As Winnie the Pooh once opined “from here no one knows where he goes.” This is especially true in commercial retail development. In Georgia, where the Atlanta Commercial Group is located, retail may be lead out of the doldrums by national retailers like Aldi, Starbucks and
Domino’s. Other chains looking to expand include Tropical Smoothie and Wingstop. There are over 100 national retailers who plan to or would like to expand in Georgia over the next ten years, accounting for over 80% of new chain retail stores according to researchers. This is
especially true in the metro area of Atlanta where retail vacancies have dipped below 6% and downtown Atlanta vacancies are in the 3% range. Local restaurant concepts are also expanding in this upbeat market. Many are new concepts expanding into the southeast for the first time.
The state has enjoyed a bumper crop of corporate relocations, expansions and new manufacturing and distribution facilities which is bringing in new residents and providing more and more customers who want and need places to eat, drink and shop. This is good news for retail developers as retail absorption has outpaced new retail development since 2012 in the metro Atlanta area. Also booming are services like Uber Eats, and Grubhub, allowing folks to get a “hustle” going and expanding the economy even more. It will also help many small strip center owners fill empty spaces and bring new traffic to their properties. Wingshop is especially active in our neck of the woods in the northwest Atlanta area. Add to this the fact that Amazon and other online retailers have little to no impact on this segment of retail and the
climate is right for impressive growth. Capital is available for chains to expand and the climate is good for land owners to cash in by providing sites for development.
As in all retail, restaurants will come and go, like Pollo Tropical who left town earlier this year, but the trend is upward in growth. Same store sales growth may slow somewhat in the Atlanta area compared to the national averages, but the market looks good for continued growth in this segment. How many eateries are too many? The marketplace always tells is. A well located, well run restaurant will succeed and that is good for the local economy providing jobs for young people who are just starting out and need the training afforded by a job. Now is the time for investors and developers to contact The Atlanta Commercial Group for all their retail leasing and development needs. We have a good inventory of land and available retail spaces in northwest Atlanta and beyond.
