Atlanta Restaurant Real Estate
This Week on The Street (A more or less regular compilation of news, factoids and observations.
by Harold V. Shumacher
September 1, 2017
Downtown Atlanta’s Second Triangle
If you’re at all familiar with downtown Atlanta you realize it’s one of the most compact city centers of any major city in the country. The majority of current downtown activity is concentrated in a triangle that includes Peachtree Center and the hotel district, the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Park and the Georgia State University and the state and local government centers. A 20 minute walk brings you to each of these areas from the other (though the often criticized and generally empty Atlanta Street Car can save you a few steps if that’s your inclination.)
If things go according to plan there may be a second major activity node stretching from the recently completed Mercedes Benz Stadium to a refurbished Turner Field/Georgia State complex and up to and including lower downtown and a refurbished Underground Atlanta.
For the first time these plans are going beyond the talking stage as close to Four Billion dollars has been or will be spent in the coming years. The most exciting aspect-at least on the restaurant and retail side – is WRS and Newport’s acquisition of various buildings in lower downtown. If the rendering being floated about are at all remotely coming to fruition this area could undergo significant gentrification and change in the next 3-5 years.
Another area of the metro experiencing some gentrification is the tri-cities surrounding the Atlanta airport; Hapeville, College Park and East Point. With boundary lines that frequently intersect it’s hard to distinguish one from the other but each offer a small but growing collection of downtown shops and restaurants, refurbished, affordable homes and perhaps best of all easy access to downtown Atlanta. From the College Park and East Point MARTA stations the travel time to the central city is approximately the same as that from the Lindbergh or Buckhead stations.
It reminds me, a bit, when a friend in New York moved to Brooklyn many years ago because of affordable housing. The travel distance to and from their work was the same but just from a different direction. Over time, Brooklyn has become “the place to be” in New York. We don’t expect to see that any time soon but is something to consider.
Who Are the Best Tippers?
According to creditcards.com, a rate comparison web site, the best tippers are baby boomer men, residing in the Northeast, paying with a credit card and tending to vote Republican. On average this group left median tips equal to twenty percent of the check. Women lag a bit behind, averaging sixteen percent, while Southerners and Democrats tend to tip in the 15% range. Most surprising, is that of the 1000 plus adults surveyed nationwide two percent never tip and seven percent tip only occasionally.
It went under-reported but some of the most successful restaurants in metro Atlanta can be found at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. According to a recently released report by the airport authority the top 12 highest volume restaurants generate over $95 million in annual sales. Leading the pack P.F. Chang’s ($10.3 million); Gordon Biersch ($10 million) and T.G.I. Friday’s/Concourse B ($9.4 million) Other highlights include a Varsity/Chick Fil A combo generating $8.8 million; a Longhorn Steakhouse at $7 million and what is perhaps the world’s busiest Popeye’s checking in at a robust $6 million in annual sales.
Overall revenues at the Airport are north of $600 million with food accounting for $345 million of the total.
Recent transactions for the Shumacher Group, Inc. include:
Land Purchases
Bojangle’s-Athens Georgia
Lease Transactions:
Casi Cielo-Sandy Springs
Zunzi’s – Howell Mill Road
Former Macaroni Grill (Snellville) to Snellville Diner
Sales of Businesses
850 Pizza Bar-Milton
Filo’s Greek Grill-Chastain Square/Buckhead
Gyro City Grill-Dacula
Our thanks to all of you.
