This Week on The Street (A more or less regular compilation of news, factoids and observations.)

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Atlanta Restaurant Real Estate

This Week on The Street  (A more or less regular compilation of news, factoids and observations.)

August 6, 2013

by Harold V. Shumacher

  Is Fun Back

Face it the past few years have been nothing to write home about.  Unless you were in the collections business, benefitted from foreclosures or had a very contrarian philosophy about the stock market it’s been tough sledding. People who had jobs worked longer hours, took fewer vacations and almost  always felt under the pressure of time. Now, that seems to be easing and fun is coming back.

At least in some aspects. Brunswick has recently renovated two of their  Atlanta area  bowling centers, upgrading the decor, adding better food and beverage service and marketing to a new,  hipper crowd.  Other bowling emporiums are slated for Miami Circle, from Justin Amick (son of Concentrics founder Bob),  and similar facilities in  the Perimeter and possibly North Fulton./Northpoint Mall areas. A  high energy, neon lit golf driving range -with targets you hit for points- is also reviewing the North Fulton area   while Sandy Springs may soon be the home of Atlanta’s second major ice rink just north of The Prado on Roswell Road.

         Will social media change real estateStephanie Shriver-Engdahl, with Forest City Enterprises thinks so.  In a recent interview Ms. Engdahl cited how the company is using social media to  solicit opinions from current customers about tenants they’d like to see in one of their Viriginia malls. A step further is to actually solicit investments from potential shoppers so, as she phrases it, ” people will have a feeling of ownership by literally owning a piece of the project.” In essence making your customers your lenders as well as your customers.

Whatever the source of funding, metro Atlanta is about to be overrun with upscale/health oriented grocery stores. At least that’s the prevailing wisdom with Arizona based Sprouts and Asheville based Earth Fare both scouring the metro area for new sites.  We’ve seen numerous site plans showing one or the other of these concepts, many in-fill developments. If all this occurs it will be interesting to see the impact on segment leaders Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Fresh Market.

Financing is always a challenge for aspiring and existing restaurateurs especially in tough times but it doesn’t seem to be hampering the number of  new dining spots. In the coming months look for Jason Hill’s Folk Art, in the same block with Wisteria in the Old Fourth Ward;  Kimball House, Decatur; Hugo’s Oyster Bar (from the owners of C&S Seafood), Roswell, a third location for Gladys and Ron’s Chicken and Waffles, Cascade Road and Ink and Elm and Slice and Pint, Emory  Village. Krog Street Market, opposite Rathbun’s in Inman Park, announced five new concepts recently including an unnamed Tex-Mex concept from Ford Fry; an American Bistro from one time top chef contestant Eli Kirshtein, and three food stalls;  gourmet sausage maker  Spotted Trotter, Grand Champion BBQ and Pannus Bakery, featuring European and Hispanic baked goods.

If you think you’re seeing more pizza restaurants these days you are. According to the Georgia Restaurant Association there are over 2,000 pizzerias in Georgia constituting almost 13% of the total eateries in the state.  In the past six months alone there has been a 5.5 percent increase or more than 100 new locations.

Recent Transactions for the Shumacher Group, Inc. include:

  • Sale of Cioffi’s Pizzeria/Rhodes Bakery, Stone MountainSale of BG Grind House East Cobb
  • Sale of Buckhead Pizza Company – Cumming
  • Sale of Village Tap – Buckhead
  • Sale of Halo Lounge – Midtown Atlanta
  • Sale of Crossroads Grill, Dallas
  • Lease Purchase, Rancho Grande, Marietta
  • Sale of Pizza 3.14, Kennesaw-Town Center
  • Sale of Botany Bay, Sandy Springs
  • Lease to Burger Fi   Twelfth and Midtown
  • Re-location of Osteria/Figo Pasta to…..Marietta Street
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