Thursday, May 29, 2014, by Josh Green

Though it sits at the cusp of substantial physical changes in downtown Atlanta, the Sweet Auburn Curb Market sometimes gets lost in the hullabaloo of its city-market-style brethren in Inman Park and the Old Fourth Ward. Which is too bad. As the Saporta Report found this week, the Sweet Auburn food emporium has finally reached a happy place, after years of struggles with tenants and the hurdle that — at least prior to the Atlanta Streetcar — was an obscure location. Financial numbers point to a revival at the downtown market, where 700,000 shoppers visited in 2013 — a 20 percent increase over the previous year, the site reports. The market saw a similar increase in revenues, up to $8.8 million. Penny-pinching Georgia State University students can’t be responsible for all of that spending, right?Earlier this month, the Sweet Auburn Curb Market celebrated 90 continuous years of operation, which is a substantial feat, especially considering the decimation that’s happened all around it. But real estate activity in the area appears to be on the rebound, too, with plans to convert the century-old Atlanta Daily World building into trendy apartments as a separate project — a 94-unit apartment development by the Integral Group — is planned to rise next door. What’s more, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility that future residents at Paces Properties’ 20-story 250 Piedmont tower will shop the market for their nutritional needs.

Mind you, all of this comes before the Atlanta Streetcar transports its first passenger. At a recent City Council meeting, Sweet Auburn Curb Market’s manager Pamela Joiner predicted the transit line will spell more financial success in the near future, the Saporta Report observed. “People won’t hesitate to jump on the Streetcar from the 191 [office tower near Woodruff Park] and ride to the market,” Joiner told the council.