Leaders working to keep small business owners from being pushed off the Atlanta Beltline
It can be difficult to establish a small business along the Atlanta Beltline. New entrepreneurs told CBS Atlanta that it is financially out of reach for many due to the cost of renting commercial space.
Officials said they are diligently working to create affordable commercial opportunities for aspiring business owners who've faced monetary barriers.
Kemi Bennings opened her Carrot Dog restaurant at Pittsburgh Yards in April. She's one of several at the site operating from shipping containers.
"We got accepted to the Beltline Marketplace program here at Pittsburgh Yards," Bennings explained.
She said her team's mission is to inspire healthy communities.
"Through awareness, powerful conversations and fun plant-based food. So we are out here building a community, one hot dog at a time," she added.
Studies show the cost of small commercial spaces near the popular Atlanta trail can range from $2,500 to more than $8,000 a month. Bennings said she believed it would have been impossible to open the restaurant without the Beltline's assistance.
"Just the cost. Cost and space, and if you look around, it is very challenging to find affordable small spaces of 500 square feet or less than 700 square feet, even a thousand square feet," she said.
Bennings said the shipping container concept gave new entrepreneurial owners an opportunity to jump-start their businesses, and she thinks she'll operate there long-term.
"I absolutely love being in this community. I love the Pittsburg Yards community. It is also considered my community because I live in the West End area," she said. "We look forward to building out this particular concept."
She said she still encounters some business development challenges, but she remains positive and focused on helping others.
"The ebbs and flows are tough as a small business owner; at the same time, it is exciting. We support three other woman-owned small businesses within our business," she explained. "We have some folks here that have been in business for 10-plus years. We can still learn from each other as small businesses."
Officials at the Atlanta Beltline said they will soon announce more details to increase affordable commercial space in Pittsburgh Yards and other locations along the trails.
"On that portion of property, our vision is to have the grocery store. We'll have light industrial. We will also have that 100,000 square feet of commercial space and over 500 units of housing," explained Dennis Richards, the vice president of Atlanta Beltline Housing Policy and Development.
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