Former Peach Palace nightclub building sold
The old Esserman’s building, Broad Street, most recently home of the Peach Palace nightclub, has been sold to a pair of local businessmen. Mark Floyd, who owns the building and Rene Fountain, longtime local Bojangle’s owners and a developer of the North Broad Youth Center, have partnered to purchase the Broad Street property for $445,000.
Tentative plans call for the use of the first floor, some 6,000 square feet, for retail or commercial purposes and develop lofts on the second floor.
Fountain said they can subdivide the first floor to potentially house more than one tenant. “We will develop four lofts if we go that route on the top floor,” Fountain said. “If we found a commercial tenant for the bottom floor that needed 12,000 square feet, and it’s unlikely that will happen, but if it did we would use the building for a commercial purpose.”
Broad Street has a plethora of restaurants and Fountain said he and Floyd would not be opposed to another restaurant on the first floor but pointed out that parking could be a problem in that particular location. “A successful restaurant would need probably 2530 parking spaces,” Fountain said.
“That building, because it is so well built, concrete block structure with concrete slabs for floors so it will be a fairly
easy conversion,” Fountain said. “There is any number of things we could do, it is quite large and we’re willing to listen to anyone’s ideas.”
Lance named to regional banking position
David Lance, president and CEO of the Greater Community Bank with offices in Rome and Calhoun, has been named chairman of the Georgia District 7 members of the Community Bankers Association.
The CBA is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving community banks throughout Georgia to enhance their profitability and growth.
The CBA was formed to protect the political interests of locally-owned community banks and today represents 160 community banks and nearly 200 associate member companies. The association offers services across the spectrum of political affairs, education, products & services and networking.
Directors are involved in a number of items on behalf of the CBA membership, such as responding to proposed rules and regulations from the various regulatory agencies, reviewing numerous products and services which will benefit the community banking industry as well as consumers, and weighing in on proposed legislation.
Spool of Dreams opens downtown
Spool of Dreams is the newest women’s fashion boutique in downtown Rome. Emma Hale and Elizabeth Watkins have opened the shop at 103 West First Street.
The business started in 2014 as an online-only shop run by Aly Phipps and Watkins based in Cartersville. It evolved into a storefront shop that enjoyed so much success that a second shop was located in Rome.
Both Hale and Watkins make the commute to Rome from Cartersville and said that Phipps continues to run the Cartersville location.
“Everybody here has been so helpful, so friendly,” Hale said. “We pride ourself in zip code protected labels.” That means the clothing is made by designers typically not found in other boutiques in the community.
Hale said in addition to women’s clothing the shop also carries a variety of gift type items.