Stores saw boards, break bread in lieu of cutting ribbons

By Arielle Kass

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Lauretta Hannon guesses that she has orchestrated nearly a dozen ribbon cuttings to mark the opening of new spaces through her public relations career. But that doesn't mean she likes them.

Enlarge photo

Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com Dignitaries broke an approximately 8-foot long six-braid challah for the July 27 opening ceremony for a new Whole Foods market in Marietta. They were (from right) Scott Allshouse, regional president for Whole Foods, Terry Brown, CEO of Edens & Avant (developer of the shopping center), Lyle Darnall, Managing Director of Edens & Avant, Bob Ott, Cobb Commissioner, JoAnn Birrell, Cobb commissioner, Harold Lewis, Store team leader, and Mark Harbin, meat team member.

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"I can't think of anything more predictable and boring than a typical ribbon cutting," she said. "The way it's done typically could cure insomnia."

So when Hannon, author of the book "The Cracker Queen: A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life," was opening her own space -- the literary lounge The Hive in Powder Springs, in June -- she knew she wanted to do something different.

She invited guests to come in beehive wigs and costumes. And when it came time for something to be cut, she pulled out crime-scene tape.

"People loved it," she said. "I rolled it out and it got a lot of laughs. It made for a good spectacle."

The ribbon cutting -- usually a grin-and-bear-it photo opp for new store openings -- has been enlivened by some businesses that want to take the staid event and add some fun.

It's important because in addition to self-congratulation, the ribbon cutting is a way to get visibility for an opening, said Ken Bernhardt, a marketing professor at Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business.

Making it different gets the word out about a brand and creates an event that drives business in the crucial first weeks.

"If a retail store has a weak grand opening, it's extremely difficult to recover," Bernhardt said. "If they have a huge grand opening, they'll exceed sales expectations."

Doing something unusual is also a way to communicate the personality of a retailer, Bernhardt said. So when Home Depot paints a board orange and saws it in half, it says something different than when Whole Foods employees break into a 6-foot-long loaf of braided bread.

Whole Foods, which opened a new store in east Cobb in July, had more than 500 people come to the opening ceremony to watch the bread-breaking and collect a free breakfast. South Region Whole Foods President Scott Allshouse said he always eats a piece of the challah for good luck.

"Ribbons don't make sense when we're all about the food," he said. "Everything comes together at that bread. It separates the customers from the team, it says, ‘Come together and join us.' "

Marietta resident Pam Robinson, who attended the Whole Foods ceremony, said the concept of breaking bread made her feel like she was being welcomed into the store, more so than a normal ribbon cutting would.

"That's the best way to do it," she said. "Breaking bread, they're joining you. You're sharing that bread with them, and they're making you part of the family."