Category Archives: Business

Business, Culture, Final Projects

Slow Down and Drink the Coffee

AN INTRODUCTION TO POUNDS COFFEE

We think of gourmet coffee as something served by a barista, handed over a sleek wooden countertop, perhaps topped with artfully swirled foam. But can the same exceptional taste be experienced at home? Andrew Gross says yes.

“It was a beautiful day…we were just sipping on the coffee, watching golf or something.” For Gross, 29, of Monroe, Georgia, the mention of his first tasting of Pounds Coffee is accompanied by a fond memory of an afternoon in the fall of 2015.

Gross was one of the first people to taste Pounds just a few months after Chris Barr, 31, originally of Jacksonville, Florida, sold his first bag of micro-roasted coffee on April 11, 2015.

Pounds Coffee is a coffee roasting company based in Watkinsville, Georgia, that specializes in single-origin coffee roasting, packaging, and shipping across the United States. Subscribers receive freshly roasted coffee in their mailbox to brew at home as best fits their lifestyle and coffee drinking habits. In other words – all the coffee shop flavor without having to stand in line working for the barista or hunting for a table amid all the other people hunched over their lattes and laptops.

Although only technically operating for two years, Barr, Pounds’ founder, said, “Since 2008 or 2009 I’ve kind of always been dreaming of Pounds. I didn’t know what Pounds was. I didn’t have a name for it. I didn’t entirely know the business plan or model or anything like that, but I knew that I wanted a coffee company. I knew that I wanted it to be mine in some way.”

The company’s personal touch is found within the sweet citrus flavors of the light-bodied Ethiopia blend and the lemon-lime nuttiness of the Guatemala. Beyond specific flavor notes in coffee, Barr’s personal touch is his message of intentionality.

Intentionality, as Pounds promotes, refers to spending time in the morning slowing down for a few moments of still, silent reflection among the busyness of everyday life. A goal that can only really be achieved in a home environment – silence is simply impossible sitting between keyboards clicking, friends talking and commotion of customer traffic through the shop.

Subscribers who have formed relationships with Barr through Pounds understand the message. Gross, who has been a Pounds subscriber since that fall day in 2015, said, “with Pounds Coffee you have to be intentional. And that’s something we don’t really see a lot of – intentionality.”

Beyond encouraging silence and stillness associated with the brewed cup of coffee, the brewing process itself requires intentionality. Brewed as intended as a pour over, the process demands full attention and five to eight minutes.

CAN’T I JUST GET THAT FROM A COFFEE SHOP?  

            The message behind the bean differentiates Pounds from other coffee companies, who are focused on supporting the on-the-go fast-paced lifestyle, which Americans have come to normalize. Instead, Pounds encourages slowing our daily pace and spending time creating community in our own homes. This slowing down message is not the only difference from typical coffee in the eighth-story break room of every office.

Pounds’ coffee beans are considered “single origin,” according to Pounds’ website. This means that they all derive from the same field and harvest. Essentially, every bean of the origin looks and tastes the same.

Large, massively produced coffees come from eight or nine different harvests to keep consistent flavors from harvest to harvest. This way, if two of the beans must be sourced from a different crop due to drought, pests or other issues, the taste is not suddenly unrecognizable.

For companies who function on consistency, using many crops is effective, but as gourmet coffees rise in popularity, single origin coffees are consumed more often in the home.

According to the National Coffee Association, 62 percent of Americans today drink coffee daily, a change from 57 percent in 2016. The most shocking statistic from the survey relates to the daily consumption of gourmet coffee among 25-39-year-olds. Of this age demographic, 50 percent claim to drink at least one gourmet coffee beverage each day.

Most of these gourmet coffees are made by baristas where pricing starts at about $2. According to fastfoodmenyprices.com, the smallest cup of regular coffee costs $1.85. Pounds, however, offers the same gourmet taste for roughly $0.44 per cup.

The Guatemala blend currently costs $15.49 per pound. The Ethiopia blend is just $1 more at $16.49. Both are available for purchase in 12 ounce and 16 ounce sizes.

Compared to standard Starbucks tall coffees, a bag of Pounds coffee produces 28 more cups of coffee for the same price.

ECONOMIC TRENDS IN COFFEE

The increase in coffee consumption is good news for Pounds, but unfortunately also leads toward increases in competition.

From 2012-2017, the number of coffee shops increased 4.1 percent according to IBISWorld. The retail market for coffee rose 3.6 percent annually from 2011-2016 according to a different report from IBISWorld.

This 3.6 percent retail market rise includes the foundation and growth of Pounds Coffee along with many others.

Economic trends should not just be considered by business owners hoping to grow or distinguish themselves from others. Trends in consumer spending affect the way a cup of joe is marketed, advertised and developed.

Consumers should consider these factors when interacting with companies they are loyal to, especially considerate of the effects of local economy shifts.

Pounds’ market, however, while influenced by Athenian consumers, reaches beyond geographical barriers. Pounds has the advantage of engaging with subscribers nationwide via mail and social media.

RELATIONSHIPS BUILT WITH YOUR BREW

The growing importance of social media is especially prevalent for smaller businesses to build relationships and increase commerce. Social media serves as the barrier between business deals and the personal relationships surrounding them.

The micro-roasting method that Pounds uses generates the same personal intimacy that social media offers.

The physical process of micro-roasting is not much different from roasting hundreds of pounds of coffee at one time. The difference is the repeated theme of intentionality.

Every batch Barr roasts of Pounds Coffee can be specifically linked to a customer; “I know the name of the person who I’m going to be bagging it for…someone that I have had the opportunity to grow in relationship.”

These relationships, based on an online subscription to coffee delivered by mail, are just one aspect of the community that coffee creates throughout the United States and internationally.

Psychologists Lawrence E. Williams and John A. Bargh of University of Colorado at Boulder and Yale University, prospectively, conducted an experiment in October 2008 to find the relationship of physical warmness and feelings of interpersonal warmth.

Interpersonal “warmness,” is defined by the study as the “perceived favorability of the other person’s intentions toward us, including friendliness, helpfulness, and trustworthiness.”

Participants were primed with either hot or iced coffee when asked to hold the cup on an elevator ride with a research assistant before completing a survey about 10 personality traits of a randomly described person.

The only differentiation was the physical temperature of the coffee, but it led to significant differences in responses about the interpersonal judgments toward the target person’s emotional warmness.

This research translates to proof that sitting down sharing a cup of coffee with someone speeds up feelings of truth and likability between one another. This acceleration, plus being in a home environment means that inviting someone over to your house for coffee is one of the best ways to build a positive relationship quickly.

So why, if coffee helps build friendships, did Krystal D’Costa’s article from Scientific American in August 2011 present evidence that “the number who are [at coffee houses] solely for social purposes seems very small?”

Just because the physical warmth of coffee promotes relationship building doesn’t mean it is utilized that way.

THE EVER-EVOLVING DRINK

Coffee has evolved from consumption of bland flavors only for caffeine’s sake to a part of daily adult life. As it moves toward a social staple with options for everyone, coffee is still often utilized for the boost of energy that it can offer.

Consumed in-home, Pounds and other subscription-based coffees can serve as either part of the morning routine or something to gather around with friends and family. Either way, making and drinking coffee provides grounds for community to be built.

Even if a morning cup of coffee is consumed alone, “it feels more personal” in someone’s home rather than in a coffee shop, according to Pounds drinker Amanda Weaver, 19, of Oxford, Georgia. Weaver said that as a rule of thumb, “homemade things are usually best.”

Even with 62 percent of Americans enjoying coffee daily, as cited by the National Coffee Association, not everyone is convinced that coffee is the necessity that people make it out to be.

When non-coffee drinker Anna Katherine Wilson, 19, of Dacula, Georgia, tried a freshly roasted cup of Pounds’ Ethiopia roast without cream or sugar her only compliment was “it’s not as strong as my dad’s coffee.” Wilson still described coffee overall as “disgusting.”

The highest recommendations of others, economic trends suggesting continued growth and science to backing positive interpersonal effects couldn’t convert everyone into a coffee connoisseur.

All people can, however, choose to incorporate the message of intentionality that Pounds delivers with each bag of coffee purchased. Owner Chris Barr said it best: “If you’re taking intentional time to drink a cup of coffee, you’re doing something a lot bigger with those moments than just drinking coffee.”

 

Additional elements and a PDF version of my story can be found here.

Business, Final Projects

A Business Outlook on Exercise in Athens

While Athens, Georgia may be known for having more bars per capita than any other city in the country, it also has a wide variety of exercise options for local residents to choose from. Spanning from cardio and strength training to kickboxing, Athens offers college students many choices regarding where to spend their money on local exercise.

All of the businesses are similar in that they are centered around exercise with an incentive to increase revenue, but they each have different aspects that differentiate them from their competition. Many qualities of the gyms affect their ability to be successful, including memberships fees, number of members, amenities offered, location, possible deals offered and so on.

In order to understand what makes certain businesses popular in a college town, I turned to the students and employees of these companies for their opinions on the Athens local exercise options. After conducting 20 interviews with these people, I chose to focus on the five businesses that were mentioned most frequently: Orangetheory Fitness, The Omni Club, Crunch Fitness, BLAST900 and Pure Barre.

I noticed right away that all five of these businesses are local branches of a corporate franchise. I was expecting at least one person to mention local companies such as Fuel Hot Yoga or Fitness @ Five, especially since I am a member of the latter and see students there daily. However, I am a former member of The Omni Club and have been to an Orangetheory Fitness class as well as a Pure Barre class, so I have witnessed the appeal of these businesses firsthand.

I have compiled my work into the following three elements: an interactive map depicting the locations of the five businesses and their rates, an infographic that reflects a compilation of the sentiments expressed in the 20 interviews I conducted and a short video highlighting my interviews with four students and four employees.

Click here to view the interactive map.

Click here to view the infographic.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsyrDQpSDms

Business, Final Projects

Athens Bars: A Flawed System of Indulgence

It’s a drunk dream: leaving one bar to walk 10 yards down the street just to enter another bar and then again and again over 80 times. That can be a reality in downtown Athens, Georgia, a college town turned bar-breeding ground with a record number of bars in one single square mile.

People come from all around the country to hop from tab to tab in this bustling scene. The school and city seem to appreciate the tourism but the drinks don’t come cheap.

A GROWING BAR SCENE OVER THE DECADES

The modern bar scene in Athens started out with The Georgia Bar coming to East Clayton Street in 1986 according to the Grady Newswatch. Following its opening, more and more spots started popping up downtown in attempts to breathe life in a then desolate part of Athens.

A longtime downtown bar owner who wishes to remain anonymous stated: “Bars revitalized downtown, we changed it, and we brought the money back in downtown.”

Click on the following image to see more detail about the current bars of Athens.

The bar scene of Athens now includes watering holes for locals and University of Georgia students alike, historically bringing business to the downtown area but also causing regulatory problems for law officials and bar owners.

These issues center on overcrowding, over intoxication, underpayment, and especially underage drinking.

DRINKING UNDERAGE

Underage drinking is a national problem and is especially prevalent in Athens.

One problem regards the high number of people who are under 21 living in the city. UGA reports 5,256 freshmen and 6,396 sophomores in 2016 in addition to the portion of underage upperclassmen. There are also six high schools in the Athens-Clarke County area.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported in October 2016: “People aged 12 to 20 years drink 11 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States. More than 90 percent of this alcohol is consumed in the form of binge drinks.”

The number of underage residents of Athens raises the likelihood of underage drinking in the city but legally these under 21-year olds should still not be allowed in the bars. Here enters the problems of beating the law. 

FAKING IT

Fake methods of identification are a popular sight with college students, with a 2002 study from the US National Library of Medicine finding that 32.2 percent of second-semester sophomores at a “large Midwestern university” possessed a fake ID.

The use of “fakes” has been a continuous occurrence over time at the University of Georgia even before that study.

Rebecca McCarthy reported on Athens for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1997 stating, “Dimly lit entrances crowded with customers aren’t easy places to distinguish between fake or borrowed IDs and legitimate documents. And the quality of fake IDs is getting better.”

With the study being 15 years old and that report being 20 years old, it is easy to understand how situations have worsened.

A NEW SURVEYING

I conducted a survey through Facebook in April 2017 of over 100 UGA students asking questions to see modern habits with students and the downtown bars.

Roughly 70 percent of the respondents were under 21, with 20 percent being actually 21 and the remaining 10 percent being 22 or older.

A large majority (85 percent) reported that they frequently go to or went to the bars underage.

Results showed 66 percent have owned a fake ID with their own name and picture and an additional 24.5 percent owned an over-21 ID that was not their own identity. Only 9.4 percent of respondents never owned any sort of false identification. 

POLICIES OF ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY

Athens Clarke-County has recently changed their policies on underage drinking tied to possession charges due to the use of fake identifications to purchase alcohol and get into bars.

In July 2015, officials decided to no longer arrest underage kids possessing alcohol. Instead, according to Lee Shearer of the Athens Banner-Herald, cops now just give underage citations rather than bringing students into custody.

Shearer also wrote that the change “calls for citations rather than custodial arrests when people under 21 are charged with misrepresenting their ages or identities — fake IDs.”

Public intoxication, though, as well as driving under the influence is still punishable by arrest according to the article. These policies changes are specifically by the Athens-Clarke County officials, not those of the UGA Police Department.

The following representation illustrates how alcohol is more of an ACC problem, with numbers coming from both the ACC and UGA Police Departments’ annual reports.

Even with the departmental policy changes, underage drinking and fakes were still very present in Athens.

The Georgia Department of Revenue Alcohol and Tobacco took action in February of 2016, according to a report from The Red & Black. The article states, “11 citations were issued to individuals and administrative citations will be issued to any businesses that were found out of compliance with the state’s alcohol laws.”

MICHAEL’S LAW

On top of the GDR’s raids, another attempt at restricting underage presence in the bars of Athens comes with the newly created Michael’s Law in Georgia.

Michael’s Law started after Michael Gatto passed away his freshman year at Georgia Southern University after being beat by a bar employee, according to WGCL-TV Atlanta.

Gatto was underage as was the employee. The bar they were in did not have liquor liability insurance, as Georgia law did not require bars to have said insurance.

Gatto’s parents wanted to change the policies in the name of their son.

According to the Michael’s Law website, the regulation creates “a minimum insurance requirement, at the State level, in order for businesses to obtain an alcohol license” and makes it so “servers can be 18, but only if the establishment is a restaurant. A bartender, one who actually pours the drinks, must be 21.”

For Athens, this law holds a great deal of weight with the high number of bars in the city.

Students at UGA, both over and under the legal age, are attractive employees for bar owners because of their social connections; underage students are even more advantageous for bar employers because they can work for three or four years while they are in college.

Warren Southall, owner of downtown bar Boar’s Head described to reporters at The Red & Black in June 2016 the struggles that come with Michael’s Law.

“The frustrating part of this law is sometimes you have stellar waitresses or bartenders,” Southall said. “I find it hard that I can’t call up a 20-year-old who’s been working with me for two years, and she won’t be able to pick up a shift.”

The previously quoted anonymous downtown bar owner questioned the law, asking: “Can you tell someone that they can’t serve alcohol?”

He went on to point out that underage kids “can serve alcohol at Pauley’s [a downtown Athens restaurant] but can’t serve alcohol at a bar right next door because only one place serves crepes.”

These bar owners are not the only ones having trouble accepting the new law. Michael’s Law, known formally as Georgia House Bill 152, is currently involved in a lawsuit brought on by three underage workers who were let go from their jobs at bars according to a December 2016 report from The Red & Black.

Athens-based attorney Kevin Epps told The Red & Black that the “law violates the Equal Protection Clause under the United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Georgia” and that it is “discriminating against people under the age of 21 and these bar establishments.”

The lawsuit was filed in August 2016, only over a month after the law was enacted on July 1 of that year.

Since then, underage servers are still present in the bars of downtown Athens.

THE IMPACT ON SERVERS

The idea of Michael’s Law, whether in effect or not, on top of the raids has added even more pressure for Athens bartenders.

Owen McDaniel, a 20-year-old UGA sophomore and employee at Double Barrel on Broad Street, spoke about how tricky it can be working at a bar downtown.

McDaniel explained that as a door worker, you are “instructed to not let any tape-overs [IDs] or anything like that where it’s obvious that the person isn’t 21, but if the picture matches the person and the date of birth and it’s not expired then it’s fair game.”

The advertising student also talked about how he was affected by the policies of Michael’s Law.

“There was talk about all the under-21 employees being fired but I guess because of that, they did take certain measures to protect us,” McDaniel said, “by putting the above 21 people at the door… where people can see that you don’t exactly look 21.”

Additionally, Danielle Altman, a 22-year-old Johns Creek native who worked at Flannigan’s on Clayton Street said that at the time of Michael’s Law starting, “they put everyone on hiatus basically when it was first passed because they didn’t want to get in trouble with the law.”

Altman, who now works at Buddha Bar on Broad Street, does not see the difference between of-age or underage bartenders as “you are trained the same way so there shouldn’t be a difference.”

SLOWING THE BAR SCENE

The newest action taken towards the situation is no longer just centered on underage serving but the downtown scene in general. It is a one-year moratorium, a suspension of development, on the bars, restaurants, and buildings created by the Athens-Clarke County Commission.

“Basically, we’re trying to hold the status quo until we can catch our breaths…we have, in my opinion, an unhealthy situation downtown of crowding, excessive drinking, lots of bodies packed into one room than what is meant to go into,” explained Mayor Nancy Denson in an interview with The Red & Black.

The moratorium is meant to slow the overdevelopment of the downtown area as most businesses and living situations there have rapidly appeared in the past 30 years.

The University of Georgia supports the new act with an article from Flagpole Magazine writing “UGA President Jere Morehead welcomed and applauded the moratorium on new bars and apartments enacted by the local government.”

The moratorium is a new idea for the Athens-Clarke County officials and is something unprecedented in the downtown area.

Brad Griffin, the Planning Director for the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department, explained the idea: “I think it something more for studying purposes and that is something worth being studied.”

The next question, though, becomes will all of these actions make a difference. If Michael’s Law is found constitutional, how will the situation of downtown change?

It is safe to say, if the moratorium, GDR raids and Michael’s Law are all compiled together, the notorious Athens bar scene will never be the same for underage customers, of age residents and bar owners alike.

Business, MOTS

Boutique Business in Downtown Athens

Attracting customers to boutiques in downtown Athens, Georgia, is highly dependent on the boutique’s ability to attract customer attention and provide positive shopping experiences to retain them, according to an informal poll recently conducted by University of Georgia students currently enrolled in Journalism 3190.

The majority of the dozen individuals interviewed stated that they began shopping at their preferred boutiques because the displays caught their attention.

Savannah Guethner, a sophomore at the University of Georgia, said she found her favorite store, Community, while “just walking around.” She said that the display caught her eye by showcasing unique items as well as advertising local fashion designers.

Savannah Guenther, a student at UGA

While the initial attraction of customers to a boutique relies on the displays, keeping customers requires customer service. Interviewees rated their favorite stores’ customer service around an average of 9.14 out of 10. Many highlighted the importance of customer service in their shopping experience.

“They greeted me as soon as I walked in the door,” said Julie Walker, 45. The staff in her preferred store “explained how everything was in the store.”

A polite and friendly greeter was a notable quality many mentioned during their interviews.

“They are super helpful, but not overly annoying,” said Ivey Thompson, a third year student at UGA, when asked why she rated Cheeky Peach a nine out of 10 for customer service. “They’ll show you things you might like or what to pair together or stuff in your price range.”

Cheeky Peach on Twitter: “Check out our denim collection and see how CP wears denim!Shop the collection here: https://t.co/OIGoTJaQ4F pic.twitter.com/rHlHeGapIo / Twitter”

Check out our denim collection and see how CP wears denim!Shop the collection here: https://t.co/OIGoTJaQ4F pic.twitter.com/rHlHeGapIo

When asked about if they believed stereotypes existed about boutiques and whether or not their shopping experiences supported these claims, almost every interviewee mentioned pricing.

Boutiques tend to offer better customer service and be more expensive, said Thompson, who added, “In Athens I feel like the stereotypes are matched.” That view was shared by Ashton Morrison. “Some of them are a little overpriced, always have been in my opinion,” said Morrison, a University of Georgia graduate who now works in a nearby town.

Gitte Thrysoe, on left, and Samantha Becker, on right, are also two students interviewed from UGA.

For others, pricing was less of an issue because of the type of products the stores carried.

“The prices are a bit more than I would like,” said Guethner, but explained that the handmade and detailed work of products in her favorite boutique made the prices worth it.

Many of the graduate students or non-students said that some stores catered to younger individuals.

“Some of them are a little sorority-ish,” said Morrison.

“A lot of the boutiques I don’t go into because I see them as being for younger students,” said Gabrielle Fuentes, a graduate student.

Business, MOTS

Customer Service: Make or Break

Athens, Georgia, might be best known as the home of Sanford Stadium and the Georgia Bulldogs, but it is also home to a thriving clothing boutique culture. Most of the stores cater to fans in search of game-day outfits, and students looking for the perfect look for fraternity and sorority events, according to a recent informal poll conducted for a Journalism course.

There are over 20 boutiques located in downtown Athens, and while many have been in their respective locations for years, there are others that are beginning to grow their name in the classic city.
“Mostly I go for game days,” said third year student, Jenny Mai when asked about shopping at boutiques. Mai said that Fringe is her favorite.

Fringe is located at 153 East Clayton Street, and is moderately new, having opened in May 2016. It is co-owned by another local boutique in Athens, Red Dress boutique. Mai described the customer service as being one of the best, rating them a nine out of 10 stating, “They always greet you when you go in and are very helpful when looking for outfits.”

Although some boutiques can be described as having great customer service, there are a few others that customers believe may be overdoing the friendly attitude. A graduate of UGA and now resident of Athens, Ashton Morrison, described a couple of the boutiques stating, “They’re friendly, maybe a little
fake sometimes if we are being honest.” Morrison said she feels that the stereotypes in boutiques in Athens match just about everything that can be thought of. “They all look like Barbies who work in a boutique,” said Morrison when explaining her reasoning of believing the stereotypes.

Stereotypes about boutiques in Athens range from a plethora of things. Such as, the women who are employed at most boutiques are only sorority girls or that the clothes sold are completely overpriced. Another major stereotype about the boutiques deal with race, and how some women are treated by employees than others. You don’t see too many women of color employed at boutiques downtown, and though it isn’t a valid reason to believe the stereotype it can be eye opening for some.

Customer service in boutiques can be crucial when it comes to keeping loyal customers, but it can also be a breaking point for those who won’t return. Fortunately for Cheeky Peach Boutique, there is a loyal customer who completely loves the atmosphere and help they provide each time she visits. Ivey Thompson is a third year student and is affiliated with the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. When inquired about her experiences there she said, “They are super helpful, but not overly annoying helpful where they push you to buy things.” Thompson enjoys Cheeky Peach and has been since her freshman year of college. She loves how they aren’t too aggressive, and are just right when it comes to pairing outfits. “They drew me in through promos during rush my freshman year,” Thompson said when asked how she heard of the store.

Cheeky Peach Boutique on Instagram: “Status: 364 days to find a Valentine for next year⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ Shop link in bio!⠀ ⠀ #cheekypeach #girlfriendjeans #festivalstyle #suede #springtanks #athensga”

122 likes, 0 comments – cheekypeachFebruary 15, 2017 on : “Status: 364 days to find a Valentine for next year⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ .⠀ Shop link in bio!⠀ ⠀ #cheekypeach #girlfriendjeans #festiv…”

 

Business, MOTS

Athens residents support local businesses despite presence of chains

With a growing number of chain businesses nestled in a town full of local entrepreneurs, Athens residents claim their support for local businesses, according to a poll conducted by JOUR 3190 students in February.

Twelve people were interviewed regarding their opinions on various businesses in the Athens area, and all 12 claimed to make an effort to support the local stores.

When asked to give reasoning behind preferring to shop and eat locally, Landon Lambert, a freshman from Canton, Georgia, said she likes to go to “a restaurant that you wouldn’t find anywhere else.”

Other respondents like Lambert also voiced a preference for local businesses based on atmosphere and unique qualities.

However, just as often, the matter of price was a feature alluded to by respondents in their reasoning behind preferring certain stores over others.

Ashton Pike, senior from Snellville, Georgia, describes her preference for large serving sizes at restaurants.

Ashton Pike, a senior from Snellville, Georgia, mentioned these factors when citing Transmetropolitan as having low prices and large serving sizes. “It’s more bang for your buck,” said Pike, whose opinion matched those of other college students interviewed.

Chain businesses are on the rise in Athens, according to a 2015 article by The Red & Black.

But the growth of commercial retailers downtown may actually increase sales for local businesses such as Dynamite Clothing, a small clothing store with lower prices than its new competitor Urban Outfitters, as stated in the 2015 Red & Black article. John Van Wert, a senior advertising major from Peachtree City, Georgia, referenced Dynamite Clothing when discussing his preference for shopping at local stores and the “niche shops,” over “widely known chains,” like Urban Outfitters.

All 12 interviewees also claimed to understand the difference between a chain and a local business, yet some contradicted themselves when asked to provide examples of local businesses they frequent.

Katie Huff, UGA graduate from Athens, Georgia, shares her thoughts on how the business scene of Athens has changed.

“Urban Outfitters…Five Guys, and definitely Starbucks comes to mind,” replied sophomore Sarina Conway from Madison, Georgia, naming national chains when asked for her thoughts on the epitome of an Athens local business.

While most regarded both Zaxby’s and Cane’s as chains, few knew the history behind Zaxby’s and its ties to Athens. “It was local and then it became a chain,” said Katie Huff, a graduate of UGA who was born and raised in Athens.

Huff shared her perspective on how the town’s business scene has changed over the years. “I would say that the one thing about downtown is that the change is constant,” Huff said, explaining that some of her favorite childhood venues have been replaced.

When it came to older local residents in the area, responses reflected a more negative outlook.

Katie Wilson, an Athens local who was with her husband, said while she does support local businesses, she chooses to “go local somewhere else,” with her family in effort to avoid the crowds of college students downtown.

Bella Montoya, a 35-year Athens resident and previous local business owner, listed various downtown local restaurants and shops she frequents.

However, when Montoya was asked her opinion of Onward Reserve, an Athens-based men’s clothing store, she said: “I’m OK with Onward, even though it’s a chain…but just not Walmart or CVS. That I am not OK with.”

Business, MOTS

Athens local businesses gaining support in spite of new chains

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.”

John Van Wert mid-interview on College Avenue

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.”

Katie Huff answering questions on her lifetime spent in Athens

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.”

Backgrounder, Business

All-American Brand Macy’s to Close Athens Store

Macy’s has long been a household name in the United States. Every Thanksgiving, the streets of New York City are filled with life and celebration during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is one of many stores well-known to Americans nationwide and seen as an example of the American way of life. Yet this may change here in Athens, Georgia.

The Macy’s at Georgia Square Mall will be one of 68 Macy’s department stores slated to close early this year. It is also the only store in Georgia that will be closing.

This move is part of a larger plan by Macy’s to close 100 stores nationwide over the next few years. This represents about 15 percent of its total store base according to Business Insider.

Nearly 4,000 employees will be affected as a result, and while some will find employment at nearby stores, most face losing their jobs completely as reported by the Athens Banner-Herald’s AthensOnline.  IT IS ACTUALLY ONLINE ATHENS – TWO WORDS – It also reports that further restructuring in the company will see the loss of an additional 6,200 jobs nationwide.

Why? Macy’s has faced hardship in the recent economic downturns. The company’s net income, meaning the total remaining after subtracting the various costs of running the business from the total profits of the company and thus its total balance with which to begin the new year, last year was $1.07 million. In 2015 and 2014 it was approximately $1.53 million and $1.49 million, respectively. This would mean a loss in net income around $450,000 between the years 2016 and 2015, a stark contrast to the still relatively small gain of $460,000 between the years 2015 and 2014. Recent economic downturns have impacted multiple large companies and department stores around the country.

This year’s breaking announcement from Macy’s also sets a very different tone than previous announcements. Six years ago, Macy’s announced the roll-out of its Backstage Pass program that relied on QR technology to bring costumers exciting fashion and industry tips from high-brow names and designers as well as a chance to win a daily $500 shopping spree according to a press release through Business Wire in 2011. Six years before that, Business Wire covered Macy’s launch of its Star Rewards program in 2005. This was also aimed to increase the customer’s shopping experience and promote customer loyalty, but as the funds have dried up, so has Macy’s customer outreach programs.

Mr. Auguste ✨🌹 on Twitter: “Dear @Macys you’re not allowed to aggressively hang banners about “nothing held back” then discount merch at ur closing store at 10-20% nope pic.twitter.com/FQpHrIW2uU / Twitter”

Dear @Macys you’re not allowed to aggressively hang banners about “nothing held back” then discount merch at ur closing store at 10-20% nope pic.twitter.com/FQpHrIW2uU

One shopper, among many others, took to Twitter to voice his opinion on a Macy’s store’s closing.

“All I can say is, that’s bad news,” Online Athens quoted Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Jerry NeSmith when asked about the mall’s store closing. Online Athens also quoted the marketing director for the mall, Monica Hawkins, as saying, “The mall is actively in discussions to buy that space from Macy’s with the intent of backfilling it.” No further news about Macy’s successor has appeared.

This will mark the first time since 1981 that the 121 thousand square feet space will not be the home of a Macy’s department store.

Backgrounder, Business

Creature Comforts ADD SOMETHING TO MAKE THIS A HEADLINE NOT JUST A LABEL

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal wagered two six-packs of Creature Comforts’ Tropicalia beer to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker as part of a bet over the NFC championship game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

Tropicalia is the one of the most highly sought after beers from Creature Comforts Brewing Company, located in historic downtown Athens.

David Stein, a University of Georgia graduate, returned in April 2014 to open his dream brewery in the renovated Snow Tire Company. The facade still resembles a garage while similar rustic elements inside are incorporated into a modern design. “We did a lot of cool adaptive reuse,” Stein told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution IN WHAT YEAR. “We wanted to keep the building as much the same as we could.”

The main attraction at Creature Comforts is the brewery tour experience. Tours run on Tuesdays and Thursdays 5-8 p.m., Fridays 5-10 p.m. and Saturdays 1-6 p.m. Once a week, on Curious Tuesdays, the company releases a new beer that is available on that day only.

The tour experience costs $14, but is free on your birthday or discounted with a local ID. The package includes a tour of the facility, up to 72-ounces of packaged souvenir beer or a Creature Comforts glass and a bracelet with six tasting tabs, each redeemable for a 6-ounce.

Of the four staple beers offered, Tropicalia and Athena are the most popular. Bob Townsend of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution describes Tropicalia as a, “hoppy beer for people who think they don’t like hops,” a gentle IPA infused with undertones of citrus and passion fruit.

Athena is a variation of a classic German wheat beer called Berliner Weisse. Although it has a lower alcohol content than Tropicalia, Townsend says this refreshing, fruity beer is, “better than lemonade on a hot day.”

Creature Comforts has also generated a cult following around some of its seasonal beers, including Koko Buni and Cosmik Debris.

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Creature Comforts has company T-shirts for sale, but it also sells a line of merchandise called Get Comfortable, which is the brewery’s charity initiative that, “helps people in need get more comfortable.” All of the proceeds from the sales of Get Comfortable IPA #3, Get Comfortable products and family-friendly tours on Wednesdays are donated to specified local nonprofit organizations such as Sparrow’s Nest, Athens Area Homeless Shelter and The Ark. If you bring a donation item, they will take $2 off your tour price.

The brewery has received $475,000 from an Athens-Clarke County government economic development fund to help finance a second location in the historic Southern Mill complex, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. With the addition of this new venue, Creature Comforts will greatly increase the production of all of its beers; the output of Tropicalia, which is frequently in shortage, will nearly double. The new brewery location is expected to open in October 2017.

Backgrounder, Business

Did you know these things about Zaxby’s?

Headquartered in Athens, Georgia, Zaxby’s is one of the region’s most popular fast food chains with nearly 700 stores all over the Southeast.

Zaxby’s was founded in 1990 by Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley in Statesboro, Georgia. Since opening, the business has been following its motto, and doing “Indescribably Good.” A key of success for the company has been maintaining its uniqueness with original flavors and sauces that cannot be duplicated.

Zaxby’s has a variety of products on its menu from chicken tenders and wings to fried pickles and salads. But, we know they have it all when it comes to the chicken department. You can have your chicken tenders or wings tossed in your favorite flavor, and even enjoy a salad in the dressing of your choice with the chicken tossed in a savory sauce too. The average meal from Zaxby’s can range from $5.99 all the way to $12.99 including your choice of sides and a drink. Among the many choices of sweet and spicy sauces there are some that are very hot.

The Daily Mail reported an incident in July 2016 involving deputy sheriffs in North Carolina. The officers told reporters they were served “inedible food” after receiving very hot wings which resulted in the officers not being able to finish their meal. “Years ago, this profession was respected,” Captain Joel Shores told WBTV. The officer said he believed it came from racial controversy of law enforcement killing unarmed black men. A rep for Zaxby’s stated, “The chain is in 100 percent support of law enforcement officers” and immediately conducted an investigation.

Later in the year, Zaxby’s continued to show its support of law enforcement by having a day dedicated to first responders in metro Atlanta and serving free chicken sandwiches to those who came in uniform. “This provides us an opportunity to give back to those who serve all of us so selflessly every day,” said Zaxby’s Atlanta area president, Fred Weir, in an interview with 11Alive.

Zaxby’s continues to be effective with clientele and with technological advances. An app has been created for customers, creating a quick and easy process of ordering food. “Five years ago, we had two people in our tech department… today we have 20,” said financial projects director for Zaxby’s, Jeff Hood, in an interview with Paymentsource.

The Zaxby’s franchise has been growing since 1990, and there is no stopping them when it comes to grand openings, making them the second fastest growing privately owned company in America. Not only do they make delicious food, but Zaxby’s serves the community and creates waves in all aspects.

Zaxby’s on Twitter: “Good to the last bite. pic.twitter.com/E5bheTMKou / Twitter”

Good to the last bite. pic.twitter.com/E5bheTMKou

 

Backgrounder, Business

Athens-based Onward Reserve succeeds without compromising character

Onward Reserve, a downtown Athens shopping destination, demonstrates how starting small does not mean you cannot turn out big.

From its first location on 146 E. Clayton St. that opened in 2012, the franchise has now spread to locations around the southeastern United States.

Before it became better known, though, it was a simple thought created by then banker T.J. Callaway, along with William Watts, who is no longer with the company.

Callaway, a Thomasville, Georgia, local NATIVE? and a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, knew all about commercialism and Southern style as the store website describes.

The brand owner discussed in a January 2016 interview with the Athens Banner-Herald how there needed to be a “good place to find a curation” of all the “great brands out there.”

Callaway originally started Onward Reserve as an online store named FiveMile in 2011, but as the Banner-Herald noted, the growth was so exponential that Callaway took the opportunity to open a physical storefront.

The Thomasville (Georgia) Times reported in April 2015 that Onward Reserve was “recently recognized as the second fastest-growing business owned by a University of Georgia graduate from over 450 regional nominees at the 2015 Bulldog 100 celebration.”

The founder runs his business how he wants it run, though, by not letting it turn into a chain of doppelgängers of the original location, reports the Banner-Herald.

TJ Callaway on Instagram: “We are headed to my hometown of Thomasville, Georgia in a couple of weeks to shoot our Fall 2017 Catalog. I am excited to share a little more about this special place with our customers. In the mean time check out this article in the Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/fragile-hunting-grounds-in-the-southeasts-quail-belt-1486048576?mg=id-wsj”

237 likes, 11 comments – tjcallaway4February 3, 2017 on : “We are headed to my hometown of Thomasville, Georgia in a couple of weeks to shoot our Fall 2017 Catalog. I am excited to share a little…”

“I’m looking for things that have a cool story and for things that just look like they have some character,” said Callaway in a 2014 interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Atlanta Magazine provided a summary of the Atlanta branch’s eclectically Southern products after the magazine titled Onward Reserve “Atlanta’s Best Men’s Prep Shop” in 2014. The collection ranged from “waxed Barbour jackets… and needlepoint Labrador retriever collars” to “Filson bags and Vilebrequin swim trunks.”

The Clayton Street location uniquely carries items like “Atlanta Braves baseball bat fragments… turned into bottle openers” and other merchandise not found in similar stores, according to the Banner-Herald.

While the expansion has been remarkable, Callaway also told the Banner-Herald “the Athens location will always be his favorite.”

Backgrounder, Business

The Georgia Theatre: A business that rose from the ashes

The Georgia Theatre is a historic landmark and prominent venue in downtown Athens, Georgia, with a business that rose from the ashes to reach success.

The original building was founded in 1889, but has been home to many businesses throughout the years, including the Athens YMCA, a music store, movie house, hotel, and furniture company before finally becoming the Elite Theatre in 1935, later renamed the Georgia Theatre.

On June 19, 2009 a fire devastated the theater. “It’s like having a death in the family,” said Bill Anderson, the man behind the old movie theater’s transformation into one of Georgia’s most popular destinations, in a 2009 interview with the Augusta Chronicle.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, expected costs of rebuilding the historic site were high, causing a controversial decision by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation to accept donations for rehabilitation. It was the first time the organization had assisted a for-profit business.

Trust President Mark McDonald said, “It’s benefiting the Georgia Theatre, the public…and the musical culture of Athens…It was a critical need,” in a 2009 interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

According to the Athens Banner-Herald, $300,000 was raised to assist the venue’s comeback, and the Georgia Theatre Company thanked the Athens community for helping to rebuild the concert hall “as a labor of love.”

The majority of this funding came from a benefit concert hosted by the award winning Zac Brown Band, a product of the Athens music scene, CNN reported. 

“Even though it’s a different place, it’s still the same, it’s still the grand old theater,” theater production manager Ric Wallace told CNN in 2011.

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The restored building opened its doors in 2011 and by 2015, it reached a record level of success, with the ticket company Pollstar rating the theater number 15 in the world, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

With the rebuilding of the theater came a rejuvenation of the business as a whole, which used this loss as a force for change and growth.

Performances at the venue have become more popular and successful, and the company expanded to include a rooftop restaurant and bar, merchandise, and private events held through renting out the theater space.