Cornerstone at Novologic Officially Open in Downtown Lawrenceville

The co-working space in downtown Lawrenceville offers small business owners ways to work like a big business.

A new business opened in downtown Lawrenceville this week, and their business is to help small businesses do business. Cornerstone at Novologic offers work spaces ranging from small offices to conference rooms and a classroom for people who currently may run their business from home and may not be able to afford to lease an office. The 10,000 square foot space at 279 W. Crogan Street will also serve as a networking platform for local businesses.  "We welcome Cornerstone at NovoLogic into our community and celebrate its location as a platform for businesses to grow in a supportive environment,” said Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson. “This opening demonstrates the importance of new businesses as innovators and job creators. We look forward to …

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Downtown Development Authority Board Meetings Moving to City Hall

The first meeting for Lawrenceville's DDA in their new location will be Monday.

Starting Monday, February 25th, the Lawrenceville Downtown Development Association will hold all meetings at City Hall, located at 70 S. Clayton Street. The DDA will meet in the Gwinnett Municipal Association Conference Room on the third floor. DDA meetings are held every fourth Monday of the month at 7pm.

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Construction of Crosswalk Back Underway

The crosswalk connecting the parking garage to shops on Crogan Street in Lawrenceville, Ga. was on hold for several weeks.

Store owners along Crogan Street in Downtown Lawrenceville had expected the new crosswalk to have been completed by now. Originally, the crosswalk in front of the free parking garage was scheduled to be finished in time for holiday shopping. However, the project was stalled for several weeks with leaves covering the holes which had been dug in anticipation of the new traffic signal. Patch reached out to the City of Lawrenceville for more information regarding the delay, however we have not yet received an official response. In September, the City Council voted to buy a new pole for the crosswalk after learning the pole originally purchased did not match those for another project. The project appears to be back in motion now. Cement, poles …

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Restaurant Inspections

Restaurant Inspections: December 11

Oyster Bay in Downtown Lawrenceville, Ga. had a follow-up inspection after scoring a C previously. Did they improve?

The following are restaurant health inspection scores as reported by Gwinnett County: Oyster Bay Seafood Restaurant, 125 Crogan Street Score: 99 A Inspection Date: December 11 Previous Score: 79 C (12/6/12), 82 B (6/12/12) Type of inspection: Follow-up Violations: 15B, Violation of Code: [.05(3)(h),(i) ] Concentration test strips not available for the chlorine sanitizer used in the mechanical dish machine. The person in charge was advised to obtain test strips for all sanitizers used in the facility. New Violation. Crazy Wing, 1455 Pleasant Hill Road #101 Score: 88 B Inspection Date: December 11 Previous Score: 80 B (6/6/12), 100 A (5/2/12) Type of inspection: Routine Violations: 6-1C, Violation of Code: [.04(6)(d) ] (a) Containers of rice…

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Grand Opening and an Anniversary

Downtown Lawrenceville welcomed Painting with a Twist and celebrated five years of Sparkle!

It was First Friday in Downtown Lawrenceville. The square was a buzz with shows at the Aurora Theatre, crowded tables at restaurants and celebrations at stores. The city welcomed Painting with a Twist to Honest Alley with a ribbon cutting followed by a special BYOB art class.  Just around the corner, Sparkle celebrated their fifth anniversary. The jewelry store and studio will be moving to a new location on Crogan Street next month. 

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Seen on the Scene

Ready to "Twist" and Shout!

Painting with a Twist is opening in Downtown Lawrenceville Friday. We caught up with the owners making their final preparations.

Painting with a Twist opens in Honest Alley Friday. There will be a ribbon cutting at 5:45pm followed by a special preview class.  Sister-in-laws Suzette and Felicia Riley are the owners of the paint your own artwork shop. Customers are invited to bring their own wine and snacks while working on their personal masterpieces. The Rileys say they will donate 50 percent of their proceeds to a local non-profit every month. Painting with a Twist of Lawrenceville is located at 178 E. Crogan St., Suite 230. They are open every day from 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and during scheduled class times. They can be reached at (678) 226-4970. For more information, please visit www.paintingwithatwist.com/Lawrenceville.

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Vanezza Prado

7:34 pm on Friday, December 7, 2012

Great! That's awesome because I live about 5 minutes from downtown Lawrenceville and I've had to drive to Sandy Springs to get to the nearest Sips 'N Strokes. Can't wait to support a local business close to home!   more ›

Making Moves

The LONA Gallery recently moved a few doors down on Crogan St. in Downtown Lawrenceville and Sparkle is getting ready to do the same. But just why did they decide to relocate?

It’s like businesses in Downtown Lawrenceville are playing musical chairs. At the beginning of November, The LONA Gallery moved down the block on Crogan St. to a larger location. And on Thursday, we spotted Sparkle owner Meg Earhart cleaning the front window for her store’s future home—right next door to her current spot.  The Little Shop of Antiques most recently occupied Sparkle’s new location. While the square footage is smaller than her current space next to Niko’s Wine Corner, it will allow Earhart to do more.  “Over the last year, we started doing more and more shows. Travelling all over the country—New York, Arizona, Chicago… We’re doing pop culture shows, ComiCons and DragonCons…” explains Earhart. She says while business in that …

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Vanzetta Evans

1:49 pm on Friday, November 30, 2012

Thanks Meg. I'll update it in the article.   more ›

Parking Problems Persist in Downtown Lawrenceville

Business owners and shoppers thought a resolution had been reached when a parking lot downtown re-opened, and where shocked to find it blocked off once again.

Wood pillars blocking off a parking lot in Downtown Lawrenceville are frustrating local business owners and their customers. There are signs up that saying the lot in between La Cazuela and Chloe’s Natural Wonders will be closed starting February 1st. However, the lot had reopened for a short time in July, giving shop owners and shoppers hope that the issue had been resolved. That issue being the sale of the lot. The Morsberger Group currently owns it. The asking price? $1.2 million. “We can’t sell something for less than what we owe,” said Emory Morsberger, owner of The Morseberger Group. “We’re trying to work with the community and property owners as best as we can.” Which is why Morsberger decided to reopen the lot temporarily last …

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Eric G Reid

9:58 am on Saturday, August 11, 2012

also I am sure that many of the business where on a Percentage Lease – This involves a base rent, plus an additional amount based on the profitability of the business in that location. For example, the commercial leasing arrangement a retail store might have would be to pay $1,000 per month and 3% of monthly gross receipts over $25,000. The percentage could be calculated on the total gross …   more ›

Farmers' Market Moving to Lawrenceville Square

Local business owners hope this move will boost their sales as well as those for vendors at the market.

The Lawrenceville Farmers' Market is on the move. Starting this Saturday, July 28th, they will relocate from the Old Police Station on S. Clayton Street and return to the Square. Right in front of the free parking garage in Downtown Lawrenceville. Businesses in the area hope this will bring a boost to the local shops and restaurants. “We’ve missed having them down in the parking lot down by La Cazuela,” said Leslie Maske, owner of Niko’s Wine Corner. “A lot of people would park, walk down there and then come back on the Saturdays and shop."  Maske’s shop is directly across the street from where the market will be located. “I think moving it up here will be great and I think people will look forward to it,” she added. “I hate the location …

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City to Add New Crosswalk on Crogan St.

The crosswalk will help visitors safely cross from the parking garage and Visitors' Center to shops across the road in Downtown Lawrenceville.

At Monday evening's City Council meeting, council members voted to approve a low-bid to build a new crosswalk in downtown. It will go on Crogan Street near the free parking garage and the Visitors’ Center. Business owners and shoppers alike are thrilled by the news. “I didn’t think it would ever happen! This is wonderful!” said Lynn Hinds enthusiastically. Hinds is the owner of Magnolia’s on the Square. “I’ve had so many customers going ‘why do they not put a crosswalk from the garage?’ So this is going to be great news for my customers!” Hinds said several customers had complained about the dangers of trying to cross Crogan Street. For now, downtown shoppers who park in the free downtown garage and want to go to the shops directly across …

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Vanzetta Evans

10:55 am on Friday, July 20, 2012

Yes, a stop sign would be cheaper, but every car would have to stop and that could cause more congestion downtown during the evening rush hour. This option means traffic can keep going if no one's in the crosswalk.   more ›