Perimeter Business Archives - Reporter Newspapers

CEO who chaired Buckhead’s HUB404 park board sues company for wrongful firing

by John Ruch | Feb 14, 2020 | Buckhead Reporter, Perimeter Business, Top Stories | 0

Jay Gould, a CEO who chaired Buckhead’s “HUB404 Atlanta GA” park board before his sudden firing from his company last month, is suing for wrongful termination, according to a public relations spokesperson. Gould was president and CEO of the Midtown-based flooring company Interface. The company announced in a press release last month that he was fired for “personal behavior that violated company policy and core values.” Holly Brochmann of the public relations firm Hope Beckham said in a Feb. 14 email that Gould filed a federal lawsuit against Interface that day related to his termination, with representation from attorney...

More than just prescriptions: Q&A with Sandy Springs-based Georgia Pharmacy Association

by John Ruch | Feb 11, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Perimeter Business, Politics, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

While most of us only know pharmacists from the occasional trip to the drug store, the profession is a highly trained one with members who keep their eye on such larger issues as drug prices and the opioid crisis. The Georgia Pharmacy Association, an educational and lobbying organization for pharmacists, is based at 6065 Barfield Road in Sandy Springs. The Reporter asked its CEO, Bob Coleman, some questions about what the association does, what it’s working on the Gold Dome, and what services pharmacists offer that might surprise you. For more information, see gpha.org. Q: What does the Georgia...

Buckhead’s Lenox Square may get a new sign

by John Ruch | Feb 8, 2020 | Buckhead Reporter, Perimeter Business | 0

Buckhead’s Lenox Square mall is working on new and redesigned signage at Peachtree and Lenox roads, according to General Manager Robin Suggs. Suggs, who serves as vice chairman of the Buckhead Community Improvement District board, mentioned the project at the board’s Jan. 22 meeting. The 3393 Peachtree Road mall currently has a stone-like monument sign on Peachtree and its name on walls along the intersection. The new signage could come along with Lenox Road improvements the BCID is planning. That project won’t come until mid-2021 at the earliest, Peters said. A Lenox Square spokesperson later said that mall...

Ribbon-cuttings in Reporter communities

by John Ruch | Feb 8, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Perimeter Business, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

The following businesses recently opened in Reporter Newspapers communities. 285 Colonial Kitchen, restaurant, 5610 Roswell Road, Suite 110, Sandy Springs. Info: 285colonialkitchen.com. Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More, 1402 Dunwoody Village Parkway, Dunwoody. Info: bigfrog.com/Dunwoody. Boutique for Cosmetic Dentistry, 5975 Roswell Road, Suite D-229, Sandy Springs. Info: boutiqueforcosmeticdentistry.com. Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter hotel, renovation reopening, 4355 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Info: cpravinia.com. The Duke Pub, 4685 Ashford-Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. Info: thedukepub.com. EarthLink, internet provider, new headquarters, 980 Hammond Drive, Sandy Springs. Info: earthlink.net. Engel & Völkers Buckhead Atlanta, real estate brokerage, new office, 3221 Peachtree Road, Suite 105, Buckhead. Info:...

Struggling ‘Shops’ likely to be renamed ‘Buckhead Village,’ add community-friendly business, new owner says

by John Ruch | Feb 6, 2020 | Buckhead Reporter, Perimeter Business, Top Stories | 0

The struggling and ridiculed mixed-use complex called The Shops Buckhead Atlanta likely will be renamed Buckhead Village – matching the old nightclub neighborhood it largely replaced – and will add more affordable and community-friendly options, the CEO of its new owner said. Matt Bronfman, principal and CEO of Jamestown, the real estate company that bought the complex last year, discussed the plans at the Feb. 6 annual luncheon of the Buckhead Business Association, held at the 103 West event facility. In wide-ranging remarks, he also talked about the international reputations of Buckhead and President Trump. “Buckhead Village—and I am...

Restaurant, retail makeover may come to Buckhead’s Piedmont Road

by John Ruch | Feb 4, 2020 | Buckhead Reporter, Food & Drink, Perimeter Business | 0

A shuttered mattress store on Piedmont Road in Buckhead may get a makeover into a Turkish restaurant and high-end retail space, in a plan working its way through the city approval process. The plan would remake an existing one-story retail building at 3162 Piedmont, just south of Peachtree, into a two-story structure with an exterior elevator. The restaurant would use the ground floor and basement, and two stores would go on the second floor. One of the stores is Italian Gold and Diamond, a jeweler that currently does wholesale trading at downtown’s AmericasMart Atlanta. Alan Ensari, the business’s owner,...

Business Q&A: Johnny Foster of OGARAJETS on piloting a business jet trader

by John Ruch | Feb 4, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, People & Places, Perimeter Business, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

The private jet is an ultimate status symbol – and transportation convenience – for wealthy families, major corporations and big business at airfields like DeKalb-Peachtree Airport. But where do those planes come from? Johnny Foster is president and CEO of OGARAJETS, an international broker of private jet and turboprop planes based in Sandy Springs. The company buys, sells and finds planes for clients. (For more information, see ogarajets.com.) Johnny’s father, former Navy pilot John Foster III, co-founded the company in 1980 in Marietta with close friend Ed O’Gara as O’Gara Aviation Company. Johnny Foster was named president in 2005,...

Sandy Springs-based car show company plans restaurant and TV studio; seeks tax break

by Hannah Greco | Feb 3, 2020 | Food & Drink, Perimeter Business, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

The owner of the Sandy Springs-based company that stages the “Caffeine and Octane” exotic car shows at Perimeter Mall, plans to open a garage-themed coffee shop/restaurant/TV studio hybrid in the North End by the end of the year. He is also requesting a tax break from the city for the project. The site is in the North River shopping center at 8900 Roswell Road and was most recently a Firestone tire dealership. Bruce Piefke, the CEO of High Octane Events and a Sandy Springs resident, is the applicant behind the project. He was not immediately available for comment. According...

Buckhead’s West Village streetscape improvements to begin

by John Ruch | Feb 2, 2020 | Buckhead Reporter, Perimeter Business | 0

Sidewalks and other pedestrian amenities are coming soon to the West Village in a Buckhead Community Improvement District project expected to wrap up in late November. The West Village is the area bordered by East Andrews Drive and Roswell and West Paces Ferry roads, known for entertainment, dining and shopping. The BCID’s West Village Streetscape project will add sidewalks, pedestrian lighting and street trees to the area. At the same time, the city and the Georgia Department of Transportation will install new stormwater infrastructure along Roswell and East Andrews. The streetscape work will be performed by Astra Group, which...

As city authorities grant tax breaks, school districts eye budget impacts

by John Ruch | Jan 31, 2020 | Brookhaven Reporter, Buckhead Reporter, Dunwoody Reporter, Perimeter Business, Politics, Sandy Springs Reporter, Top Stories | 0

Property tax abatements granted by government authorities for luxurious developments are the center of a political firestorm in Atlanta, blasted by officials and scrutinized by community groups for diverting money from the public schools and shifting tax burdens to homeowners. Meanwhile, the development authorities of the smaller suburban cities of Brookhaven, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs are quietly granting millions of dollars in the same kinds of tax abatements for projects ranging from Roswell Road luxury apartments to State Farm’s massive new campus to an Atlanta Hawks basketball team practice facility. City officials say the tax breaks are worth it...

Economist speaks to Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber about metro Atlanta’s diversity

by Hannah Greco | Jan 23, 2020 | Perimeter Business, Sandy Springs Reporter | 0

Tom Cunningham, the chief economist for the Metro Chamber of Commerce, spoke about metro Atlanta’s diversity being a strong suit to its economy at the Sandy Springs Chamber of Commerce annual luncheon on Jan. 23. Cunningham said businesses are successful in metro Atlanta because of the diverse nature of the area. “Atlanta is a very attractive destination for businesses,” Cunningham said. “When you take a large, diverse economy, what you really do is take a lot of risk out of locating a new business there.” “There is a thickness of diversity here that doesn’t exist elsewhere,” Cunningham added. Fred...

Board chair of Buckhead’s HUB404 park effort fired from company for ‘personal behavior’

by John Ruch | Jan 22, 2020 | Buckhead Reporter, Perimeter Business, Top Stories | 0

The chair of Buckhead’s “HUB404 Atlanta GA” park board has been fired by his company for “personal behavior” right as the green space’s fundraising effort gears up. Jay Gould, the president and CEO of Midtown-based flooring company Interface, was named to the HUB404 board last year in a move seen as significantly raising the profile of the effort to build a park over Ga. 400 in central Buckhead. In a Jan. 20 press release, Interface said Gould recently “was terminated after an investigation concluded that he engaged in personal behavior that violated company policy and core values.” “We’re trying...