The closing of Wine Styles Cascade is leading this southwest Atlanta community leader to write a "a call to action" and four tips for saving our businesses.
- OPINION
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
It looks like 1998 has made a comeback in South Fulton. What is so unique about 1998 and South Fulton? If you recall, we lost several major businesses in our community. Macy’s pulled out of Shannon Mall. Service Merchandise and Target closed along Old National Highway. Unfortunately, we never obtained replacements for these businesses. Both the Target and Macy’s have remained empty since their closures. The departure of Macy’s began the path to death of Shannon Mall as other businesses followed such as JCPenney and other major outlets. We have seen two malls die out in our area; Crossroads at Stewart-Lakewood and Union Station (formerly Shannon Mall). We also have seen many once vibrant shopping centers become ghost towns. Over this …
For almost five decades, the Dawsons have served southwest Atlanta by offering comfort and funeral service to thousands.
Alfonso Dawson had a style all of his own. Born the son of sharecroppers, there weren’t many job opportunities for Dawson in the 1950s except becoming a teacher or a funeral director. He chose to become a funeral director and set out to make his mark in the business culled in gray and black by adding a splash of color. “He came with his maroon and beige cars, his bright colors and bright windows with natural lighting,” said Dawson’s daughter, Phoebe Dawson Ushery, who now runs Alfonso Dawson Mortuary, Inc., at 3000 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. “It revolutionized the funeral business. He was a trendsetter. He came with his colors and changed the look of funeral homes." But Dawson did more than just change the look of the funeral business…
33.753454
-84.485183
Alfonso Dawson Mortuary, Inc.
3000 Martin Luther King Jr Dr SW, Atlanta, GA
/articles/dawsons-brings-splash-of-color-style-to-dreary-funeral-parlors
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Michael Davis
8:58 am on Tuesday, December 27, 2011
There are several components to the discussion threads. First, the issue of customer service is a leadership issue with store management and ownership. Second, the trust factor to buy from a local business comes largely from word of mouth from a trusted source where as the marketing provides awareness. Third, the fuel for the engine of small business is lending for both cash flow and capital … more ›