Furniture and home decor retailer west elm, which ToNeTo Atlanta announced in November would be opening a new store at the Shops Around Lenox in Buckhead, is actually "moving" its Atlantic Station store to Buckhead, according to post on the Atlantic Station location's Instagram page Wednesday.
"WE ARE MOVING!!! We are sad to leave our home in Atlantic Station in a couple of weeks, but are excited for new beginnings in Buckhead. Stop by and see our moving sale - UP TO 60% OFF!!"
The biggest "deals" to be had at the store will be on floor models and "scratch & dent" merchandise, with typical store merchandise reportedly not being discounted at all. Merchandise included in the sale is likely to reflect savings of 20-60% off retail prices.
The store's final day at Atlantic Station is expected to be Saturday, June 17. The new store at Shops Around Lenox would open Monday, June 18.
Operating stores at both Atlantic Station and Ponce City Market, about three miles apart, never made much sense, and its closure is something ToNeTo Atlanta had previously hinted might be coming.
The approximately 12,000 square foot store at The Shops Around Lenox adjacent to Lenox Square on Around Lenox Drive, replaced women's boutique Tootsies, which as ToNeTo Atlanta reported previously, downsized and relocated to Buckhead Exchange at Peachtree Road & Grandview Avenue.
West elm, a division of San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma, Inc., launched in 2002 and opened at Atlantic Station, its first Atlanta store, in 2005. In 2014, the company opened in Alpharetta's Avalon development with additional locations coming to Ponce City Market in 2015 and to Drayton Street in Savannah the following year.
In late 2016, the company announced the launch of West Elm Hotels. There are confirmed plans for six West Elm Hotels including one planned for Drayton Street in Savannah across from Forsyth Park. Hospitality sources indicate that the company has at least "looked at" the possibility of opening a hotel in metro Atlanta with areas along The BeltLine being of most interest.
ToNeTo Atlanta reported in October that A Pottery Barn "warehouse sale" outlet store quietly opened in Morrow at Southlake Festival near Southlake Mall this past July. The store, which primarily features Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids merchandise, with occasional Williams-Sonoma and West Elm products, is open only Thursday through Sunday from 10 AM until 7 PM. The store is reportedly only temporary, and is one of only a handful that the company has opened.
West elm's Buckhead store will join existing Williams-Sonoma brands Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and PBTeen, all in Lenox Square.
At the Shops Around Lenox, west elm is the latest in a string of new and upcoming tenants in the rejuvenated development.
This past November, Draper James, from actress Reese Witherspoon, opened only their fourth overall location at Shops Around Lenox. New York-based indoor cycling studio SoulCycle also opened in the center earlier this month. Flower Child, from the creators of True Food Kitchen, will open in a portion of the former American Apparel late next month, with lululemon also expected to expand and renovate their existing store in the center. The catalyst for much of this was Crate & Barrel, which also sells furniture and home decor, and relocated from Lenox Square to the Shops Around Lenox in 2012.
Are you excited for the opening of west elm at the Shops Around Lenox? Do you think a west elm hotel will come to fruition in Atlanta, if so, where should it open? Have you been to the Pottery Barn outlet in Morrow?
Please share your thoughts below.