Free-For-All Friday 3/18/16
Decatur Metro | March 18, 2016 | 8:12 amFeel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local topics not yet discussed here over the past week.
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local topics not yet discussed here over the past week.
Chris Billingsley
Robert Butera
Robert Butera
Decatur Metro
Robert Butera
At Home in Decatur
Julie
altmod
Parker Cross
Steve
Steve
Robert Butera
Yest another local store is vacating Ponce de Leon Ave to make way for a chain: The SnoBall Cafe is leaving and Mellow Mushroom is rumored to be moving in. See details over on Decaturish. Decatur’s success is ruining Decatur. Well on our way to being just like any suburb.
“Well on our way to being just like any suburb.”
We recently lost a long time Mellow Mushroom, right?
True enough, but what about the CVS, the AT& T, the Verizon, the Chipotle, the Smoothie King, the Hearken, the Kaiser, the Orange Theory, the Jimmy Johns, etc. there seems to be definite trend toward one-offs getting replaced with chains because of rising rents. If you include local chains, there are many many more.
During Decatur’s original hey-day as a prominent economic center and destination (shopping and otherwise), the two largest retail players in town (Belk and Woolworth’s) were both chains. What people tend to perceive now as the way things have been historically is really just the way they were during our fairly tumultuous period of downtown disinvestment when few to no chains were even interested. But if you take a longer view you can see that, during times when Decatur was previously viewed as a very desirable location (as it is now), both local and chain businesses were present.
Strong indies continue to thrive here, but retail/service overall (chain or indie) can be a tough biz.
Many of these chains are small business owners (e.g. Smoothie King) as well. I’m not sure why it is implied that being a chain means they somehow have more $$$ or more business to pay higher rents. What makes them any more financial privilieged (what is implied) than a local chain (Kale MeCrazy, Highland Bakery) or really local (Butter and Cream)?
While I am sure it is a factor, I still don’t know to what extent higher rents are responsible for these businesses going under. But it is the standard line (at least on here) every time a business goes under. Lots of a factors contribute to a business’s cash flow and expenses (rent and personnel costs being the obvious ones).
From Decaturish:
Benerofe said COREBODY tried to find a new location in the area with no luck. “I think it’s very hard for local businesses of that size — given the cost of Decatur moving toward Buckhead rent — to succeed,” Benerofe said. “The landlords with the bigger spaces … do not want independents. No matter how successful they’ve been, no matter how much the community supports them, those landlords want big chains with corporate guarantors of five and 10-year leases.”
Thanks Scott for that excellent reply.
I think the addition of chains doesn’t necessarily mean that independents are obsolete or endangered. They’re just a reflection of the relative success and prosperity of the city in general. Success breeds competition – that’s a tough reality, but reality it is.
BTW, I don’t know about anyone else. but I’d have loved to have had those dastardly chain stores here 20 years ago.
You can only go so many years without new underwear.
When I first came here 20 years ago, I was amazed by the number of independent pharmacies. My wife and I saw switching over to one as a nice way to support a local business in our new town, so we just picked one at random (we knew nothing about them) and walked in. Turns out that they, and the next one we visited as well, were really only set up to work with Medicare and Medicaid and were making their living largely off the senior living towers. They basically sent us away with a shrug.
I guess the point of the story is that there are a lot of factors that influence the mix between chain and indie. Also, thank God we found McKinney’s.
McKinney’s is one of the most precious gems hidden in this magnificent city. We need to shout from the rooftops the virtues and qualities of this incredible local business! They know my name, my spouse’s name and the names of my children when we walk in the door. They provide individualized attention and concern to my needs, and are extremely consultative whenever I have specific questions. I adore McKinney’s and recommend them to every Decatur resident.
+Infinity!!
Return of MM would be great! I miss the “Holy Shitake” pie.
Mellow doesn’t need the restaurant space AND your space! It would be better for them for you guys to stay there. Is Mellow Mushroom really so conceited to think they need more than 20 tables to accommodate the people who aren’t lining up outside to eat their pizza? #davincisforever
Funny, the old MM was always packed and could easily have filled up more space. Meanwhile I can’t even bring myself to go back to Davinci’s a second time. Ugh!
I have never dined in, but we order DaVinci’s take out a lot.
We love the calzones and pasta, I like the wings (takeout at T.Mac has become painful, so I quit)
But every time I have ordered a hot sub, the bread is mush. I don’t order those anymore.
Pizza is OK, like Fellinis better. For some reason we never liked MM pizza (and found it overpriced).
At least for us, we are happy to have it nearby, though I cannot comment on table service.
Looking for recommendations for some fence repair work. The heavy rainfall and windstorms over the last few months have taken their toll on some of our fencing and it’s time to get it fixed.
Metal or wooden?
Wooden.
If you join your neighborhood Nextdoor group, you’ll find recommendations there.
Any recommendation for a good pest control company? Thanks!
I use arrow pest control. They are pretty good, no complaints. I get the mosquito treatment and then quarterly sprays for bugs and it works out great.
I also use top turf for weed control in my yard and they bundle their services together if you want. Maybe there could be a bundle option for cheaper?
Thanks!
Breda (from Longanville) was recommended to us by our neighbor and we’ve been very pleased with their service.
(770) 466-6700
bredapest.com
Thanks!
All the news coverage of lead in drinking has me a bit worried. In the past, I’d read the periodic reports from DeKalb County and feel reassured. But lately I’ve read several reports claiming the Federal testing requirements are not very thorough and that the plumbing of older homes can create high lead levels at the household level. Has anyone tested the water quality from their home taps? Or can anyone recommend a filtration system that removes lead? Thanks.
Most commercial faucet or pitcher filters (Brita, Pur, etc) remove the amount of lead that would casually leak in municipal pipes, and if your house was built after 1940, lead pipes stopped being used around then, so you shouldn’t need to worry. Another tip: hot water leaches much more quickly than cold, so if your house is older than 1940 and you’re concerned, run the cold water for a few seconds before using it to drink or cook.
The issue in Flint was the extreme level of corrosiveness in the water on very old municipal pipes, producing levels that go far beyond the abilities of commercial filters to remove.
We always drink straight out of the tap. I always have. As do my kids. (I mean I do use a glass.) Is there any reason to think that is not OK in Decatur?
LOL! You know you stick your head under that fawcett sometimes. : )
We get a copy of this every year in the mail; http://www.dekalbwatershed.com/Documents/CCR2015English.pdf
A plea for everyone to come out for the Georgia Publix marathon this Sunday morning to cheer us on. Decatur is around the halfway point, so we’ll still be in sorta good shape. Seeing your friendly faces out there means a lot.
We’ll be out there handing out warm glasses of milk just like last year!
Thanks, Rival. Don’t be offended if I don’t take you up on it. Warm milk has always grossed me out.
But a smile and wave would be great. 🙂
I’m pretty sure warm milk grosses everyone out. Same goes for cold milk.
We are planning to have a cheering crew in Oakhurst by the Imperial!! Go runners!!!
For the Pubix Marathon East Lake MARTA marks the 11 mile mark of the race after the runners come up the big hill into Decatur. There is a major water station located there. People usually (except last year when it poured) line up on East College from East Lake all the way down to the middle school. Most runners come by in under/around 90 minutes or so. Remember East Lake is 100% closed to all vehicles from East Lake MARTA to Anges College during the race. You can not access East College from McDonough or Park either.
You mean E (and W) College is completely closed from Rocky Ford to Commerce Dr. You can cross over to Howard at either McDonough or Candler as well as going under at E Lake Dr.
Yes. This. The cops were letting plenty of cars thru on East Lake. Ponce too.
Ponce was only closed from Commerce to Clairemont in Decatur. A few stretches in Atlanta had half the road closed with two way two lane traffic. East Lake was not completely closed, just squeezed down like Ponce.
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Happy to report that at long last there are signs of life inside the would-be Highland Bakery space in The Place on Ponce. This week workers could be seen inside digging up the dirt floor to install plumbing and systems. So hopefully this long-promised project is finally underway!
Where can you buy those Decatur license plates? Particularly the motorcycle size.
I’d try the visitors’ center on Clairemont.
Or Ace hardware on Scott B.
Heard that Whole Foods Market was planning to move into the Nalley dealership location.
http://www.decaturmetro.com/2016/03/04/decatur-whole-foods-planned-for-nalley-dealership-church-street-site/
No, it’s Trader Joe’s.
Everything but Trader Joe’s…
Sprouts is coming. Whole Foods, too. Earth Fare and Fresh Market are in the hood. Eventually Your Dekalb Farmer’s Market will be expanding.
What’s up with TJ’s?!
Heard they are eyein’ the Hop N Shop space…
Not anymore. Their variance request was denied.
Curses! Foiling my attempts at development gossip sabotage…
Anyone know of good Easter Eggs hunts nearby for the kiddies?
Shout out to Decatur Boxing http://www.biggsboxing.com and the state golden gloves qualifier being held at Ebster Recreation Center this weekend – $ 10
https://webpoint.usaboxing.org/wp15/Events2/ViewEvt.wp?EventID=12404
Has anyone else tried the Nashville Hot Pork Chop Sandwich @ Corner Pub !?! The Hottest, yet still tasty, thing I’ve had in memory. OMG !
Clairemont parents just received an email that Principal Erin (Wheeler) Gutfreund is moving to New York at the end of the 2015-16 school year. An opportunity for Dr. Dude to redeem himself on personnel issues.
Saw that. Hopefully the selection process will include understanding the needs of all the students. The model at Westchester would be a good one to follow.
Did anyone catch the last name of the Steve guy from “Decatur, GA” that just won on Jeopardy? Is he from City of Decatur or Postal Decatur? Either way, he knew his literary detectives!
Dang. Literary Detectives was a category? I could have killed.
Springdale Heights. In the shadow of Dekalb Medical.
Well darn, he should have used the proper distinction. It’s important. y’know.
COD will be annexing it soon anyway.
I believe his name was Steve Stoffle. It was thrilling to see someone from Decatur on my favorite show!
I’ll be missing it tomorrow night. Let us all know what happens!
So. You remember those bright street lights we talked about a while back? They were installed on my street yesterday. They are, in fact, bright. Like NFL stadium field Monday night bright. But the installation was odd. The bright white at the end of my driveway. Forty paces up the sidewalk, the traditional amber-ish light. Then another bright one. What is that about? This morning, I woke up, assessed the hour by the light seeping past my blinds, and made coffee. Then I realized it was four o’clock. I’m guessing that I will adjust; I’m not a sensitive person. But, dang, they are BRIGHT.
I was heading up E Ponce towards the square about 530 a.m. this week and was thinking the soft amber is very pleasant. The bright lights will be much more WAL MART parking lot.
Rows of lights to illuminate lines
Why don’t they turn them off and let us see night?
A big thank you to all the Decaturites who came out yesterday morning to cheer us on at the Georgia Marathon. It means so much to us to see your friendly faces and signs, and is a great boost at the halfway point.
Ugh, I’m sore. 🙂
Oh, so that was YOU making me five minutes late for brunch at Bagel Palace? Just because you wanted to get a little jog in? Entitlement personified, I say!
Seriously, though, great job! Next year I’ll have a beer waiting for you at Scott Boulevard.
Thanks, J_T. It’s a deal. Can I politely request that it not be a PBR?
I’m sure anything from the value-priced beer menu will be okay.
I could probably even make it a Yuengling.