Bits & Bites

Typical look of a Shoe Carnival store 

National footwear retailer Shoe Carnival plans to open a new store within Douglasville Pavilion near Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville.  The retailer will occupy an approximately 4,500 square foot space between America's Best and  PetSmart.  

A new Firehouse Subs will be among the tenants in a newly built strip center on Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe. The roughly 2,000 square foot restaurant will be joined by a number of other tenants in the center built in place of a former Northwest Georgia Bank branch.  

A new NTB (National Tire & Battery) is planned for 10805 State Bridge Road in Johns Creek.  The business will replace an existing location at 10625 State Bridge Road in Johns Creek.  The new NTB will reportedly feature a more modern look.  The new store will be situated beside an existing Advance Auto Parts store. 

The new Sublime Doughnuts in The Village at Druid Hills will open tomorrow, Thursday, April 28th..  The location has been delayed a number of times but owner Kamal Grant told me earlier this week that Thursday is the day!  Sublime will likely now turn their attention to their planned Sandy Springs location in The Exchange at Hammond. 

Barnacle's Sports Bar & Grill plans to open a new, approximately 7,000 square foot location on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. The new restaurant opens in an endcap space of the Kroger-anchored Northridge Shopping Center, near the intersection of Roswell and Northridge Roads.   A Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant closed in the same space Barnacle's has leased in early 2014.  The existing Barnacle's is located on Market Street in Duluth, near Gwinnett Place Mall.  The Duluth location functions more like a club at times, with live DJs, bottle service and operating hours as late as 2:30AM Tuesday through Saturday.  The Duluth and Sandy Springs locations are reportedly not related to the former Barnacle's Seafood Oysters & Sports that closed in 2012 off Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Doraville.  

Coming Soon signage for Barnacle's in Sandy Springs 

A new location of Tiff's Treats, a gourmet cookie and assorted sweets delivery concept is planned for Square on Fifth in midtown.  The Austin, Texas-based cookie business is the second such enterprise to enter the midtown market in recent months. Insomnia, another growing chain specializing in cookie delivery, opened this past January at University House on Springs Street.  While this would mark the first location in Georgia for Tiff's Treats, Insomnia operates a location in Athens as well as the midtown shop in Georgia. Both Square on Fifth and University House are targeted towards students of nearby Georgia Tech and SCAD, likely the reason behind the proliferation of cookie shops.  What college kid doesn't want fresh cookies delivered to their room at 1 AM?  Are cookie shops the next FroYo?   

Acadia Homes & Neighborhoods received the necessary rezoning and most of their requested variances to replace the Emerald Office Park at 6870 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs with 18 townhomes.  The  townhomes are likely to be priced in the low to mid-$400,000s range.  The Atlanta-based homebuilder was acquired by Scottsdale, AZ-based Taylor Morrison Home Corporation this past January. As of earlier this month, the firm began marketing itself as "Taylor Morrison Atlanta."  The firm has over two dozen communities either recently completed or under construction including projects in Toco Hills, Chamblee, Milton and Alpharetta.  

Atlanta-based Pulte Group has reportedly withdrawn its rezoning application for a planned 31-unit townhome development in Sandy Springs. According to notes from an April 21st Sandy Springs Planning Commission Meeting,  "The applicant [Pulte Group] requested a withdrawal of the rezoning request on April 5, 2016, citing an inability to comply with interparcel connectivity requirements."  Planned for a vacant lot on Roswell Road just south of the Abernathy Square, the new development would have been on land where once a former Arby's restaurant stood.  Both 6555 Roswell (former Arby's) and 6545 Roswell (a former carwash) were demolished to make way for a new Zaxby's in 2014.  The Zaxby's adopted the 6545 address.  In 2012, the former Arby's was marketed as +/- 1.25 acres. In late 2014 after the demolition, the Arby's site was marketed as 2.28 acres.  On the Building Permit Petition with the City of Sandy Springs, the parcel was listed as 4.39 acres and was described as a  "a narrow, largely wooded lot at 6555 Roswell Road, between a Zaxby’s and a Steak ’n Shake."

Custom artwork at Cowfish meant to mimic the iconic Wicked poster 

The Cowfish, which specializes in sushi and burgers, will officially open tomorrow, April 28th at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody.  The Charlotte, N.C.-based restaurant replaces Goldfish on the front of the mall.  I got a sneak peak of the restaurant earlier this week and was especially enamored with their custom artwork done by Charlotte-based artist Scott Partridge.