Volume 03 | June 2020

Breaking News! Soliant moving to Peachtree Corners

Hydroponic lettuce grower serving PTC A hydroponic greens business, Corner Greens, has opened at 6579 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in Peachtree Corners. Long-time city residents Joan and Robert Flanders are nearly ready to harvest their first crop. Roughly 4,000 heads of lettuce are growing in a self-contained, 40-foot shipping container outfitted with LED grow lights, drip irrigation, and racks. The farm is programmed via a computer system, accessible by an application on the Flanders’ cell phones. “Just knowing where your food comes from was very important to us,” said Joan. “Most supermarket lettuce changes hands 10 times. We are the only ones handling our lettuce.” Among the offerings are: Mini Romaine, Nancy Bibb, Buttercrunch, and Red Butterhead. There are no pesticides, waxes, or herbicides in the Corner Greens. And the packaging can be composted. For more information about this new business, go to: Corner Greens

Soliant moving to Peachtree Corners Soliant Health, a healthcare employment agency, is moving from Tucker to Peachtree Corners into the Summit building at 5550 Peachtree Parkway. The company is moving roughly 400 employees into the former CareerBuilder location. The deal was brokered by Chip Roach, of Transwestern Real Estate Services representing AO Development, and Sean Coughlin with C2 Partners. More information is forthcoming.

From the Mayor's Desk . . .

City keeping the pace, despite turbulence in the economy  Georgia is reopening businesses and easing restrictions on work and social gatherings. For many, it could not come soon enough. For others, fear lingers. So far, the federal stimulus money has helped many local businesses maintain workers, pay rent and reopen shops, giving us some semblance of normal. In Peachtree Corners, we have been fortunate to have only a few local businesses shutter for good, with the exception of Tuesday Morning, which was part of a Chapter 11 corporate reorganization involving 133 stores. About 72 percent of Peachtree Corners businesses that responded to a city survey last month reported that they did not have to lay off workers. For that, we are thankful. Read More 

New businesses at Town Center For shoppers and diners, there is now a new place to shop and soon there will be a new place to dine at the Town Center. Buff City Soap which offers natural soaps and skin care products, recently opened its doors. The boutique shop is next to Hollywood Feed. A fast-casual eatery serving wings, sandwiches, salads and seafood, is also expected to open in the coming months. The Hoot's Righteous Wings is located next door to Buff City Soap. Check out the menu.

Lidl Food Market opens Lidl opened Wednesday, May 13, at 5270 Peachtree Parkway, making it the second Lidl to open in Gwinnett County, and the chain's fifth store in Georgia. The German company spent $1.5 million to renovate the 24,248 square-foot space, previously occupied by Earth Fare. The grocery store offers fresh bread and produce, juices, meats, as well as boxed and canned goods, among other items. Lidl has safety measures in place, including daily enhanced cleanings, customer limits, social distancing signage, protective shields at checkout lanes, and special shopping hours for senior citizens. For details on how the store is handling COVID-19: Read more

County offering grants, loans Local businesses, especially restaurants, have been hit hard by the COVID-19 fallout. As a result, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners approved a plan earlier this week to offer $20 million in federal CARES Act loans and grants for local for-profit businesses hurt during the COVID-19 pandemic.The county has approved two vendors to administer $10 million in loans and $10 million in grants under the Gwinnett Small Business Assistance Program. County staff anticipate accepting applications starting June 30. Read more

Feds make changes to small business loan program Congress has approved changes to the Paycheck Protection Program, effectively loosening the requirements. The period during which proceeds must be spent for loans to be forgiven was extended. Businesses will now have five years, instead of two, to repay money owed on a loan. Earlier this week, the SBA reported that 4.5 million firms had received approvals for loans totaling $510.6 billion. According to a Bloomberg report, about $130 billion remains from the second round of $320 billion that was approved for payroll protection. For more information:  Small Business Development Center

New Businesses opening doors in Peachtree Corners

Madison Reed Color Bar opened at the Town Center this month, just in time to color quarantined heads. Read more The salon is one of many new occupational tax certificates processed by City Hall. See the most recent  complete list of businesses  along with contact information.

Payroll session open to public at Chamber The Southwest Gwinnett Chamber will be meeting at Atlanta Tech Park at 107 Technology Parkway on Friday, June 12, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Special guest Glenn Kruse, of the Small Business Development Center at UGA, will provide details of the PPP program changes. The event is free.

Free Webinars at Curiosity Lab Innovation Center

Cyber-Security among offerings in Peachtree Corners Curiosity Lab's Innovation Center   will be conducting a number of free virtual events including Civic Dinners: Mobility in Smart Cities, Cyber-Security for Smart Cities and more Click  here   for a complete list of June events and to register to attend.