Little Azio Closes For Good Sunday
Decatur Metro | September 26, 2009 | 8:29 pmJill writes in…
Litte Azio in Decatur is closing. The last night is Sunday, 27 Sept. We had dinner there tonight and Terrence the GM let us know. Another victim of not enough business to keep the lights on. Gift cards and coupons will be honored by all of the other locations.
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In a series of business closings that have shocked or disappointed me, this one really blind-sided me. Little Azio seemed to have a lot of business and had been there several years. Food places seem to be struggling on the West Side of Ponce in particular, even before the economic downturn. Closings in recent years, include Tossed, Tastings, Tropical Smoothie, Voila, Indie, ?Angels? (whatever was there before The Grange), the Creole place before Voila. The only places that seem to have sustained success are Watershed and Cafe Lily and they’re really in a different league as formal restaurants not depending on local traffic but attracting clientele from all over the city. How is Dancing Goat doing? It looks busy but maybe everyone is going there for WiFi and not buying enough. Sawicki’s is great but I’m not sure if the business model is working. Cakes and Ale is more in a league with Watershed,
Is the west side of Ponce just not meant for casual eateries? I see a lot of people walking up to the square and back and there’s lots of young families hanging out at the “Round N’ Round park” at Nelson Ferry. But maybe only the volume of the square crowds is sufficient. Unfortunately for West Ponce, neither the high school nor the middle school crowd tend to walk along it. Yogurt Tap is luckily benefitting from school dismissal. But West Ponce only gets the St. Thomas More crowd walking by and probably not enough of them.
I urge anyone who likes good sandwiches, quiches, ice cream, pastries, Button Cakes cupcakes, and specialty coffees to be sure and patronize Cafe Cliche. They have to be real discouraged about the closing of Little Azio which served as feeder into their dessert business.
I’m sorry, but I can refute your entire argument with three little words: Taqueria del Sol.
It’s not a Westside issue. As with Sage and most of the casualties you listed, it’s simply an issue of cream rising to the top and lackluster options and poorly conceived businesses plans falling by the wayside. Yes, I’m sure there were some folks who were fond of Little Azio, but the foodie set viewed it as a step above CiCi’s (perhaps unfair, but that’s the reputation the chain has). I do find it a little surprising, because every time I passed the place it seemed like there was a decent crowd there, but I guess they weren’t enough to sustain it.
Please do not try to extrapolate this into something more than it is: the unfortunate closing of a relatively mediocre restaurant in a tough economy.
Amen.
Hmm. Completely forgot about Taqueria del Sol because, while the adults in our family like the food, we find their long lines and noise off-putting. And it doesn’t work well for young children who like plainer food.
Ok, I revise my post. How come the eateries that my family likes on West Ponce all go under? Were they really lackluster? I thought Indie was cozy and intellectual, with high quality coffeehouse food. Tropical Smoothie seemed as good as any smoothie place. Tossed was a better version of Lettuce Surprise You. I’m not saying these eateries were four star but there’s tons of more lackluster places in the those 4 strips at the Emory Commons corner. Maybe it’s inadequate business models and I know that most new small businesses do fail. But I postulate a few other factors too:
1. Inadequate volume–people seem to go directly to the square or Emory Commons or even the CVS shopping center and pass West Ponce by.
2. Atmosphere–many of those West Ponce retail spaces are inherently sterile and even a bit strange. Seems like it takes a lot to warm them up and make them a comfortable spot–the knitting place seems to have done that with all lot of cozy wool, but even they have turned over once.
3. No tipping point–seems like an area reaches a “tipping point” when it all of a sudden takes off and about anything there does well. I remember when downtown Decatur had some fine stores and shops but wasn’t seen as a destination by folks who went to Little Five Points or Buckhead instead. Then sometime around 1995, it hit a tipping point and it’s popularity just sky-rockedted. West Ponce has never tipped into becoming a destination.
Even the non-eateries seem to be leaving–Ritz Camera which was so much of a better place to send one’s pix than CVS, Anna’s Wardrobe (luckily never needed their oversized items but it the stuff was gorgeous), Inner Child (still mourning it ?three? years later), Metro Market. What DOES work on West Ponce besides office space and adult-oriented restaurants? There’s a lot of retail space there. Maybe I’d be better off not getting attached to places.
Again, you are attributing some sort of larger trend to what can easily be explained on a case-by-case basis. Others have pointed out the fundamental flaws in a lot of the other closures you have cited (Rusty’s list of all the alternative pizza options is especially telling), but just to address some of the ones you mentioned most recently:
Ritz/Wolf Camera: I actually worked for Ritz. They were a abyssmally-run corporation whose weaknesses were laid bare once digital photography took over and they couldn’t capitalize on the film developing business that made up the bulk of their revenues. They’ve been closing locations everywhere for years, and not just in Decatur (which was one of the last holdouts).
Metro Market: Trying to compete with YDFM a mile down the road is a losing proposition, especially when you’re doing a much smaller volume.
I find it telling that you don’t like Taqueria del Sol precisely BECAUSE IT IS BUSY. So what I hear you asking for is a restaurant that is quiet and not crowded, serves plain food of a type that can be found at at least half a dozen other locations within a mile or two, but also still manages to do enough business to stay afloat. That seems like a highly unlikely proposition in any economy.
Sometimes even good, well-run businesses fail. It happens. And often, it is a good thing. The loss of Sage yielded The Iberian Pig, which looks to be a great trade if early indications are to be believed. But it sounds like you’re taking it personally because you were a fan of a lot of these particular bad businesses and are searching for some larger causation. There isn’t one. There are enough businesses in that small corner of town that are thriving that it makes it hard for me to lament the crummy ones that have fallen by the wayside.
Have you ever stepped into Whit’s End??? The place couldn’t be warmer, cozier, casual, or more focused toward the easy going Decatur guy. Most underrated, best place in Decatur. Why that place isn’t exceedingly busy all the time, is very confusing to me.
Agree that it’s a wonderful place with wonderful goods and wonderful owners and son. If it’s not busy, it proves my point about West Ponce not being conducive to small retail businesses, only high end or high volume restaurants.
I’m not trying to making any particular point here and everyone has great explanations for why businesses are or aren’t making it on West Ponce. It’s just my observation, flawed or not, that even at the height of the overhyped economy, West Ponce didn’t seem to do as well for smaller retail stores compared to other area, everything else being equal. If I were opening a store–and I’ve always thought there’s the potential for a wide variety children’s shoe store with good service in Decatur–something like Coggins Shoes in Marietta and Roswell–I would not open on West Ponce.
CSD Snowflake. Jeff here from Whit’s End. All I can say is while businesses have come and gone, I have remained and am still in business. I have seen almost everyone around me and across from me leave. Thanks for your nice comments. Business can always be better, but I am hanging in there. I actually chose to come down here, I wanted parking, so that locals who didn’t walk into town would have easy access to. I realize not going more toward the square may have reduced my traffic, but would that turn into more sales to offset the higher rent? I may never know.
Over in EAV, Little Azio’s on Moreland is where we go for something cheap and quick because of the summer menu (personal pizza +drink for like six bucks). It’s a little better than CiCi’s, but only a little.
I think higher density rental housing targeting a younger crowd will provide a ton of life to west ponce and decatur in general. We have so many retailers and restaurants and not enough front doors to support them all, unless – as stated above – they’re pulling from other parts of the area.
Good questions, CSD –
The Grange seems to do well, and I thought The Angel’s problems were more based with the difficulties with licensing?
For some reason, Tastings, Tossed and Voila never seemed to have the right catch for the area, maybe for the reasons you mention, and Tastings seemed like a high risk, even for restaurants during the financial downturn. I’m still missing Indie Coffee and their books (I ~really~ miss book options here), but I try to support Cliche. I think you’re right about how Cafe Lily, Watershed and Cakes & Ale keep up – they are local destination spots. Taquiera del Sol just has their thing ~down pat~ – people want tacos/Tex-Mex in Decatur, it’s the first place to come to mind (even if I prefer Tesoro)
Tropical Smoothie and Tastings…I just think that spot is cursed.
I’m shocked at this one too! It always seemed crowded when we were there… I never forgave them for taking the Cozumel pizza off the menu though! Maybe not enough lunch business to sustain them?
Many of these businesses may not have closed if projects like the proposed apartments at 315 W Ponce de Leon had been able to be built. That project alone would house 350ish? people that could support all our local businesses. The bottom line is that Decatur, as it stands, seems to not be able to support all these wonderful independent businesses, particularly in an economy like the current one. Pardon the pizza pun but the spending pie is the same size – there are just a lot more slices now.
When I ate their this afteroon for one last pass at the Turkey Ragu & drink special, the manager told me that the night and weekend business never picked up. Cartel Properties(which owns Little Azio and apparently manages other Decatur properties in that stretch) has talked of opening another location in 2010 somewhere near Decatur (not necessarily in Decatur). He is moving to the Berkeley Heights store tomorrow.
He did tell me that the East Atlanta location on Moreland was their #1 store and would not be closing. So now we will drive over the EAV to have our BBQ Pizza fix.
After the way Management treated the employees of our Little Azio, I will never again be visiting any of their existing locations. The employees were told of the closing on Saturday… yes, less than two days notice. No warning, no severance pay. I know that’s legal in GA but it’s a crummy way to treat people and a bad way to do business. Cartel Properties doesn’t care about their employees and I don’t care to help out Cartel Properties with my patronage… ever again.
Guess I’m in the minority about being surprised about this. The staff were generally nice, if not altogether “on it” with the service, but if I’m being honest, their food left much to be desired. If your food is mediocre, you’d better have something else that’s spot on to make up for it– Little Azio here in Decatur didn’t. I, too, truly hate to see local businesses go under, but in these economic tough times, when the bottom tier drops out, that makes the middle the new bottom. If you’re a business that finds itself a member of the new bottom & you don’t try and up your game, you’ll be a goner sooner rather than later.
Hmm. We liked their food, especially the plain cheese and margherita pizzas and the Caprese salad and one other salad whose name escapes me. We weren’t as enamored of their specials. It wasn’t at the level of Figo’s but it was more interesting than some of the staple pizza joints that the kids used to prefer. It was a way to get the kids their pizza fix for the nth time that month without Mom and Dad being bored out of their minds. And it had a nice porch for outdoor eating and to amuse kids who could watch vehicles and passers by. The interior was a bit sterile.
I really have to wonder how viable West Ponce is for small retail businesses. It looks viable to me but I feel like much lesser places survive on the square or in Emory Commons.
Mellow Mushroom looks to be doing alright in terms of selling pizzas on the west side of Ponce. And there are other places in that area that are doing well, too – Thumb’s Up and Pastries a Go-Go are some that haven’t been mentioned.
The food as Azio wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t amazing, and the ambiance could have used some work. It looked and felt like Atlanta Bread Company on the inside. Most of these recent closings on West Ponce aren’t indicative of the value or patronage of that area; it’s simply the fact that most small businesses (in good times or in bad) don’t make it. And this is not always a bad thing. You can usually spot the reason why they fail. For example: Tossed looked like a sterile office-park Cafeteria, and so I never went inside. Tastings was a nice concept, and this town could probably use a good wine bar, but didn’t learn the lesson of the Brick Store and Leon’s: namely, if you get a hip space with open areas as well as nooks and crannies, make it feel special and a bit odd, serve good cheap food, and give people lots of room for comfortable outdoor seating, people will hang out there. Tastings felt too formal and dry, and Decatur is a casual yet aesthetically engaged town.
There’s a place for bare-bones interiors, too – Las Brasas and Pastries are good examples of this done well. But it fits with their overall aesthetics: we’re a no-nonsense breakfast/chicken joint. Azio had food and prices just fancy enough and food and an interior just disappointing enough to not draw clientele. Perhaps something else will fill the space as well as Cakes and Ale has filled the Vietnamese restaurant’s place.
I feel like I have to “level the playing field” here and sorta reluctantly defend Cartel…as far as their intentions are as business property owners in Decatur. We lease from Cartel and from my experience, I have to tell you that George and Cartel actually are big cheerleaders for Decatur.
Cartel kept the Decatur Little Azios open long after they realized that it probably wasn’t going to be viable and profitable for them. Location. We all know that those two blocks north and south along W. Ponce have…for some reason… some kinda of curse for restaurantiers and retailers.
Alas…I’m going to miss walking down the street for Little Azio’s Tuesday specials and most of all…their Wild Mushroom and Truffle Oil Pizza.
I agree. Little Azio will be missed, and George and Cartel are excellent landlords and have helped rebuild Decatur, and are getting hit very hard with vacancies.
Just curious
If it’s true the employees were given 2 days notice… this seems to be i believe about the second time i have heard a restaurant giving employees extremely short notice. Is this a common practice in the industry?
Someone above commented the manager was able to go to another location so hopefully anyone who wanted/was able to did as well.
I understand that is the “standard” in the restaurant business. If not even less “notice” to staff. Managers seem to be afraid that more notice will result in staff not showing up. I wonder why?
We were told that the majority of employees were being transferred to other stores. Most of the cooks were going to midtown. The company was actively looking for spots for the rest of the staff. However, I would assume that many of the staff would be reluctant to take a transfer to a store that is quite a drive away given the pay scale.
Mellow Mushroom
Zucca
Johnny’s
Fellini’s
Avondale Pizza (now delivers)
Savage Avondale (delivers)
Mojo (delivers)
Avellino’s
Saba (Oakhurst)
Rocco’s NY
Capozzi’s
Athens Pizza
Pizza Hut.
$5 Pizza Mias! Our family of 6 can eat for $25. I guess we’re just cheap pizza junkies.
Pizza K! Carry-out Special Large w/ 1 topping $5.66! Cheaper than Publix and I don’t even have to turn on the stove. Seriously, Decatur does NOT need any more pizza places. What I really wish is that Evans Fine Foods was any good or that someone would open a good meat-and -3 place. The Piccadilly ain’t it.
Re Evans Fine Foods: Evidently you have to be over 70 to enjoy this but it’s quite the hit in that crowd. It’s one of the first places my elderly parents want to go when they fly into town. And just think, those of us who live here could go there every day if we wanted…..
No Decaf go to Our Way Cafe in Avondale in the Salvation Army strip center for your meat and three. They are awesome!!
Frankly, I didn’t know many people that preferred a dinner out at Little Azio that didn’t have children. I have little kids, and I can see why. Little Azio was great about letting the kids take over, and on any given evening you’d five or six little ones running around on the patio. Maybe that turned out to hurt them in the end, but I doubt it as our family of four couldn’t go there without dropping $40 a visit. We loved the place for their laid-back attitude, tons of available space to stretch out, and the food was pretty good as well.
We’ll miss it, and it leaves a gaping hole in that stretch of Ponce. The whole building has essentially gone under, leaving one occupant in 5 slots. Bummer.
Wow, so much good in these posts that I almost feel like I have nothing to add (after reading, y’all may agree!)
Restaurant failures are very high (50% to 90%, depending on what you read). So is it any wonder we mave restaurants fail in Decatur? It shouldn’t be. One thing I have noticed is that if you have a good product, Decaturites will support it. Of course, there are always other issues (bad business practices, not enough density to support, etc.). While we hate to see any Decatur business close, I don’t think it should shock anyone when you look at some of the closures critically. There is fact mixed in with opinion here.
Little Azio- I went there because my 4 year old daughter liked it. It was a decent value, but nothing special. Mellow Mushroom pizza is far superior. And there are a ton of pizza places close. I know they had things other than pizza, but nothing that causes a craving during the day.
Tastings- Decent concept, but way too expensive.
Tossed- Never went there so I don’t know. It just always seemed like I had to pass so many good places before getting there that I never made it.
Angel- (I think this is accurate): company running out of money, can’t pay taxes, don’t pay taxes, lose liquor license, can’t get liquor license without paying taxes, it’s a bar, it closes.
Voila- OK food, horrible location. Nothing special. Amateur service and no ambiance.
Tropical Smoothie- Do that many people really drink that many smoothies that often? Evidently not.
Indie- I had two bad experiences in a row there with service. I had to pass Dancing Goats to get there. Bad combination for Indie.
When you look at the successful restaurants (i.e., Brickstore, Leon’s, Cakes ‘n Ale, Watershed, Taco Mac, Grange, Cafe Lily, Taqueria, Patries A GoGo, Thumbs Up!, etc.) two things stand out. 1) They each absolutely excel at high quality food and service with somewhat of a niche; 2) Decatur has a lot of restaurants/bars.
Regarding #1, that will almost always be the case with successful restaurants. You have to provide something that makes people want to return. Mediocrity, when there are better options, will not work.
Regarding #2, Decatur simply has to increase density if it wants to support more such businesses. We Decaturites have a finite amount of money and time. At some point we make decisions about where to spend both. If there are too many options, someone suffers. And it is always the business that does not set itself apart. We can also become a “destination”. That is another way to increase traffic. We are becoming a destination more and more. But in that case, #1 is even more important. People may drive to go to Watershed, but really, who would have come from Buckhead to go to Little Azio’s or Tastings?
I was with you until I saw Taco Mac lumped in with “high quality food and service with somewhat of a niche…
LOL! Well, you do have to admit that TM has a niche with its menu of an endless selection of domestic & imported high-quality beers, ales, & lagers. Its food is pretty standard, decent bar food, but then, TM doesn’t exactly aspire to be a Bacchanalia or a Watershed. I’ll concede your point on the service, tho– good-naturedly lackadaisical (but I find that there are MANY eateries in this town that almost seem as if they can’t distinguish between “laid-back” & slooooooooow).
Some Taco Macs are decent, but the one in Decatur is plumb awful. Their beer selection is good, but most of the draft beer is stale and oxidized due to slow turnover. Mediocre fried food…mostly frozen. I am amazed that they are still in business…must be all the TVs and kid friendly atmosphere. Twain’s wings/fingers blows TM away, in my opinion of course.
Twain’s would need to add about 100 more TVs and 200 more draft beer choices to begin to even compete with Taco Mac.
Bigger is not always better. 100 taps with 30% staleness ain’t that great. Most of the local beers taste OK, because they get regularly rotated. Their frozen glasses actually mask the true taste of most of the taps- oxidization.
More TVs at Twain’s would be a good thing though.
I agree…I despise the Decatur Taco Mac. Even my loud sons think it’s too noisy in there, and the food is terrible. I MUCH prefer Twain’s.
HA! That’s fair. I was saying that Taco Mac is successful. I would not say they have high quality food, although I do like their wings. They have an expansive beer selection. Service is decent to OK. But they do have a niche. “Sports bar where you can bring your kids.”
I will stand corrected!
This as a local election year. All the candidates for City Commission should be asked if they support increased residential density. Do we have any other compelling issues to distinguish them?
While there is certainly no shortage of pizza options in Decatur, their kid-friendly atmosphere and Margherita pizzas always brought us back. We’ll miss it.
Oh yes let’s crowd more people into Decatur just so we can have more crappy restaurants. That’s the ticket!
That stretch of West Ponce suffers due to land-use. From Cafe Lilly to the post office, there is no street that connects Ponce to the South. So you really only have a local market draw from the north side, which is not high-density. It’s no wonder that the only businesses that have thrived are metro-wide destinations like Watershed.
Of course, even if you punched a couple of streets through to the South, you still don’t have a very good market, since most of that area is taken up by the projects.
After Avellino’s opened on West College my husband and I had no desire to return to Little Azio’s.
Amen Amanda! Avellino’s is great. Everyone should try it – you will be won over
Amanda and UTE,
Has the service improved? Went with my 8 year old soon after they opened and they clearly couldn’t handle the volume then. We waited forever, had to remind them of our order several times, never got certain items. The food was truly fantastic but two hours of our time was too long to wait. They gave us one item for free as compensation and that was appreciated but we’ve still been hesitant to return. Thought about going with friend last night before Garrison Keillor show at Agnes Scott but was worried that the wait was too unpredictable.
Not to thread-jack my own post, but how was Garrison Keillor? I’m sorry I had to miss it.
It was wonderful, all the more so because Garrison Keillor had a mild stroke just a few weeks ago on Labor Day! He wove that fact into his spiel with references to cardiovascular events, being in a scanner box, and the inevitability of death. I had never seen Garrison Keillor in person before so it was fun doing so. He really can tell stories extemporaneously, not just read and act well from a script. That was particularly evident during his response to questions from the audience. Actually, the only part that disappointed me slightly was the audience. They were so into Garrison that they laughed at every word, pretty much no matter what he said, so it was hard to hear some of his more serious, more softly spoken words. He’s a writer and thinker, not just a stand up comedian. Also, some of the audience questions were good but a few were just the questioners wanting to hear themselves speak. My friend, who has a sharp edge to her, was ready to shoot one guy for wasting our little bit of time with Garrison.
The Agnes Scott President who started off the program was pretty witty herself. As was the Director of the Georgia Festival of the Book, or whatever it’s called; he also kept the line in a good mood. There was some guy with a headphone running around, alternating between panic and officiousness but I thought he fit well with the Lake Woebegon theme. Itt was well worth getting on line at 5:30 PM.
“getting on line”?? I don’t hear that phrase much around here (outside of using the interweb, of course).
Could CSD Snowflake really be a Yankee?
Keillor was great as always. This was my third time seeing him in person and it’s like spending time with an old friend. I agree with CSD about the night as a whole, although we had no problem hearing him where we were sitting and I thought the Q&A from start to finish was just about the best I’d ever heard at an event of this kind. Thoughtful questions/comments and of course wonderful responses from GK.
Here’s a pic of him from where we were sitting: http://twitpic.com/jjzip
A questioner immediately behind me took the opportunity to apologize for the debacle at Chastain (to considerable applause), and GK explained how it went down, insisting graciously that it had not bothered him in the slightest. Moreover, he announced that A Prairie Home Companion will soon be returning to the Fox!
I did not stay for the subsequent book signing, but know folks who did and they report that he stayed until at least 11:00 and was cheerful the whole time.
All in all, a wonderful night.
Lord I am jealous. Thanks for the reports Lump and Snowflake! Always extraordinary the talent we can attract.
CSD – No issue with service when we went, but we beat the crwod. We have also gone with takeout and I enjoyed an ice cold Peroni while waiting. I’d chalk your experience to first month operations and a bigger than expected crowd. The Pizza is really great though.
Not trying to hijack, but Rusty D, Friday is kind of my eat drink whatever day, and I really don’t mind going Taco Mac. Not stellar, but the people at Taco Mac are miles nicer than Taqueria del Sol. The line at Taqueria del Sol is usually insane. Quite frankly, (and i will say this as a patron of T del S) they’re not like Los Angeles taco stands, like, the best I ever had. It’s good, but not amazing in my opinion. I still eat there for everyone who is about to jump on me!
Sometimes when you want something quick and dirty, Taco Mac is fine. I always get fajitas. Can you really do fajitas wrong? And they actually have a beer that i like that Brickstore doesn’t have! Taco Mac does have more kids, grrrr, but it’s fine with me. Then it’s sort of up to Brickstore to round out the Fri. evening.
I really love supporting local bus. but foodie nice places, like Cakes and Ale, aren’t really an every Friday kind of place (for me a least.) They’re more, like, small dress, big date, kind of place.
I think the point that got lost, was, i don’t really feel awful about going to Taco Mac. I’m still trying to figure out who died and made every cashier God at Taqueria del Sol.
I don’t like to hear about any place going out of business.
While the folks at TM are more agreeable than those at TDS, they’re basically apples & oranges. TM is a place that encourages folks to come in & linger over their meals, TDS is an assembly-line feed ’em/roll ’em on out kinda place, and people who’re regular patrons understand that. In all honesty, I’ve never had the cashiers or management be nasty to me (but have seen it with others, and yes, it did make me uncomfortable for their sakes). I know that I might have to wait to get in, but when I do get in, my food will be out before I can blink twice, it will be consistenly tasty & fresh, and I won’t leave hungry. TDS is a place to go to satisfy your yen for tacos/TexMex in a hurry– period. It is what it is, I know this, and so I’m not disappointed by the lack of ambience or sunshiny-smily staff. When I’m in the mood for friendly servers who won’t rush me, or to be pampered & properly waited on, I go to the places that offer that. That said, I like having both TM and TDS around!
i enjoyed Little Azio and will be sad to see it go. Listen up Decaturites……if we don’t support more local businesses, our town is going to revert back to the ghost town it once was. Shop and eat in your own town. Keep your money where you live. These businesses give to our community, and add value to our homes by making our city viable and attractive. I am fearful this is only the tip of the iceberg. I think if we do not exclusively shop and eat locally especially over the upcoming holidays, we will see many more closures in the months to come. Certainly, some places are marginal and went because of this or even bad business practices. I do not agree that West Ponce is the issue. I do agree that more condo/apts and a cute hotel would greatly benefit these businesses and restaurant to stay open. Why the local neighborhood made that project undoable is amazing to me!
OK, I’m not sure if we’ve gone too micro or what, but the ongoing assertion that West Ponce is hurting is a the furthest thing from the truth IMO.
I don’t claim to be an authority on much, but I walk this strip more often than any other and have to say that West Ponce stands up to the best of ’em. Even the Square. There I said it! If we’re going to discount Watershed and Cakes and Ale on account of their “high end”, how about we discount the Brick Store and Leon’s because it’s hard to get a table? Silly idea? You betcha!
IMO, West Ponce is some of the best retail/restaurant variety in Decatur, if not east-streetcar suburb Atlanta. And compare West Ponce to what it was 5 years ago. No comparison. So I’m not sure where the evidence is to support that it’s struggling, accept that turnover rates have been slightly higher than usual along this strip.
We can’t just carte blanche be appalled at every businesses closing. It happens. Decatur is not on the verge of “ghost town.” We must buy local, but we shouldn’t do so blindly. That’s a terrible model for creating a vibrant and reflective local economy. Buy local, but don’t settle for less. As any good local business owner will tell you, this isn’t and shouldn’t be a charity ward. They’re providing you a service you can’t get elsewhere. You belittle the accomplishments of many a great Decatur business owner by putting all businesses on the same playing field just because they’re “local.”
Hear, hear, Sir! I’ve nothing to add that could improve upon that.
Well, I have something to add…should I bring my children? Oh wait, that was another thread.
DM, could you change the color background of your posts? It’s so dark the closer you get to the left and bottom edges that you can hardly read the text.
Good points.
Very well said, DM.
I support local businesses when I can, but sometimes, you know, I want to go somewhere outside of Decatur, or cook at home.
Don’t make me feel like lesser of a Decaturite if I don’t eat at one of our many, many restaurants every night.
What we need, is more economic diversity and density in Decatur. As a previous commenter hinted at, if there were 200 – some odd condo or apartment dwellers across the street, it might help a place like Little Azio or Tastings survive, no?
MC:
Windex your screen.
I am sorry to see Little Azios go because I ate lunch their occasionally with co-workers. However, I won’t miss their food because it just wasn’t that good. Their pizzas were just ok, and their pastas were often mushy (Figo’s is better).
I think Decatur has too much of the same. It doesn’t need any more beer pubs, pizza parlors, ice cream shops, coffee shops, phone stores, or fancy gourmet restaurants. After walking the streets of Decatur every business day for 9 years, here’s my take on what it needs…in no order
(1) A jersey mikes in the CVS plaza would be very popular and probably put Subway out of business.
(2) A high quality indian restaurant with a lunch buffet (it would be the only one on the square)
(3) A radio shack store or nice ace hardware (the Ace on College Av is pretty bad)
(4) A community college extension where you could take classes
(5) Much more high-density housing to use these places. There just aren’t enough people living and working on the square, and people aren’t going to drive there for a cheap meal when there is nowhere obvious to park without hassle and cost.
(6) Maybe a bike shop that did repairs
(7) An small extension of the DeKalb farmers market (I’d shop there every day!)
(8) More private businesses (not walk-in stores or restaurants) that employ people, so those people will want to live there and shop there.
Finally, there are the aesthetic things that keep shoppers and diners away. Spend 10 minutes at the Marta station entrance at Church St during the day and ask yourself the following: is this welcoming, cool, or attractive? The cracked out convenience store lotto ticket outlet, the wig store, the wing shop with the dirty windows, that creepy doctor’s office with the dirty facade, people standing around smoking or asking for money, the cars going by playing deafening music…. if I want a touch of grime, I’d go to L5P where at least there is a touch of funky cool mixed in. Decatur could be so much more but is trapped in between upscale and downscale. To me it has a strange sense of desperation to it… trying to be something fancy, yet succeeding only in fits and starts. Don’t get me wrong, I love Decatur, but I have watched business after business move in with great hopes, only to close down a year or two later. When they open, we usually predict whether it will fail or not and we have always been right so far.
Although I have no direct knowledge of the rents, I often suspect they are really high. Why else would there be so many empty storefronts. Anyone have any info on store or restaurant rents?
For Decatur to blossom, more people need to live there so that shops selling things they need on a regular basis will have customers. For people to want to live there, real estate prices need to come down to realistic levels so that young people buying their first place can live there. It has the basic bones of an economic powerhouse, but without enough people living there to power it.