The major changes include creating a “downtown atmosphere” The Avenue East Cobb featuring upscale “chef-driven” dining, a central lawn, more events and a concierge service.
NAP has ramped up the event schedule with regular movie screenings, a Fall Fest and more holiday festivities.
NAP’s objective in managing day-to-day operations of the 230,000-square-foot retail center is “to create a socially magnetic place that pulls people together to hang out and connect with community.”
The Avenue East Cobb opened in 1999 on the site of a former driving range on Roswell Road.
Last year Chain Store Age named The Avenue East Cobb one of its “Top 10 Comeback Centers” after weathering closures due to COVID-19.
An Amazon Prime delivery truck tried to make a delivery at Tokyo Valentino in July, days after it was ordered closed by a Cobb judge. Photo: ECN file
After months of legal wrangling, an adult retail store on Johnson Ferry Road closed without much of a murmur in September 2021.
A “For Lease” sign was raised over a window at the Tokyo Valentino store while the business’ owner continued fighting a Cobb County government effort to permanently revoke its operating license.
In July, a Cobb Superior Court judge issued an injunction for the store to temporarily close, after claims by the county that Tokyo Valentino falsely applied to open a clothing store, then featured an inventory mostly of sex toys after opening in June 2020 as Tokyo Valentino.
During a court hearing, county officials said Tokyo Valentino had not applied for 2020 business licenses, was staying open past its required closing time and was violating other provisions of a new adult business ordinance.
Cobb commissioners voted in late 2021 to revoke the store’s business license, but Tokyo Valentino appealed to the courts, as it has done in other battles with metro Atlanta jurisdictions.
But a federal lawsuit filed against the county was dismissed and sent back to Cobb. After the Superior Court injunction in July, Tokyo Valentino appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, but that also has been remanded back to the local level.
Last fall, the Tokyo Valentino store was robbed by a burglar whom police allege stole more than $21,000 of lingerie, sex enhancement pills, CBD products, sex toys and gift cards.
The store was open for a little more than a year; a new tenant for that space is still being sought. Another Tokyo Valentino store, in the city of Marietta near the Big Chicken, remains open, but also is involved in court disputes.
As he was giving up on his East Cobb location, Tokyo Valentino owner Michael Morrison told the AJC that “I don’t see much of a future in this business,” noting how general changes in the retail industry also were affecting adult businesses.
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