Room & Board To Open Atlanta Store
Room & Board, a 25-year-old family-owned company offering comfortable, modern home furnishings that are well-designed and long lasting, announced that it will open a new store in Atlanta in spring 2009. The store, located in the Westside Provisions district, will be Room & Board’s first location in the Southeast and only store in Atlanta.
The new store, located at 1170 Howell Mill Road Northwest, is part of a mixed-use development that includes the reuse of a 1910-era meatpacking building. The three-level, 34,000 square foot store brings together historic and new construction. It will employ 20 design associates on the store’s sales floor and 15 at its distribution center.
Room & Board recognized Atlanta as the most appropriate market for its new store after strong demand and positive feedback from its customers. Atlanta customers opted in to be a part of an insider panel and were able to provide Room & Board with insights into the city’s neighborhoods. The Westside Provisions district was the ideal choice because of its similar specialty boutiques and restaurants, and the historic neighborhood’s pedestrian-friendly retail core.
“We’re very excited to expand upon the relationships we’ve already developed with customers in Atlanta by bringing our unique furniture and philosophies to this area,” said John Gabbert, founder and president of Room & Board. “From the day we created our company more than 25 years ago, our vision has endured — unique, well-designed furniture can be affordable and long-lasting. We are proud to create furniture that people will live with and love for a very long time.”
Atlanta-based development company White Provision, in conjunction with Jamestown Properties, has been instrumental in the revitalization efforts of the Westside neighborhood, mixing historic and new construction. Inspired by New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, the architect set out to create a similar pedestrian-friendly retail core in Atlanta that featured small retailers instead of large chain stores. The new renovations complement the building’s existing shell, reflecting Room & Board’s design sense, while respecting the integrity of the surrounding neighborhood.
“Room & Board is a natural fit for this urban project that has a central focus on home furnishings and decorative arts,” said Michael Phillips, principal at White Provision Development Co. “Room & Board helps make this development a complete urban destination community.”