Where we gather - crystal ball for 2022.
While 2020 and 2021 may have forced us to work from home and either depart from or (preferably) become closer with our family and neighbors, 2022 is set to be a year of transformation. With our faces tired of television, staring at our computer and phone screens, we forsee a year with more outdoor time, more attention to wellness and analog entertainment.
National Parks set record attendance in 2020
Blue Ridge Parkway saw a rise in attendance in 2020 vs. 2019, as many people explored outdoors. According to National Park Service, overall attendance was down from 2019 to 2020, but that is largely due in part to many parks being closed during the beginning of the pandemic. With the accommodations for outdoor dining, we foresee that outdoor exploration and reconnecting with nature, perhaps even forest bathing, is here to stay.
Analog Entertainment - Your 3rd Spot
Scouting in person entertainment in 2020, I came across a team that expanded King’s Bowling to multiple states and was ready to take entertainment to another level. Securing a location in Atlanta for a May 2022 opening, the team at Your 3rd Spot is already a great neighbor. Showcasing not only the property, The Works, but also elevating and promoting other operators in the property, Bobo Antiques, Chattahoochee Food Works and Scofflaw Brewing, I’m confident they are already building raving and loyal fans.
Giving back to their community before their doors are open is a warm way to connect and show value in advance of opening. With a wide variety of games including: curling, bowling, nostalgic arcade games, karaoke, darts, pool and cornhole, Your 3rd Spot is going to be the go-to place for not only corporate team building events, but through their membership program, a place where members get VIP treatment. I for one, CANNOT wait!
Beyond Your 3rd Spot, we’re intimately aware of another fully immersive fun analog entertainment group that is coming to Atlanta. As soon as they approve us to share, we CANNOT wait to brag that we helped source their location! Fingers crossed, we’re opening late 2022.
Wellness
McKinsey, in an early 2021 article, noted that wellness trends are on the rise. Most consumers view wellness as six dimensions: better health, better fitness, better nutrition, better appearance, better sleep and better mindfulness.
We’re seeing tech and medical meet: data-driven care, apps to help consumers seamlessly book their medical appointments or obtain the prescriptions they need. in fact, wellness is becoming the new retail. brands such as Juno Medical (medical) and Tend (dental) are positioning themselves in projects such as Ponce City Market and Colony Square to be closer to the end user versus in a medical/doctors building.
While we may not be able to see the mountains in the distance, 2023/2024 is going to be a year our team and Atlanta can celebrate an immersive experience in wellness beyond our beloved Duluth based JeJu Sauna. Did you know that guests often come by bus from as far as Raleigh to go to Jeju? A client of ours has engineered a hot springs facility that will inevitably draw guests from a 2 hour (or more) drive.
