[EXCLUSIVE] J. Crew Factory and Playa Bowls to Open New Locations in Chastain Park

Powers Ferry Square has landed two two tenants and recently welcomed a growing small business.  J. Crew Factory and Playa Bowls will soon join the HomeGoods-anchored center along Roswell Road in Chastain Park.  The new tenants join FOM (Frame Of Mind), a locally owned boutique eyewear retailer that recently opened in the center. 

The new J. Crew Factory will occupy a roughly 4,500 square foot space to the right of HomeGoods that was occupied by BURN Studios before their closure this past April.  The Factory store, previously found primarily in outlet centers, has been popping up in traditional shopping centers and lifestyle centers in recent years in both metro Atlanta and across the country.  Unlike traditional outlet stores, Factory stores are stocked almost entirely with merchandise made specially for them.  

According to the J. Crew Factory website, there are currently 292 stores across the country including nine in Georgia.  Comparatively, there are just 113 full-line J. Crew stores in the country including four in Georgia, all of which are in metro Atlanta.  

Recent J. Crew Factory store openings in metro Atlanta include stores at Toco Hills near Decatur, Merchants Walk in East Cobb, North Point Marketcenter in Alpharetta, and Avenue West Cobb in West Cobb.  The company also plans to open a new J. Crew Factory at The Forum Peachtree Corners, a center in which it had previously closed a full-line J. Crew store in 2018.  

J. Crew Group Inc., the store's parent company, has been active across multiple brands in metro Atlanta, having moved its longstanding, large format J. Crew from the first floor of Lenox Square to a smaller space on the mall's upper level this past June.  The company also relocated its popular Madewell store from Lenox Square to The Shops Around Lenox in 2023.  

Real estate sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that the company continues to look for new spaces to expand J. Crew Factory.  

Joining J. Crew Factory in the center is smoothie, acai bowl, and juice joint Playa Bowls, a franchise eatery from Belmar, New Jersey.  The new Playa Bowls will occupy the former Karma Farm space that has been a revolving door of eateries and snack concepts in recent years.  At roughly 1,200 square feet, the space is incredibly compact and as it was previously home to another food use, should allow Playa Bowls to shorten its renovation timeline.      

Playa Bowls was established in 2014 and entered the metro Atlanta market in 2019 with locations at what was then the new Parkside project along Peachtree Boulevard in Chamblee and at SPX Alley, a strip of restaurants and retailers along the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail. 

There are currently six Playa Bowls locations spread across metro Atlanta including one that opened this past April at City Springs in Sandy Springs, in addition to one in Athens.  According to the Playa Bowls website, another new location is planned for Temple Drive in Sugar Hill in Gwinnett County.  

All existing Georgia locations of Playa Bowls are open seven days a week.  Some open as early as 8AM and some stay open as late as 10PM.  

Are you excited by the recent and upcoming openings in Powers Ferry Square?  Are you a fan of J. Crew Factory?  What is currently your favorite smoothie or acai bowl shop?

Please share your thoughts below.