Launched in July 2022 as a collaborative effort from Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. and The Village Market, the inaugural BeltLine MarketPlace pilot sought to eliminate one of the greatest barriers for new businesses – commercial affordability – while also providing entrepreneurs with the tools and resources needed to grow and scale. 

After receiving over 200 applications, six lucky entrepreneurs were selected to receive placement in containers on the Eastside and Westside Trails, point-of-sale and business management systems from Clover®, and tailored business support over the 18-month incubator period. 

On December 14, 2023, those entrepreneurs gathered with friends, family, and supporters for a graduation ceremony at CreateATL that capped off the experience.   

Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.’s Vice President of Economic Development Kelvin Collins kicked off the celebration, sharing background on the program and its evolution over the course of the 18-month pilot. Collins was then joined by representatives from Invest Atlanta who talked about how the graduates could continue to grow through the city’s numerous small business resources.  

After additional remarks from ABI’s Economic Development Director Kara Lively, each graduate was then introduced by a program partner, featured in a quick video, and given the opportunity to speak about their experience. 

“We knew once we got on the BeltLine, it would be on from there,” Talia Jones, Co-Founder and CMO for Good As Burgers said. “Success. Success. Success.” 

For the team at Cococakes by Coco, the BeltLine MarketPlace pilot was the perfect place for them to test out models for future franchise expansion, while also gaining insight into how to run a multi-location business. 

“We want to be on the cover of the [Atlanta Journal Constitution] talking about how we started the expansion of Cococakes through this project,” said Partner Kina Morgan. 

It wasn’t just the BeltLine MarketPlace participants who benefited from the pilot project, however. Program partners, like Atelier 7 Architects, talked about how being involved with BeltLine MarketPlace changed their company’s trajectory, as well.

“It was a great opportunity for us, and I can’t show how grateful we are to the BeltLine team,” said Founder Tony Pope. “This was bigger than just us and the boxes. We were weaving these businesses into parts of Atlanta no one was paying attention to. I mean, who would think to build a building under a bridge?”

The ceremony concluded with commencement remarks from The Village Market’s Communications & Program Manager Epiphany Barnes and ABI’s Chief Operating Officer Ruben Brooks. 

As the program looks to welcome its next round of participants in the spring, the seeds have been laid for an incubator that is sure to help countless Atlanta entrepreneurs moving forward. 

“We shattered the mold and demonstrated what is possible,” Grady Baby Co. Co-Founder Terrence Albritton celebrated. “We get the joy and privilege knowing future businesses [will] stand on the foundation we helped lay.”  

On December 12, 2023, the first cohort of business owners participated in a graduation ceremony featuring keynote speaker James Harris, Co-Founder and Partner of The Core Venture Studio, which provides mentorship for Atlanta’s entrepreneur and business startup community.

Mr. Harris told the 24 graduates, “Your ego is both your best and worst business partner. You have to be a student of entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur you have a superpower: the ability to see the unseen.”

Lana Harris, CEO of The Honey Pot Energy and Art, participated in the first cohort, and shared how impactful the program was for her. “This has been the most eye-opening education. I feel more confident than ever. Before I started, I was literally considering closing my business. Now, I have the confidence and knowledge to rebrand, reinvent, and disrupt.” 

Natalie Jones, the BeltLine’s Project Manager for the Business Solutions Office, said, “the ceremony not only celebrates the achievements of our BeltLine Business Ventures graduates but also recognizes the importance of fostering a thriving local economy as part of the overarching vision for the Atlanta BeltLine project.”

In her closing remarks, Jones emphasized how empowering this program can be, saying, “please know you are not leaving with just a token of accomplishment but with the support of a community, the wisdom gained from experienced mentors, and the confidence to navigate the road ahead.” 

This is an ongoing program and recruitment for the second cohort for Winter/Spring 2024 is underway. Each three-month session hosts up to 25 promising ventures. If you are a small business entrepreneur interested in applying for an upcoming session, get more information here.

Simultaneously, she established Happy Black Parent, an educational play space fostering concrete learning experiences for children. Welcoming families, tutors, and counselors, the aim is to normalize concepts like homeschooling and neurodivergence, making them inclusive and accessible. 

The Atlanta BeltLine plays a pivotal role in Makeisha’s life, providing community connections, events, and enabling a car-free lifestyle that reduces financial burdens. As Makeisha rides around the Westside with her kids on the BeltLine, she has a vision for ongoing neighborhood development, with hopes of inclusive benefits for current residents. For a closer look at Makeisha’s inspiring journey, watch the video below. 

Atelier7 is a is a full-service architecture firm which specializes in using shipping containers & modular systems for custom retail, office and residential projects. They recently moved their office to Pittsburgh Yards in southwest Atlanta.

As with any trailblazing pilot program, the creation of customized container storefronts at two locations on the Atlanta BeltLine required a lot of ingenuity, resourcefulness, and perseverance. Almost a year into the pilot, Tony and his team have uniquely positioned the BeltLine MarketPlace sites for agility, functionality, and eventually, scalability.  

Hear from Tony and Sharon as they share about their firm and how working with the BeltLine has helped their business.  

Pink Pothos is a lifestyle plant store. Since last summer, it has provided Atlanta’s Westside with all of their plant needs. From potted plants to customized soil, to flora care tips, or a variety of plant accessories, Pink Pothos is the place to go for plant parents or plant parent wannabes.

“It means everything to be part of the BeltLine MarketPlace program because, being a small business owner, it’s very expensive in the city of Atlanta to have commercial real estate space,” says Lakeisha. “And being on the Beltline is a prime opportunity. You can definitely count on that traffic on the BeltLine.”

Hear more about how Lakeisha started Pink Pothos and how BeltLine MarketPlace has helped her business.

To learn about BeltLine MarketPlace and many of the other programs designed to support small businesses around the BeltLine, including the newly launched BeltLine Business Solutions Office, visit beltline.org.

Hear from Earl and Sierra Serafica about their shop.

The Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) is seeking a qualified consultant to develop a commercial affordability strategy for the corridor around the 22-mile trail, which is continuing to transform the city of Atlanta. The BeltLine wants to ensure that local businesses are supported and thrive as development continues around the trail.  The strategy will create ways to reduce displacement of existing and legacy small businesses, provide new access opportunities for entrepreneurs, and make the BeltLine a place where businesses of all kinds can thrive for generations to come. The BeltLine is seeking a firm to aid in developing this multipronged approach.

This strategy will set the stage for the BeltLine’s long-term investment decisions and provide critical data to help drive effective initiatives that protect small, locally owned, minority-owned, and pre-BeltLine era businesses from displacement.

With very few national models to lean on, the BeltLine seeks to lead the way in the commercial affordability movement. “As an evolving project, we see the BeltLine as the perfect place to test out and implement strategies that could create immediate opportunities for local businesses which can then be implemented city-wide and then potentially adopted nationwide,” said Kelvin Collins, the BeltLine’s vice president of economic development.

For qualified consultants interested in submitting a quote and a timeline, the deadline is June 6, 2023 at 3 p.m. Quotes (including scope of services and work samples) should be submitted on Bonfire at: www.beltline.org/procurement.

If you’re a local resident or just visiting Atlanta, you may have heard of a Grady Baby. It’s the name for people born at Atlanta’s Grady Hospital, and it’s been a source of pride and placemaking for decades. That moniker is the inspiration behind Grady Baby Company & Apparel, the shop located on the Atlanta Beltline at the Eastside BeltLine Marketplace under Freedom Parkway.

Grady Baby is a must-visit destination for those looking for unique, locally-made apparel and souvenirs that capture the essence of the city and Black-owned business pride surrounding Atlanta. The shop is one of six businesses chosen for the pilot season of the BeltLine Marketplace, a program where businesses are given storefront access to the BeltLine’s more than two million visitors each year in custom shipping containers, as well as to business coaching from The Village Market, a leader in entrepreneurial training that positions Black business owners for unmatched access and economic equality.

What sets Grady Baby apart is its commitment to championing Atlanta pride … and even humor. People can buy t-shirts emblazoned with phrases like “We Full, – Atlanta,” “Black Wall Street, -Tulsa, Oklahoma,” “Atlanta -vs- Nobody (Cause Everybody Wanna be from Atlanta).” People also can find jewelry featuring the city’s skyline.

Grady Baby CEO and Founder Terrence Albritton says, “The Grady Baby brand represents the soul of a city, the heartbeat of a culture, and you don’t have to be born at Grady to wear it. Whether you’re Old Atlanta or New Atlanta even Not Atlanta, we got you.”

His love for Black culture and Atlanta pride fuels the phrases he puts on the t-shirts, which change with current events.

Albritton, who has a day job in finance, says he founded the business in his basement, in part, so that he has something to pass along to his family. His wife and all of his children work in the business. He understands the struggle that comes with owning a business, which is why he strives to further his own family’s knowledge of running a business and they are all involved in the decision-making and logistics of the brand, which is available on the BeltLine and online.  By creating generational wealth for his children, he’s helping to build a long-lasting legacy that inspires others to follow their dreams.

Grady Baby’s presence in the BeltLine Marketplace also serves as a reminder of the importance of supporting and uplifting black-owned businesses. Having Grady Baby and other black-owned businesses in the BeltLine MarketPlace helps to build a stronger, more vibrant community and promotes economic equity for all.

Launched in late 2014, Xocolatl Small Batch Chocolate is one of those manufacturing businesses located on the Atlanta BeltLine. They house their light manufacturing operations and a retail store at at Krog Street Market just steps away from the Eastside Trail in Old Fourth Ward. For co-owners Elaine Read and Matt Weyandt, opening their dream business on the Atlanta BeltLine was a no-brainer. They loved their Old Fourth Ward community and knew that Atlanta was ripe for the equitably sourced craft dark chocolate that they had fallen in love with during their six-month sabbatical in Costa Rica.

And they were right!

Customers were mesmerized by the chocolate making process showcased in the transparent micro-factory behind their retail space, and soon Xocolatl became Atlanta’s bean-to-bar craft chocolate company.

“We love BeltLine business owners like Matt and Elaine and all they do to support the vibrant business ecosystem that exists around the corridor,” shared Kara Lively, Director of Economic Development at Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. “We have seen a significant trend around the BeltLine where makers are able to manufacture their products and host an adjacent retail shop supported by foot traffic right off the trail or sell their products locally in retail shops around the loop. Xocolatl was one of the first businesses to recognize that potential and to show other entrepreneurs what is possible.”

Over the past nine years, this BeltLine “born” and raised business has expanded beyond the city, shipping its chocolate across the country. In 2022, Elaine and Matt opened a larger manufacturing facility in Adair Park, where they now reside with their two children, to accommodate their growing customer base. Offering fun flavors like Kissed Mermaids or Love & Happiness, addictive drinking chocolate, and single origin bars made of only two ingredients—cacao and organic cane sugar—the couple continues to dream up new products that will satisfy that primal craving for good dark chocolate while also fulfilling their personal mission of leveraging Xocolatl as a force for social good in the local community and beyond.

Hear their story:

Fun, innovative, approachable—FiNCA TO FiLTER aims to celebrate humanity’s finest moments through coffee—and the connections it brings. Founder Kayla Bellman is intentional and inclusive in her approach to business: sourcing coffee beans from queer, women, and BIPOC roasters, creating a safe space for queer coffee professionals to share their passion for the art with customers, or shaking up the drink menu with enticing seasonal specialty drinks that nod to history, place, and the shared human experience.

“The BeltLine has been catalytic for our business,” says Bellman, who is gearing up to open her third Finca to Filter location in Chosewood Park, just yards away from the Southside Trail. “Placement along the Atlanta BeltLine allows Finca to Filter to be a destination.”

Hear Bellman’s story: