Businesses Continue to Come and To Go in Local Area

Monday, the new Colonial Buick GMC dealership in Loganville opened its doors and boasted of its first sale Aug. 12 on the company Facebook page. Much the same excitement was experience recently when the new TJ Maxx opened across the road in the old Best Buy location. And the news that Aldi’s had obtained permits to come to the city, also on the Gwinnett County side of the city, was well received by the community. 

But the news hasn’t always been good for other businesses in the area. After not much more than a year, 78 Skate announced last month that it was closing up shop.

“We had to close our doors on July 27th,” said Tamie Malanga. “It was a very hard decision for us, but it was the only option we had. We have seen many businesses close their doors over the past two to three years and hear more are on the brink. We were hopeful we could sustain the skating rink in Loganville, however it just was not meant to be.”

Classic Pizza, once a popular restaurant and live music venue for local musicians, closed its doors little more than a week ago. There is no indication at this time whether it will open again any time in the future. There is always hope since Rival Hot Dogs closed down at one location, but recently opened up again at another.

Another eatery that didn’t make it - Lickety Splitz Premium Yogurt in Grayson.

"To all of our wonderful and loyal customers, it is with great sadness that we must announce the closing of our Lickity SplitZ Premium Yogurt Bar,” the owners wrote on the Facebook page on July 24. “We will miss everyone and thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your loyalty. We have met many nice people and will remember the good times with great fondness.”

However, the restaurant Graft, which also opened in Grayson in 2012, still appears to be surviving  in a tough economy.

In 2010, Rey’s Cuban Grill in Loganville didn’t survive the first overseas deployment of its owner, Loganville Councilman Rey Martinez, but when he returned he opened up Rey’s Cuban Café. That too, however, closed during the councilman’s last deployment with the U.S. Navy Reserves in the Middle East this year. But he said he isn’t giving up yet. According to Martinez, now that he has returned from active duty, he will be opening up Rey’s Cuban Café for the remaining seven months of his lease. He is then looking at taking his Cuban cuisine on the road.

“I have ordered a food truck,” Martinez said, adding he is really excited about joining the fleet of food trucks that serve a variety of foods at special events.