Luxury Losing Its Luster At The Shops Buckhead Atlanta (Oliver: home, landscaping)

[primaltech]

Shake Shack is priced appropriately for its awesome quality. I work across the street now so I've been eating there a lot lately. It's like that scene in Pulp Fiction where they talk about a $5 shake, and when you have a sip, you know why it's $5.

I like the walkability of this area, and how pretty and clean and nice it is. I like new glass Buckhead juxtaposed against old brick Buckhead in the same scenes.

I think the main issue is that even rich people can't afford ridiculous over the top French boutique luxury levels. Affordable luxury would be where it's at. Like the kind of stuff you might see at Ponce City Market, or Westside Provisions. High end feel but only moderately high prices. Like Warby Parker does well here- my friend recently got some eyeglasses there, and they were actually not expensive at all, but nice.

My business idea if I had the money: a high end version of Target. General everyday shopping, where everything's really nice, and more expensive, but not out of reach. Buckhead people treat Whole Foods like it's Kroger, and do their regular shopping there- so there should be a retail shopping equivalent of that. Without it being some snotty dumb shoe store where everything's $300.

People want quality, but they also want value. Rich people included.

[stillinthesouth]

I was wondering when there would be an article about this. The project appears to be a flop. It's been three years now, and half of the storefronts facing Peachtree are vacant. OliverMcMillan doesn't understand the Atlanta market. The project was poorly conceived and marketed.

[AtlJan]

Originally Posted by primaltech

Shake Shack is priced appropriately for its awesome quality. I work across the street now so I've been eating there a lot lately. It's like that scene in Pulp Fiction where they talk about a $5 shake, and when you have a sip, you know why it's $5.

I like the walkability of this area, and how pretty and clean and nice it is. I like new glass Buckhead juxtaposed against old brick Buckhead in the same scenes.

I think the main issue is that even rich people can't afford ridiculous over the top French boutique luxury levels. Affordable luxury would be where it's at. Like the kind of stuff you might see at Ponce City Market, or Westside Provisions. High end feel but only moderately high prices. Like Warby Parker does well here- my friend recently got some eyeglasses there, and they were actually not expensive at all, but nice.

My business idea if I had the money: a high end version of Target. General everyday shopping, where everything's really nice, and more expensive, but not out of reach. Buckhead people treat Whole Foods like it's Kroger, and do their regular shopping there- so there should be a retail shopping equivalent of that. Without it being some snotty dumb shoe store where everything's $300.

People want quality, but they also want value. Rich people included.

I TOTALLY agree with all of this. I admit to buying my regular groceries at Whole Foods. The produce and meat rock!! I shopped there as a kid when it was Colonial Grocery, then Big Star. I shopped in Buckhead when it was a hardware store and Buckhead Uniforms, Good Ol Days, and a fabric store.

Granted those days are gone, I would like to see Buckhead Atlanta be a mix of boutiques like at Westside Provisions/Ponce City Market. I am probably close to their target customer and I've only ever been to the restaurants there. And honestly, chain stores would be fine-- like William Sonoma, Gap etc--kind of like The Grove in LA or downtown Santa Monica. And if there were an Arden's Garden in there, I'd go every day. I hope this happens when Versace et al close their doors.

[stillinthesouth]

Originally Posted by AtlJan

I TOTALLY agree with all of this. I admit to buying my regular groceries at Whole Foods. The produce and meat rocks!! I shopped there as a kid when it was Colonial Grocery, then Big Star. I shopped in Buckhead when it was a hardware store and Buckhead Uniforms, Good Ol Days, and a fabric store.

Granted those days are gone, I would like to see Buckhead Atlanta be a mix of boutiques like at Westside Provisions/Ponce City Market. I am probably close to their target customer and I've only ever been to the restaurants there. And honestly, chain stores would be fine-- like William Sonoma, Gap etc--kind of like The Grove in LA or downtown Santa Monica. And if there were an Arden's Garden in there, I'd go every day. I hope this happens when Versace et al close their doors.

Yeah, it's too bad Carter wasn't able to develop the original project due to the recession. His vision seems to be similar to what you and primaltech want to see.

From the article:
Carter said the original plan was for a mix of retail throughout the development: more moderately priced boutique retailers along Buckhead Avenue. Along the stores lining Paces Ferry, Carter said he envisioned trendy and bohemian retailers that would attract millennials and younger shoppers, similar to the Meatpacking District or SoHo in Manhattan. There were plans for two hotels where tourists could stay after spending a day shopping. There were also talks with a movie theater that would have in-theater dining and a bowling alley, Carter said. Plus, there were to be restaurants on every corner of the property. “That to me is the key in a project like this,” he said. “It's the diversity of food and beverage that draws customers often and has them stay longer. But also a diversity of merchandise so a family can go shopping together.”

[Jandrew5]

I actually went there on my visit. I went for Shake Shack (which I think is the complete opposite of a fake Steak n Shake) and once I realized that they would validate my parking for 3 hours, I decided to take a walk through this shopping center.

It was 5 or 6 in the evening. Traffic wasn't horrendous. There were people sitting on the patios eating, and a couple people walking, but the stores seemed empty and a little lifeless. With every store I passed, all I could say was "can't afford that now, but maybe one day." Personally I would rather go to Lenox or Phillips.

[stillinthesouth]

Originally Posted by Jandrew5

I actually went there on my visit. I went for Shake Shack (which I think is the complete opposite of a fake Steak n Shake) and once I realized that they would validate my parking for 3 hours, I decided to take a walk through this shopping center. It was 5-6 in the evening. There were people sitting on the patios eating, but the stores seemed empty.

With every store I passed, all I could say was "can't afford that now, but maybe one day." Personally I would go to Lenox and Phillips before I would go there if I want to get my luxury shopping on.

Yup, that's exactly what people in Atlanta are doing.

[primaltech]

Gap is a perfect example. Where it's a really nice quality pair of jeans, for $50 or $60.

And absolutely agreed about chains. Chains are better sometimes, because people know what to expect, and what the place even is.

Maggiano's for example, that place does well for a reason. Because it's just plain great food and service, and you feel like you're getting a value for your high dollar paid. It's not some unknown super expensive thing with a funny name.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by AtlJan

... I would like to see Buckhead Atlanta be a mix of boutiques like at Westside Provisions/Ponce City Market. I am probably close to their target customer and I've only ever been to the restaurants there. And honestly, chain stores would be fine-- like William Sonoma, Gap etc--kind of like The Grove in LA or downtown Santa Monica. And if there were an Arden's Garden in there, I'd go every day. I hope this happens when Versace et al close their doors.

I'd be fine with that, too. However, they'd got all those stores right up the street at Lenox and Phipps. So there might be some geographical limitations on how close they can open other stores.

We know a number of folks who have mentioned checking out the restaurants. However, I've never heard anybody mention shopping there. My guess is that they are mainly targeting out of town folks rather than the locals.

[JMatl]

Originally Posted by primaltech

Like Warby Parker does well here- my friend recently got some eyeglasses there, and they were actually not expensive at all, but nice.

Huge fan of Warby Parker! They have the best customer service I've experienced in years. As result of that along with excellent quality and prices about 1/4 of Lens Crafter's, I've bought four pairs of glasses from them in the past year.

This is the sort of high quality, affordable store they should perhaps have more of.

[CMMom]

Those luxury stores probably do well in Vegas, mostly with rich Asian tourists. Even Buckhead Bettys can't afford to drop $1000 for a handbag on a regular basis. Or they could, but they're spending that money elsewhere.