands.  

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Belk plans to open a new 85,000 store at Mullins Colony in Evans, in the greater Augusta area.  The new store will anchor the new project in the 4200 block of Washington Road.   The new Belk store will be one of the first to open following the formerly family-owned business's acquisition by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in 2015.  

Wichita Kansas-based Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers plans to open a new restaurant at Dawson Crossroads in Dawsonville.  Dawson Crossroads, developed by local firm Halpern Enterprises, opened earlier this year and is anchored by a new 45,600 square foot Publix as well as a PetsMart.  The Dawsonville Freddy's will mark the chain's tenth in Georgia after first entering the market in 2014. Another location is expected to open next spring in Marietta. Freddy's offers a menu similar to Steak 'n Shake and Culver's, which also recently entered the metro Atlanta market, with a location in Dawsonville, among others.  

Yumbii Taco Shop opened earlier today on Peachtree Road in Brookwood Hills.  

Kansas-based AMC Entertainment Holdings, owner of AMC Theatres, has completed its acquisition of  Columbus, Georgia-based Carmike Cinemas. The acquisition, valued at $1.2 billion, creates the worlds largest movie theater chain with a combined 650 plus theaters.  AMC operates their popular "Fork & Screen" dinner and movie concept in Buckhead, while Carmike opened their new Ovation Theater, a similar concept, on Scenic Highway in Lawrenceville, last month.   It's unclear what, if any, immediate change the acquisition will have on the Ovation theater.  It would be amazing to see it swiftly re-branded, but that may ultimately be what happens.   

The new "Embassy Suites by Hilton Atlanta NE Gwinnett Sugarloaf" is currently accepting reservations for January 30th, 2017 and beyond.  The 166 room hotel, located on Satellite Boulevard beside Infinite Energy Arena (fka The Arena at Gwinnett Center), was first announced in 2007.  I reported last year that things were finally looking up and that a new owner was moving forward with the project.  

The Roswell East SuperTarget is indeed closing but will not have a "liquidation sale."  A representative from the retailer indicated that the store will be marking down older and holiday merchandise like any other Target, but will transfer most non-seasonal general merchandise to other nearby stores.  The store will offer discounts on perishable grocery products, but that will likely be the extent to which customers see significant savings.   

A new franchised location of build your own pizza joint Your Pie is planned for downtown Clarksville in northeast Georgia.  The restaurant will open in place of what had most recently been Sharky's Sports Grill.  According to the company's website, the Clarksville restaurant will be the chain's 17th in Georgia for the Athens-based chain.  

The new Omni Hotel at The Battery Atlanta is now projecting an early 2018 opening, pushed back from what had most recently been fall 2017.  Ideally, the 260 room hotel would have been open in time for the first game at SunTrust Park in April, but that goal was a reach from the start.  

Hardee's is planning a new location near the corner of Wrightsboro Road and Jimmie Dyess Parkway in Augusta. The new, freestanding, approximately 2,800 square foot restaurant will be built on Wrightsboro Road.

Paces Properties recently announced the signing of two new leases at its Atlanta Dairies project on Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown.  THRIVE Farmers Coffee, the Roswell-based coffee company known to many as the sustainable coffee offered at Chick-fil-A, will open their first ever coffee cafe at the new project.  In addition, "Collier's Department Store," which aims to bring the concept of the family-owned department stores back to Atlanta, will also open in the project.  Dan Collier, the man behind The Merchant, Archer Paper Co., Read Shop and Collier Candy Company, has enlisted local design firm Square Feet Studio, to design the 10,000 square foot space.  Collier's will offer everyday conveniences like cosmetics and personal care, baby and kids items, furniture, denim and workwear for men and women, home decor, confections, stationery, and books.  To me, Collier's sounds like an attempt to replicate "Mast General Store," popular old style department stores with multiple locations in the south.  The original Mast General Store & Annex is in Valle Crucis, NC, but the retailer also has locations in  Boone, Waynesville, Winston-Salem, Hendersonville and Asheville, NC, Greenville, North Greenville and Columbia, SC, and  Knoxville, TN.   Having visited a number of Mast stores, I think Collier's may be on to something if it's similar and executed well.  I'm always a fan of Square Feet Studio's work, so this should be a nice addition to the project.  

The Peach Pit, a cheerleading gym with one location on Collier Road in northwest Atlanta, is planning a second location in Brookhaven.  The gym will occupy the long-vacant former Blockbuster Video on Johnson Ferry Road near Ashford-Dunwoody Road.  


Korean street food eatery Bull Gogi has opened its new Decatur location.  The restaurant, whose original location is on Peachtree Parkway in Norcross, opened in place of the shuttered Seven Hens at the corner of North Decatur and Clairmont Roads.    

Earlier this month, Publix confirmed it was ending its popular "Mystery Coupon" promotion, as well as "Double Coupons."   The Mystery Coupon allowed patrons to purchase a weekly "mystery item (often a private label product) for 1 penny with a qualifying purchase, normally $10.  The promotion had been phased out previously, but was brought back a few years ago.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Any predictions or insider guesses as to what might fill that prime soon-to-be-fromer Limited space?

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