Monday, June 15, 2020

[NEWSFLASH] Several Local Businesses Are Opening Despite Pandemic & Recession

It was confirmed last week that the United States is officially in a recession.  The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) announced that the recession actually started in February, officially putting an end to what had been the longest economic expansion in American history.  Several well known national retailers have already announced plans to either liquidate entirely or significantly reduce their store count.  Additionally, a number of local and national restaurant groups have in recent weeks shuttered locations in metro Atlanta.  

That said, there are several Atlanta area designers, restaurateurs and entrepreneurs who are pushing forward and opening their planned businesses albeit differently than originally planned.

ToNeTo Atlanta spoke with several Atlanta area business owners who will soon open or have recently opened new businesses in metro Atlanta.  
Four Fat Cows in Madison Yards 
At Madison Yards in Reynoldstown, for instance, Robyn Thompson of Four Fat Cows and Scott Kinsey of Taqueria Tsunami are planning to open their respective businesses later this week.  

Thompson had this to say of her imminent opening:

"Four Fat Cows is very excited to be announcing that will be opening our sixth location at the Madison Yards shopping center in Reynoldstown. Sitting right on the BeltLine, we are thrilled to welcome new faces and bring a classic piece of summer back to an unusual world. Right now we can all use an excuse to celebrate, so come down this week and try our new summer flavors!"
Taqueria Tsunami in Madison Yards 
Scott Kinsey Co-owner of Fork U Concepts and Taqueria Tsunami said of his opening:
  
"Our Madison Yards project has been long awaited. We were originally scheduled to open in April, which was abruptly stopped due to the pandemic. With 2 months of waiting, and the city beginning to reopen, we felt that it was time to get the project completed and staff trained.  Unfortunately, there have been some additional unforeseen obstacles with permitting, as many city of Atlanta offices have been closed and some meetings have been delayed.  We currently have hired 50 employees and are anticipating opening next week."
CH HOME 

In Johns Creek, designer and entrepreneur Cristi Holcombe plans to open CH HOME, a new design and home furnishings store, June 17.  

"Owned by local interior designer Cristi Holcombe, CH HOME was initially scheduled to open in April, but the opening was pushed back due to construction delays and the pandemic. For now, the business will open with limited hours, reduced capacity, and is taking additional precautions to ensure the safety of its customers and staff.    “When we signed our lease in 2019, we could have never envisioned COVID-19 and its impact,” said owner Cristi Holcombe. “With that said, we’re still very excited to be opening our first brick + mortar store, but we’re going to open it cautiously. The safety and well-being of our customers and staff is our number one priority.”    CH HOME is located at 3005 Old Alabama Road, Suite 310 in Johns Creek, next to fellow tenants Fresh Market, Pure Barre, and others."
Greek Chicken bowl at Sahara 
Sahara Mediterranean officially opened June 1 in north Buckhead near Chastain Park.  Owner Jacob Hussein operates a full-service restaurant by a similar name in Tallahassee and his Atlanta endeavor hopes to do for his restaurant what Cava Grill did for Cava Mezze in the Washington D.C. area.  

Hussein had this to say of his Atlanta debut:

"Opening in a new city with a new brand is tough but part of business. Convincing people to come and try us during a pandemic is next to impossible. But with every adversity comes growth. We’re taking this time to learn more about our new neighbors and create an even better experience."  

Caliber Car Wash, a new business that made its Georgia debut in Mableton, is slated to open in several other metro Atlanta markets in the coming months according to co-owner Mac McCall.  

"We’ve opened three locations in the last 45 days.  We take pride in knowing we’ve retained our existing 25 employees and have hired over 40 additional new employees during these challenging times. We have another site under construction on Chamblee Tucker Road just north of I-85 next to McDonald's and have submitted for permits on a site in Smyrna at 1047 Windy Hill Road across from Shops at Belmont.  We are also submitting for permits on a site next to Racetrac on Highway 92 just west of 575 in Woodstock.  We had to alter our openings in April because we give free car washes for a week and we didn’t want to create a frenzy.  We have since gone back to opening as usual since the customers are spaced out.  The government assistance did impact hiring but it has started to become normalized."  
ToNeTo Atlanta reported May 1 that Memphis-based Buff City Soap was making its metro Atlanta debut with locations in Roswell and Peachtree Corners.  Stacy Sheffield, franchisee of the Roswell location, provided us with the following statement when asked how things have gone in their initial weeks.   

"Opening a sensory based, customer interactive business during uncertain times was a challenge. We, and our colleagues at Peachtree Corners used the visual and educational power of social media, unlimited curbside soap samples and utilized our local UPS stores to create outdoor banners and price boards to bring our store to the customers. It’s been so exciting to see those customers come back inside the store for the whole experience, because they love our plant based line, and the ability to participate while we create wonderful products for them. Our DIY stations and party bookings are up and running and extremely popular."
GreenWise Market, a new grocery concept from Publix, plans to open this coming Wednesday, June 17 at Sandy Plains Marketplace in East Cobb. The new store, the first of its kind in Georgia, primarily features the grocer's line of GreenWise products, but also offers other health-oriented products and services.  One special amenity is "Pours," an in-house bar & cafe, featuring "Kombucha on tap, aรงai bowls, craft beer, wine, and more!" Patrons are invited to "get cozy" in the cafe or take their beverage with them as their carts have cup holders.
LIDL in Peachtree Corners
German supermarket Lidl is also continuing its metro Atlanta expansion with new stores having recently opened in Peachtree Corners, Suwanee and Lawrenceville, and others slated to open in the coming months in East Cobb, Brookhaven and Dunwoody, among others. 

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

The economy will bounce back no worries

Cody Cargle said...

Eventually the economy will fully recover if you just re-elect Donald Trump to fix the damage on all of this, the reason why companies are failing thanks to China nobody else to blame no questions asked. ๐Ÿค”

Anonymous said...

I agree. President Trump has done a great job preventing millions of COVID deaths, unlike China, South Korea, and those European socialists! That's why he'll win and the economy will get back to normal very quickly!

Anonymous said...

Look at the news the stores are already bouncing back. The economy will come back. Those that are closing we're already on the verge. They did not keep up with the time and that is why they failed. Example JCPenney and Sears / Kmart.

Cody Cargle said...

Anonymous said on June 16, 2020 and June 17, 2020 at 9:30 PM and 12:05 PM Finally something we agree on for once, now for far as European socialists go I think Italy is the one your referring to? ๐Ÿค” But yes no worries at all, he will win, no offense Joe Biden is just unfit for president in general, and yes the economy will be stronger than ever before! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

Coolio said...

Once again Cody needs attention. But like Anonymous June 17 @ 12:05 PM said, big dummy has done a great job preventing deaths, and an even better job at inspecting his bunker during civil unrest.

Kinda sad when the dude who writes this blog can't even talk about actual events without someone forcefully injecting politics into the conversation when it has no business being discussed on these types of topics. Cody is the type who talks big only on the internet, where he doesn't have to fear any retribution from the people he tries to offend. It's his version of inspecting a bunker.

Anonymous said...

@ June 17, 2020 at 11:35 PM

Oh Julie, I bet you don't say that when a Democrat says the same thing. You only say things when it doesn't fit your agenda. Fake news

Anonymous said...

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's pretty clear that not very many businesses will be opening up in Black communities anytime soon. Enjoy those food and retail deserts for the next decade or soon. On the other hand, probably a good time to invest in firearms.

Anonymous said...

@ June 17, 2020 at 11:35 PM

coolioooo - you are what you hate ...

Cody Cargle said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Cody Cargle said...

Anonymous said on June 17, 2020 at 4:18 Pm Yes you are correct about Kmart/Sears, JCPenney’s, Tuesday Morning, and Pier 1 couldn’t have said it myself, I just hope JCPenney’s bounces back because I have a friend who works at the Sephora inside JCP at Pier Park where I currently live now, I don’t want her to loose her job permanently after being out of work temporarily, and yes we will make sure America stays great! ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿป

don't feed the trolls said...

how did this become about race?

Anonymous said...

Fyi the Greenwise Market is nice. Kind of like a Whole Foods inside of a Trader Joe's space. Somewhat expensive on regular items but if it's on sale it's a good price. The kombucha on tap is delicious. I have two strawberry basil. It was around $5. Unless you buy the little keg at $4 and to fill it is around $13 for a total of $17 but you can refill the keg at 13 dollars. They have a very nice Pizza Bar as well as sushi. I'm glad they opened

Anonymous said...

Hey June 19, 2020 at 1:01 AM don't feed the trolls - it's the Liberals and the Democrats that make everything about race. If you don't fit their agenda they will make nasty false comments and try to shame you.

Cody Cargle said...

Anonymous said on June 18, 2020 at 11:57 Am Who in the hell is Julie? ๐Ÿ˜‚ Fake news has nothing to do with this article your taking the situation way too far. ๐Ÿคฃ

Cody Cargle said...

Anonymous said on June 18, 2020 at 4:14 Pm Okay your only saying that because of the damn riots, not to be racist or anything but you can blame everyone who is involved with Antifa for that one? ๐Ÿคฆ๐Ÿป‍♂️ Plus you do realize they not only plan to investigate the situation that happened at Wendy’s on University Avenue, they also gave a $500 bonus to Atl police officers from a private group for all there hard work recently including time off, sadly not from the City of Atlanta or the state of Georgia smh! ๐Ÿคฆ๐Ÿป‍♂️ So with that being said I wouldn’t assume the next decade or sooner I say by no later than next year things will improve on all of it! ๐Ÿค”

Cody Cargle said...

Anonymous said on June 18, 2020 at 9:32 Pm Coolio is racist in every aspect and way no questions asked, if nobody is giving him the time of the day nobody gives a damn is the way he feels? ๐Ÿ˜‚ So either way he is just mad because someone didn’t invite him to a Juneteenth Party today, but again can anybody blame him, no because he is racist nobody wants to be around a hater! ๐Ÿคฃ

Cody Cargle said...

Unknown person said on June 19, 2020 at 1:01 Am Lol good one the trolls on the internet is so damn insane for sure they get more annoying and super funny by the day! ๐Ÿ˜‚ Okay you can blame Coolio for that, he dislikes Donald Trump when the post was about the economy and right way he decides to put me down because he hates Conservatives in general. ๐Ÿค”

Anonymous said...

I am not a fan of kombucha but I look forward to checking it out.

Cody Cargle said...

Anonymous said on June 19, 2020 at 12: 59 Pm So damn true couldn’t have said it better myself! ๐Ÿคฃ

Atlantan99 said...

@Cody Cargle,

You have been warned before and have seemingly not gotten the picture. This is not a political site or a site to harass other readers. Your behavior has been tolerated by me (and by my readers) for too long. Your comments currently awaiting approval will not be published nor will any future comments. You have become equivalent to a toxic employee in a workplace and have both distracted from the purpose of this site and turned others way from it and this is not ok. I welcome you to continue to read this site but leaving comments is a privilege and a privilege you have now lost.

To all other readers, I apologize for allowing Cody's political and harassing comments to continue as long as I did and vow to do better in the future. Thank you for your continued readership and support.

Eli

stumblebee said...

thank you!

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