If you happened not to be around this summer, The Corner has your info on new businesses that have recently opened in the area and those that will open soon:

NOW OPEN

Marco’s Pizza

Marco’s Pizza, the only pizza franchise in America founded by an Italian citizen, just opened a store in Auburn on Monday, Aug. 9. Marco’s offers pizza, subs and meatballs made with fresh ingredients.

“We make all of our dough in the store everyday,” said Paul Watson, general manager of Marco’s Pizza. “Our pizza is never refrigerated or frozen. We don’t use a frozen product. We’re more of a fresh ingredient type of pizza, and our sauce is made into sauce less than six hours after the tomatoes have been picked.”

To celebrate its grand opening, Marco’s Pizza is offering large two-topping pizzas for $9.99, medium two-topping pizzas for $8.99 and subs for $5.

Marco’s Pizza offers online ordering, delivery, dine-in and carryout. The store is open everyday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., except on Friday and Saturday when it stays open until midnight. Marco’s Pizza is located at 231 N. Dean Rd. across the street from Kroger.

“We love to be here and hope we can provide ya’ll with the best pizza in town,” Watson said.

For more information on Marco’s Pizza or to order online, visit marcos.com.

Earth Fare

Earth Fare, which opened in June at 1550 Opelika Road, wants to create a new healthy lifestyle for Auburn residents.

The store offers fresh meat, produce and dairy items. Unlike a conventional grocery store, none of Earth Fare’s products contain trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives or antibiotics.

In addition to organic items, Earth Fare also aims to provide local food options, including produce and dairy items.

The produce section at Earth Fare includes colored labels to denote which items are locally grown, which are organic and which are conventional items, said Kristi Kanzig, a marketing representative for Earth Fare.

“We offer a compromise for people who haven’t gone all organic,” Kanzig said. “So, they’re going to be able to come find everything they want.”

In addition to local and organic items, Earth Fare also provides shoppers with a wide assortment of vegetarian and gluten-free options, ranging from cereal to frozen dinners.

“That’s always the misconception that healthy supermarkets don’t have a frozen food section, but we do have an extensive frozen food section,” Kanzig said. “You’re going to be able to get the frozen dinners and the things that are easy and convenient.”

Earth Fare also offers ready made food for lunch and dinner with seating available in the store. Earth Fare is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Pretty Please Nail Salon

Pretty Please Nail Salon has set up shop in the former Brand X spot at 153 N. College St., and owner Lan Ma, 23, is striving to make the store a different experience than your average nail salon.

Ma has been in the nail business for the last seven years and has worked in 10 different salons. When she and her mother decided to open Pretty Please together, Ma said her past experience helped her design the business the way she thought would work best.

“I know people think ‘she’s only 23,’ but I think it really helps being in 10 different salons because I got to see what people like and don’t like in a lot of aspects,” Ma said.

One aspect of the nail salon that differs from most is that Pretty Please offers complimentary drinks that range from martinis to mimosas. Ma said that she worked at a salon in Florida that did so and she thought it was a good idea.

Ma will occasionally have specials that will include a manicure and martini, but the martinis are offered only during special occasions. Mimosas, champagne and wine will be offered on a regular basis.

Pretty Please Nail Salon will offer several types of manicures and pedicures ranging from $10 to $40.

Pretty Please Nail Salon is open from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and closed on Sunday.

Adjective

Robin Massey, 24, recently opened Auburn’s newest boutique - Adjective. Massey’s family is from the Auburn area and after she graduated from Georgia’s Kennesaw State University, her father helped her start her business.

“I’ve worked in retail since I was 16,” Massey said. “I always had a passion for clothes. I graduated and decided I wanted to open my own store.”

Massey said that she wanted the store to be fun and affordable.

“I want it to be fun, affordable, something that describes all girls,” Massey said. “Our motto is ‘let us describe you.’”

The boutique sells clothes, jewelry, purses and will have shoes in the fall. One unique aspect of the boutique is that they offer clothes that range from extra small to 4X.

“I try to do stuff for the fashionable college girl, but we also have stuff that caters to all shapes and sizes,” Massey said.

Prices for tops range from around $20 to $90 while dresses start higher, jewelry from around $8 to $30 and purses from around $20 to $40.

Adjective is located at 113 Mithcam Ave. The store is open 10:30 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, and is closed on Monday.

OPENING SOON

The Locker Room of Auburn

George and Davis Wilder plan to fill a void in Auburn. This week the men plan to open the family business in Auburn.

George Wilder founded The Locker Room in Montgomery in 1977. The store sells suits, modern casual wear and accessories for men.

Wilder managed a store called The Locker Room in Tuscaloosa years ago and when he opened his own store decided to use the name.

Recently Wilder decided to open a store in Auburn.

“It was a void that needed to be filled and we were the logical people to do it because the history that we have and the respect that my father has earned in this business,” George’s son Davis said. “There really isn’t a specialty men’s store in Auburn. We’re going to have really exclusive and high end lines that you just can’t really find in Auburn.”

Davis added that when the former Private Gallery store, located at 127 E. Magnolia, became available they knew the time was right.

Davis will run the Auburn business for his father.

“I grew up in this business,” he said. “We go to market a couple of times a year to buy clothes for the upcoming season. I went to my first market when I was about 15 years old. So, I grew up doing this. This business is all I’ve ever known.”

The Locker Room of Auburn will sell brands that include Southern Tide, Vinyard Vines, Southern Point, Robert Talbott and more.

T-shirts will start around $20, while knit shirts will range from around $50 to $100. Suits and sport coats will range from around $295 to $695.

“In the men’s business it’s easy to just go in and throw in really expensive stuff,” Davis said. “But we’re going to be careful about doing that and start out slowly and make things a little bit more accessible.”

Irish Bred Pub & Restaurant

Business partners Joe Garofalo and Paul Marmol moved from New York to Jonesboro, Ga., 16 years ago and bought a bar called Benefields. Since then, the guys have owned 15 businesses in Georgia ranging from catering halls and sports bars to nightclubs and pubs.

The guys are now opening one of their franchises, the Irish Bred Pub and Restaurant, in Opelika. They bought the first Irish Bred Pub 12 years ago from a woman in Rex, Ga.

“The woman was born and bred in Ireland,” Garofalo said. “We bought the pub from her and started to realize that pubs were probably the most appealing place to own. A pub is a central place for people to meet. Pubs have the greatest appeal for families, business people and younger people.”

The men now have six different franchises around the metro Atlanta area.

Marmol has been attending Auburn football games with his friend John Ford, an Auburn alumni, for years. Ford kept urging Marmol to open a franchise in the area and when the men opened a franchise in West Point, Ga., they were close enough to pursue it. They found the perfect location at 833 Railroad Ave. in Opelika.

“We looked in Auburn and couldn’t find anything that was the right size,” Garofalo said. “We like to find two-story buildings, that way we have a more traditional pub downstairs and upstairs is a place for entertainment.”

Garofalo and Marmol, along with business partner Cherry McDonald, will open the Irish Bred Pub on Monday, Aug. 30.

The pub will have a full menu that will include bar food and Irish specialties such as fish and chips and shepard’s pie. They will also offer lunch, dinner and drink specials every day.

The two-story bar has a large balcony, a full bar which will include 12 beers on tap, high gravity beer and a wide selection of Irish whiskey. They also have a 26-seat bus to pick up and drop off customers.

Garofalo said that they also plan to offer entertainment every day which will include karaoke, trivia, poker, live bands and DJs.

The Irish Bred Pub will be open 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 12 p.m. until 12 a.m. on Sunday.

The Viper Motorcycle Company

The Viper Motorcycle Company is announcing its plans to begin manufacturing motorcycles in Auburn. The company will move its operation from Minnesota to Auburn as soon as possible with full production beginning in 2011. A new facility in Auburn Technology Park West will become the new headquarters and production facility for Viper Motorcycle Company. Company officials expect the creation of 100 new jobs in Auburn over the next two years.

Viper Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Viper Powersports, produces high performance, super cruiser motorcycles for bike enthusiasts. The motorcycles are produced with more than 80 percent of proprietary parts designed and manufactured by Viper.

“The Auburn facility and community support places us in a position to achieve our annual goal of 2,000 motorcycles and 2,000 aftermarket engines within five years,” said John Silseth, CEO of Viper Powersports.

Company officials say the timing is ideal to relocate their operation and that Auburn has all of the assets for the company to expand and satisfy the increased demand.

Andrew Broadley, Technical Director of Viper Motorcycle Company sees the proximity to Auburn University as an opportunity to integrate a wealth of knowledge and expertise from students and faculty.

“The ability to develop a relationship with such a high-quality university is of particular interest on the technical side, which will allow us to expand our research and development capability towards new projects,” said Broadley. The company sees unique opportunities for creative students to be involved in design and engineering.

Balcony Bar

Auburn native Louis Williams was running his own bar in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina hit. He moved back to Auburn and is now hoping to bring some of that New Orleans style with him.

Williams will soon open Balcony Bar at 114 West Magnolia Ave., in the former Coldstone Creamery location.

“I want to bring a little bit of the New Orleans corner bar mentality to the bar scene in Auburn,” Williams said.

Williams said when the location became available he thought it would be a great space for a bar.

“When I saw the space I thought it had a great view of Toomer’s Corner,” he said. “And I just thought ‘that will be great after games and it’s in the center of downtown between The Vault and SkyBar.’ So it’s another location for people to kinda of chill out and have a drink and enjoy the nights here in Auburn.”
Williams wants Balcony Bar to be a laid back spot to grab a drink.

“We just want to be a laid back, neighborhood type feel,” he said. “We want everyone from the university, everyone from the service industry and everyone from the city to feel comfortable coming.”

Williams said that Balcony Bar will have big screen TVs and a pool table. He also added that drinks will be competitively priced.

“Our drinks will be comparable to other people’s specials all the time,” he said.

Williams hopes to open Balcony Bar by the week of Aug. 23rd. It will be open from 2 p.m. until 2 a.m. daily.

“All of the other days that places are kinda slow we hope to build a steady crowd of people who like to hang out there,” he said.