Buckhead

“Buckhead isn’t what it used to be.” That could be the tagline for Atlanta’s best-known neighborhood, where politicians, rappers, blue-bloods, and the nouveau riche (and oh yeah, the governor) mingle with apartment dwellers, the cash-poor, and the entirely normal people; where fine international dining meets light-beer pub crawls; where Atlanta’s whitebread history of private schools and gated mansions are inextricably linked to (and incredibly removed from) the city’s African-American and urban fabric. In the mid-20th century, Buckhead was a rustic, white, middle-class bastion of high-school hoo-rahs and church Sundays. By the turn of the millennium, it was known internationally as the site of a double murder outside of a nightclub after the Super Bowl. Locally, it has long served as a derisive moniker for anyone who seemed too materialistic or entitled: “She’s very Buckhead, yes?” Today, the old commercial center—the Buckhead Triangle at Peachtree, Paces Ferry, and Roswell—is a redesigned, high-end shopping district. But some of the best places of Buckhead’s history still remain the same.

Error loading image!

Richards Variety Store

Address
2347 Peachtree Road
Website
Visit Website
Free Lyft
Free Lyft

Richards Variety Store has never had much of a beach body. In the first moments of gazing at its anonymous strip mall denizen exterior, you may marvel at how the proprietors of this old-timer 1950s family retail business have managed to wrap all that interesting ephemera—unique toys, a rainbow of electrical tape, books, Persian rugs, classic candy, and Atlanta's funniest greeting card selection—in all that frump. But the epic dowdiness is camouflage. Lying just beneath the ho-hum stucco, is one of the city's last vital retail experiences. Nothing is sacrificed to appearances; all is function. From the tight but tidy grid of aisles to the thermostat unapologetically tucked into the hand tools display, Richards is goofy, beautiful, and incredibly practical all at the same damn time.

Richards Variety Store
Error loading image!
Richards Variety Store
Error loading image!
Richards Variety Store
Error loading image!
Richards Variety Store
Error loading image!
Richards Variety Store
Error loading image!
Richards Variety Store
Error loading image!
Richards Variety Store
Error loading image!
Richards Variety Store
Error loading image!

Carl E. Sanders Family YMCA

Error loading image!