InTucker Magazine

Business Boom – July 2019

Tucker is undoubtedly one of the fastest-rising business destinations in the Metro Atlanta area.  Each month, the ‘Business Boom’ by our Community & Economic Development Director John McHenry, will seek to show different examples of how Tucker’s business scene is flourishing.

At Lakeside Center, which hosts a range of Class A office space, a new tenant is on the move. PREP Atlanta, providing dedicated commercial kitchens to expanding restaurants, food producers, and food trucks, is moving into the former Le Cordon Bleu building. Doug Marranci, the COO of PREP Atlanta, says there were a number of reasons that he was interested in expanding into Tucker.

“We found an ideal space for us with a building that was made to order,” Marranci explains. “The access to I-285 and US 78 is great, plus we’re bullish on Tucker. We have seen the teamwork and dedication that was put in by everyone to assist new businesses and that is just so important when choosing a site.”

Heading further east on Lawrenceville Highway, in what was previously the home to El Tapatio Mexican restaurant, there will be a new take on this popular cuisine with Bell Street Burritos.

Owner Matt Hinton told the Atlanta Business Chronicle, “We are moving the operation to a new location – our first shop outside the Perimeter – in Tucker. If you have been paying attention, you know that Tucker, Georgia is killing it right now and Bell Street is very happy to begin a new thing there.”

Hinton said the new shop located at 4053 Lawrenceville Highway will have a soft opening shortly and eventually a grand opening.

Over at the intersection of Lawrenceville Highway and Hugh Howell Road, the former Jack’s Package Store is being redeveloped into an 8,600-square-foot multi-level space. The owners of the property, which had sat vacant for seven years, are set to welcome Peachtree Immediate Care as the first tenant in the newly constructed retail building.

“Peachtree Immediate Care was attracted to the property due to the great demographics for patients seeking quality medical care in the surrounding Tucker community,” says broker Brian Chambers. “This new project will be just one of many upgrades to Tucker Plaza as the owners look to complete additional upgrades and refreshes of the existing shopping center which currently includes Staples, Dollar General, and Camp Woof among many others.”

Tim Knight, a commercial real estate developer who built the adjacent Tucker Village Shopping Center – which includes Chipotle, Wingstop and AT&T – is also sold on Tucker.

“Tucker is undergoing a renaissance,” Knight says. “This location was an A-plus site to develop, lease and, ultimately, sell.”

All of these developments entail significant capital investment and they speak to the fact that property owners, as well as large and small business owners, know that Tucker is a great location that supports its business community.