The growth of chain businesses in Athens has some residents frequenting local stores more, as seen in results from a poll conducted downtown on Sunday.
When asked if they support Athens local businesses, 12 out of 12 who were polled responded yes. All of the respondents also said they can distinguish between a local business and a chain.
Even after fewer than two semesters at school, first-year student from Cartersville Laura Beth Garrett described a local business as “owned by someone, owned individually.”
Athens is flooded with franchises like Panera on Atlanta Highway and Starbucks on College Avenue or the newer additions of Zaxby’s and Urban Outfitters on Clayton Street.
“Urban Outfitters is widely known as a chain,” stated John Van Wert, a UGA senior majoring in advertising. The Peachtree City native said that he shops “mostly at the niche shops… I’ve bought stuff from Dynamite before, like the local stuff.”
Van Wert’s sentiment was echoed by other interviewees, as eight out of the 12 are current students. According to a May 2016 report in The Athens Banner-Herald, millennials focus on “community and creating relationships with people and not so concerned with the bottom line.”
Though the chains are successful, locals are more inclined to support their fellow Athens business owners according to the survey.
Bella Montoya, an Athens resident for the past 35 years, used to be a business owner herself for 20 years. When asked to name her favorite shops, she only listed locally owned names like Trappeze Pub, Highwire, South Kitchen, the Grotto, and the Globe. When asked about chains, she said she dislikes chains such as “Wal-Mart or CVS,” adding “that I am not OK with.”
A similar feeling was expressed by Katie Huff, who was born and raised in Athens, attended the University of Georgia and now lives and works in Athens. She reminisced about her time spent in the Classic City saying, “The Grill is where we used to go in high school, Junkman’s used to be right down here at the road.”
As a lifetime resident, Huff’s opinion on the chains centers more on the unpredictability on their lifespan. “I would say that the one thing about downtown is that the change is constant,” she explained.
That is another concern of locals. With new restaurants and stores coming each year, there is fear of loss of long-time destinations like the downtown Horton’s Drug Store or the Five Points ADD Drug, both of which have been around since 1961 according to their respective web pages.
Huff went on to say, “The one thing that is constant is that new businesses are opening and some of the old ones are closing and going away.”
Even the younger students agreed with the thoughts of the long-time residents. Freshman from Canton Landon Lambert backed visiting Athens destinations “like one of the boutiques or like a restaurant that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.”