regulars vs. destination-oriented dining
“I think it has a lot to do specifically with the menu offering,” says Edie Weintraub, founder and CEO of Terra Alma, a boutique retail real estate advisory firm based in Atlanta. “There are certainly restaurants that are destination-oriented and lure people from the surrounding area, but it's probably not somewhere you're going to eat four or five days a week if you have the ability and the money to spend eating out multiple times a week. Then there are well-known and well-respected shops that have a variety of things on their menu that people can visit four or five times a week.”
Weintraub offers barbecue as an example. A restaurant that focuses exclusively on serving the best barbecue in Atlanta will bring in guests from across the metropolitan area and beyond. In contrast, a concept that serves barbecue among many other items might not be a destination, but it could be a regular gathering place for customers who live and work nearby.
Weintraub has noticed a similar dynamic in Lilburn, Georgia, located about half an hour northeast of Atlanta. The petite city is experiencing a population swell; it posted an estimated 4.6 percent growth between 2020 and 2021, per the U.S. Census Bureau. Within that same timeframe, the city of Atlanta contracted by 0.4 percent.
About a decade ago, Weintraub recalls a couple of restaurants, including 1910 Public House and Agavero Cantina opening downtown. Although both restaurants found success, they didn’t jumpstart the restaurant scene. That’s changing now, with the city as the driving force.
“Lilburn took it upon themselves to really create a space for Main Street,” she says, adding that the city recently repaved its Main Street.
Weintraub, who is collaborating with the city, recently spoke at a Lilburn Business Association meeting, where there was a palpable enthusiasm and sense of anticipation. Attendance, which typically hovers around 10, was up to about 40.