Wednesday, July 12, 2017

Bits & Bites [Atlanta Commercial Real Estate News]

Lush, purveyor of fresh handmade cosmetics, is coming back to Lenox Square after closing at the mall in 2011.  Previously located on the mall's main level near Bloomingdale's, the new store will be near Lovesac, and will occupy the former Bachrach store. The store, estimated to be about 2,400 square feet, will be on par with the company's other two Atlanta area shops in Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody and Mall of Georgia in Buford.  Both the Perimeter Mall and Mall of Georgia stores reopened earlier this year in significantly larger spaces than they'd previously occupied.  The Lenox Square store, which opened in 2008, was less than 1,000 square feet but was complemented by a shop-in-shop on the main floor of Macy's which as of now is still open.



Lovesac is also returning to Lenox Square just a few short months after closing at the Buckhead mall.  Lovesac, which opened at Lenox Square in 2009 and closed this past March, plans to reopen in a similarly sized space, a couple of doors down from their former store.  UNTUCKit, a new men's store, has opened in the former Lovesac space, while Lovesac will occupy the current G-Star RAW space, as G-Star RAW will relocate to a portion of the former Oakley store. The new Lovesac will be about 700 square feet, about 300 square feet smaller than their previous store.  The company continues to operate a store at Mall of Georgia in Buford.  

Also at Lenox Square, and strangely less than a week before announcing they were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 5th, premium denim retailer True Religion filed plans with the City of Atlanta to spend an estimated $40,000 on upgrades.  The permit, filed June 29th,  references "interior alteration and lighting upgrades" to their existing 1,220 square foot store in the mall's "Luxury Wing."  

Struggling company Sears Holdings, owner of retailers Sears and Kmart, announced plans to shutter another 43 stores, their third store closure announcement since the beginning of the year.  This latest round of closures will include 35 Kmart stores and 8 Sears locations.  There are no metro Atlanta stores included in the latest announcement, but there are two in Georgia: Kmart stores in Douglas in south Georgia and Columbus in west Georgia.   The complete list of store closures can be found here

Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree confirmed the stores it plans to close as part of their restructuring efforts following their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last month.  The retailer said at the time it may close as many as 450 locations, but the list released yesterday indicates that they currently plan to close 350 stores.  The San Francisco-based retailer started liquidation sales at the affected stores yesterday.  Gymboree will close a total of six stores in Georgia, three of which are in metro Atlanta.  The stores slated for closure in Georgia are at Town Center at Cobb in Kennesaw, Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Cumberland Mall near Smyrna, Peachtree Mall in Columbus, The Avenue Peachtree City in Peachtree City and Oglethorpe Mall in  Savannah.  I called a number of local stores all of whom indicated the sales include 40% all regular price items and 50% all clearance merchandise.  The goal of the closures the company said, is a "right size store base." 

Buckhead's Sophie's Uptown has been listed for sale. The popular bakery which has been in business for about ten years is up for grabs due to owner David York's planned relocation out of state.  The 2,200 square foot shop is located just off Peachtree Road on Pharr Road, and is open for breakfast and lunch and also offers assorted bakery items. Sophie's Uptown donates 25% of their sales to local animal rescue and adoption organizations and their charitable involvement has helped them thrive in an otherwise off the beaten path location.  The sales listing by local firm The Shumacher Group notes the rent is $6,000 per month (all in) and that the business is for sale for only $99,000.  The new owner is invited to "keep or convert" with York willing to "assist buyer during transition." 

MAC Cosmetics has opened their third Atlanta area store, this one on the first level of Cumberland Mall at center court. The cosmetics company, a division of juggernaut Estee Lauder, has existing stores at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody and at Ponce City Market in Atlanta.  The company also operates shop-in-shop locations in various Belk, Dillard's, Macy's and Nordstrom stores around Atlanta.  

Previously online-only mens apparel retailer Chubbies, plans to open a new store at The Battery Atlanta, in the coming months.  The store, the second in metro Atlanta, will, like its first at Ponce City Market, be a temporary store with the option to become permanent based on the store's success.  The store should open "in a few months."  

Atlanta based Roark Capital Group announced earlier this week it has purchased  Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q.  The purchase of the 37-unit BBQ chain gives the Atlanta-based, private-equity group its 20th restaurant brand.   Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  Jim ‘N Nick’s is a full-service brand that specializes in barbecue and “Southern-inspired cuisine.”  Jim ‘N Nick’s was founded in 1985 in Birmingham, Alabama by the father-son team of Jim and Nick Pihakis.  Jim ‘N Nick’s has locations in seven states, including Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee.  The restaurant operates seven locations in Georgia including their restaurant on Scenic Highway in Snellville which opened last summer. Jim ‘N Nick’s joins a growing list of restaurant brands owned by Roark including Arby's, Miller' Ale House, Hardee's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Corner Bakery, Jimmy John's and McAllister's Deli, among others.  

Serena & Lily plans to open their their first brick-and-mortar store in the Southeast at the Westside Provisions District later this fall. The 2,700 square-foot design shop will take the space previously occupied by Star Provisions. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Sausalito, CaliforniaSerena & Lily features a selection of signature bedding, original textiles, wallpaper, rug collections and a curated assortment of furniture, lighting and décor. The Westside shop will be the company's sixth location, joining existing stores in San Francisco, East Hampton, Los Angeles, Westport, CT, and Newport Beach.  

3 comments:

Jenna said...

Thanks for the news! What is Chubbies? I heard Which Wich in the food court closed.

Atlantan99 said...

Hey Jenna!

Thanks for the catch on Chubbies, I have updated to provide more clarity. They got started selling mens shorts online but have since expanded to both mens and womens apparel.

Which Wich actually closed in February!

http://www.tonetoatl.com/2017/02/without-whimper-which-wich-shutters-at.html

I guess you don't find yourself in the Fashion Cafe often? ;)

Thanks as always for your comments and readership!

Fatjimi said...

Any update on CLAY'S?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...