Shopping Center Business is the leading monthly business magazine for the retail real estate industry.
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50 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • OCTOBER 2015 Moderated by Randall Shearin Led by top-fight developments in intown submarkets, the tenant mix of Atlanta's shopping centers is tilting toward more chef-driven and fast-casual restaurants, say the participants of the annual Atlanta Retail Roundtable. Atlanta's Strong Appetite T here are more than 85 chef-driven restaurants planned for the At- lanta area in the coming months. The demand for unique dining options is showing up in Atlanta's top retail devel- opments, led by Krog Street Market and Ponce City Market. Both intown projects, which both have the word "market" in their names, feature a food hall configu- ration that puts a premium on the dining experience versus traditional food courts. "Restaurants are the new department stores," says Michael Habif, managing member of Habif Properties. Eateries are now occupying space that traditional would go to soft goods retailers because of the traffic they can generate and the inability of e-commerce to dampen their sales, according to Habif. Habif's comments came during the annual Atlanta Retail Roundtable, which featured more than 25 retail real estate executives, brokers, landlord representa- tives, developers and consultants in the Atlanta area. In addition to the rising number of restaurants coming to retail de- velopments, the participants spoke about grocery store market share in the Atlanta area, cap rate compression for net leased retail properties and the tough screening process for buyers in today's retail market, in addition to many other topics. This year's roundtable participants in- cluded Habif; Bill Brown, president of Halpern Enterprises; Bill Read, an inde- pendent leasing specialist; Harold Shum- acher, president and managing broker of The Shumacher Group; Jeff Fuqua, prin- cipal of Fuqua Development; Jim Ham- ilton, senior managing director of HFF; Michael Puline, senior vice president of DLC Management Corp.; Peter Pelt, real estate manager at Garrard Development; Pierce Mayson, vice president of SRS Real Estate Partners; Tisha Maley, principal of The Maley Co.; Tony D'Ambrosio, vice president and principal of Colliers Inter- national's Atlanta office; David Cochran, president and CEO of Paces Properties; Channing Mason, director of operations at Benning Construction Co.; Jesse Shan- non, director of acquisitions at Branch Properties; Sonny Molloy, vice president of investment at Marcus & Millichap's At- lanta office; Emil Gullia, senior director of Franklin Street Real Estate Services; Mac McCall, regional managing partner of Franklin Street; Chuck Taylor, managing director of Realty Mogul; Jon Birnbrey, broker at The Shopping Center Group; Leo Wiener, president of retail at Ack- erman & Co.; Joseph Harland, associate broker of investment sales at Ackerman & Co.; Dan O'Neill, managing partner of Columbia Properties Inc.; Jeff Enck, vice president of Shane Group; Nicole Horne, vice president of acquisitions at InvenTrust Property Management; Mark Joines, senior director of capital markets With its walk-up food vendors and chef-driven restaurants, Atlanta's Krog Street Market has become a popular destination with residents and tourists. The center is a new type that is redefining the retail environment.