Pepper Boxing at Park Place in Dunwoody has closed less than eight months after opening. The Atlanta-based fitness franchise opened at the sleepy suburban shopping center (4505 Ashford Dunwoody Road) this past December and closed last week, according to (former) members of the facility.
Signage at the space indicates it closed due to "lease negotiations," hinting at the studio wanting but not receiving rent relief from owner Edens, who coincidentally, is also the company's landlord at their last remaining location on Early Street in Buckhead.
The Buckhead location debuted in late 2021 shortly after the closure of the company's original location in Nashville. Created and owned by Alexander "Pepper" Kaufman, Pepper Boxing would go on to add locations at The Battery Atlanta and at Spring Quarter, the flashy new Portman project in Midtown. Both locations previously closed, and another planned for Alpharetta is seemingly delayed indefinitely.
The "flagship" Buckhead location was sold in 2025 by Kaufman to franchisee "HeadKrack," an artist and media personality. For his part, Kaufman seems to have relocated to New York to become COO of VK Real Estate, his mother's real estate firm, a position that according to his LinkedIn page, he had held since this past March. Surprisingly, his LinkedIn page makes no mention of Pepper Boxing as a past or present business or job.
Pepper Boxing's closure at Park Place creates more vacancy in a center already dealing with plenty of available space and seemingly limited interest. The more than 13 acre property was purchased by Edens in December 2021 at which time the center was approximately 92% occupied.
Today, following the closures of Pepper Boxing, Fidelity Investments, Allen Edmonds, Jared, The Brass Tap (Cowboys & Caviar), Alon's, H. Stockton and others, the center has more vacancy than it did then, with sources suggesting that at least one current tenant is looking to relocate elsewhere in the area given how slow the center has become.
Despite having added Zarminali Pediatrics in the former Jared, Le Faucheur near Cafe Intermezzo, soon Van Leeuwen in the former Allen Edmonds, and Simply South Indian Vegetarian in a portion of the former Alon's, the center still has more than 30,000 square feet available across more than a half dozen spaces.
Did you know Pepper Boxing has opened in Dunwoody? What would you like to see open in place of Pepper Boxing and the other vacancies in Park Place? What is your favorite Dunwoody area shopping center?
Please share your thoughts below.
1 comment:
You're not lyin' about the place looking empty these days. I have a little tradition with friends from college where we meet up at that Cafe Intermezzo to catch up and have a meal. When we went around Labor Day last year, we all certainly noticed how quiet the place was. We were like "Wow...this place isn't the same as it used to be, huh? 😬"
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