Comments on: Octane Coffee Closing Emory Location

By: E.J.

E.J. — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:13:06 +0000

One of the inherent problems with Octane@Emory were the narrow range of hours. Bring a great roaster like Intelligentsia, offer exotic coffees, and stay open 24hrs. Be everything Starbucks can’t.

By: OakhurstMama

OakhurstMama — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:48:37 +0000

Octane’s coffee was sooo expensive! Not the place to go if you wanted to run in and grab a cup of coffee. I too was a Barista in a former life and yes while the slow drip is a novelty it won’t bring in the customers. My wish for Emory Village is that they would have a good place to eat with lots of seating. But that’ll never happen.

By: J_T

J_T — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:40:02 +0000

I could never figure out why Everybody’s didn’t utilize that space either! Whether a sandwich/take-out spot, their own coffee/dessert place, a larger bar area or whatever.

By: Progressive Dem

Progressive Dem — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 04:40:00 +0000

Cold Stone pretty much went out of business everywhere including Decatur. AM Photo lost out to digital cameras and changes in technology. Clark Howard is always talking about how the internet has replaced travel agencies. The owner of Jaggers retired and closed the business. Park Bench was simply horrible. I’ll give you Burrito Art and Cedar Tree, but the smoothie places and One Hot Cookie are very narrowly defined concepts and menus. Often the gimmick wears off. Yogurt is the rave now, but is there a long-term market? (BTW Everybody’s closed their Virginia Highland business, and they had been there for 20 years.)

Rents? Who knows. The market has to figure that out. Vacancies and turnover send a pretty strong signal and tend to keep rents in line with demand. I think there are plenty of challenges in Emory Village. Parking is difficult and there isn’t a lot of housing within easy walking distance. I think some businesses overestimate the student market when in fact they are only in town for 8-9 months. The demographics and buying power are seemingly fantastic.

By: historian girl

historian girl — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 02:24:00 +0000

Evolve opened three years ago, but I take your point. I’m thinking of Cold Stone Creamery, One Hot Cookie, The Cedar Tree, Jagger’s, then Park Tavern, Jake’s, AM Photo, Sta Travel, Burrito Art, Smootie King, all the coffee incarnations, etc. And there are empty store fronts there that have remained empty for years. I don’t think it’s unfair to say Emory Village has had issues.

I agree that Rise n Dine seems to do very well, but I’ve always heard Emory Village’s problems stem not from a lack of customers, but from the rental rates, as Paul suggests below. I know Cedar Tree had been there for at least a decade and left for that reason.

By: Progressive Dem

Progressive Dem — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 23:36:15 +0000

Yeah, the only businesses that lasted more than 5 years are Everybody’s, Evolve, Starbucks, All Fired Up, Majick Touch Cleaners, Doc Chey’s, CVS, Dominos, Panera Bread, Shields Market, Jimmy’s Chevron and Supercuts. Saba must be close to 5 years and they came back after a fire. Rise and Dine packs people in daily and has long lines on weekends.

By: Paul

Paul — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 13:12:04 +0000

When Caribou upped anchor I considered opening something up there. Turns out this is some sort of sub-lease from Everybody’s and they restrict what can be sold there, e.g. nothing substantial to eat. Hence no Taco Mac, no sandwich shop, etc. What caused Caribou to leave was an enormous hike in the rent. When the revolving door of suckers finally stops spinning I hope that Everybody’s simply opens their own sandwich shop there which in terms of the layout, shared facilities etc., makes the most sense.

By: Stu

Stu — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:33:30 +0000

I loved that little Taco Mac. We used to work out at the Decatur-DeKalb YMCA and then go drink beer and eat wings at that little shack. Added bonus was all the stray cats that would beg food as you sat on the patio. Good times…