Salon set to become Summerhill development’s first ‘service provider’

Maggie Murphy’s Salon will join the redevelopment along Summerhill’s Georgia Avenue, which has been focused so far on eateries

Neighbors around Turner Field also are seeing the launch of a new season. Amy Gregg works at The Little Tart Bakeshop in a long-shuttered storefront on Georgia Avenue. Sarah O’Brien's bakery was the first to launch in what is expected to be an $800-million-plus venture. Off-campus housing is being built in the Summerhill neighborhood for Georgia State students. A man rides a dirt bike along brick-lined Atlanta Avenue in the Peoplestown community. An abandoned building sits gated in the Peoplestown commun

Things have been developing and changing quickly in the neighborhood surrounding the former Turner Field.

In the time since the Braves left Summerhill for their new Cobb County home, local development firm Carter & Associates and Georgia State University have lead the charge in bringing new businesses to previously abandoned storefronts along Georgia Avenue.

So far, the businesses have mostly been trendy restaurants, including Wood's Chapel BBQ,  Junior's Pizza and Halfway Crooks Brewery.

However, as longtime Summerhill residents have had heated conversations with the developer, they have also called for more practical businesses as well.

Now, it looks like the neighborhood may be taking a first step toward more practical commerce.

What Now Atlanta reports that Maggie Murphy's, a full-service salon and barbershop, will move from its current home in Grant Park to Summerhill, which will make it Georgia Avenue's first service provider.

The salon’s owner Whitney Huffman told What Now that they were attracted to the neighborhood because of the aesthetic of the redeveloped main drag, while also staying in close proximity to their current customer base.

“It had a really nice neighborhood vibe that didn’t seem too commercial,” Huffman told the outlet. “It can handle higher traffic volume unlike on Memorial Drive.”

Maggie Murphy’s is expected to open at 33 Georgia Ave. next summer.