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INDUSTRY WRAPUPS - Dean & Deluca lets its Buckhead plans spoil BYLINE: Jarred Schenke That was fast. After revealing plans last year (including a location) for its entry into the Atlanta retail fray, New York-based specialty grocer Dean & Deluca Inc. has abandoned plans to open stores in Atlanta.Privately held Dean & Deluca just couldn't raise enough capital to fund the Atlanta move. "At about the time this whole Atlanta thing came together, the whole economy seized on us," said John Richards, president of Dean & Deluca. "Atlanta will continue to be a target city for us. But the timing's just bad. While it's disappointing for everybody, ultimately I think it's for the best." That leaves Selig Enterprises Inc., the Buckhead developer that leased out a spot for the grocer at the Buckhead Triangle, in a predicament. "There is a lease, there is no out. They'll have to decide what they're going to do. We're negotiating right now. We're trying to work out an amicable settlement," said Steve Selig, head of Selig Enterprises. "We're very disappointed because I thought it would have been a wonderful addition not only to Atlanta, but [to] our center." Dean & Deluca vacated its Buckhead Triangle location during the renovation project. Selig said the company had gutted the interior of the store when, suddenly, work stopped. "The thing is in a mess right now. They spent money to demolish [the inside] but none to put it back," he said. Of course, Selig Enterprises is scrambling to settle with Dean & Deluca, even though there was no penalty for breaking the lease written into the original contract, Selig said. Richards said tentative talks with General Growth Properties for another Atlanta location are dead as well. Dean & Deluca is still on track to build stores in Los Angeles, Seattle and Coral Gables, Fla., next year. By then, Richards said, he hopes to have the financing shored up. Atlanta, though, would be on the back burner, he said. MORE RETAIL FOR FORUM. More high-end retailers are heading to The Forum retail-office project on Peachtree Parkway in Norcross. Williams-Sonoma Inc. just inked a deal for a namesake kitchenware store in 5,500 square feet, and home furnishings-centric Pottery Barn is slated to take up to 12,100 square feet of space, said Ron Pfole, a managing member with the Forum Development Group LLC. The Forum is a massive 540,000-square-foot mixed-use development. Retail will make up about 390,000 square feet of the space, mostly high-end retailers including Barnes & Noble Inc., Old Navy, Linens ' Things and outdoor activity retailer The Orvis Co. The remaining space will be for office use, Pfole said. "We still have some leasing [available], but we're in very good shape. That puts us over 75 percent [capacity]," he said. Pfole said his firm also has signed up a few other retailers for the project since first announcing it last year: men's clothing company Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc.; K-B Toys, a division of Consolidated Stores Corp. (NYSE: CNS); early childhood toy retailer The Right Start Inc. (Nasdaq: RTST); and Franklin Covey Co. (NYSE: FC). GETTING HIS CARPETS CLEANED. A Griffin carpet seller is facing some serious challenges from a Portland, Ore.-based carpet retailer. The Oregon-based Carpets For Kids Inc. sued Griffin-based Karpets 4 Kidz over trademark infringements, according to a lawsuit filed April 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta. Carpets For Kids charged the local outfit with selling "second-quality versions of ... copyrighted carpets and rugs -- including, but not limited to, the Alpha Rug," the lawsuit stated. Officials with Carpets For Kids could not be reached for comment. Jason Poston, who is identified as the head of the Griffin company in the lawsuit, declined to comment when reached by phone. Poston said he believed the lawsuit was unfounded. In a letter written to executives of Carpet For Kids, Poston stated, "to accommodate your client, `Carpets For Kids Inc.,' I would consider changing the name of this company." HOME DEPOT GROUNDED. The Federal Aviation Administration has posted a pending fine against The Home Depot Inc. after it shipped a gasoline-filled generator on a United Parcel Service flight out of Louisville, Ky., in 1999, FAA officials said. According to FAA allegations, the generator was shipped from Indiana to Kentucky without proper permits or warnings declared on the box. Upon arrival and transfer, airport personnel noticed leaking gas -- 8 ounces. Since gas is a hazardous material, the agency said it may issue a $60,000 fine. Home Depot has asked for a meeting with FAA officials, an agency spokesperson said.
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