One of the most interesting parts of town keeps getting better
I have been a Chattanooga resident for nearly five years at this point in my life. For the majority of my time in this beautiful city, I have lived in Red Bank but recently, my wife and I moved into a triplex in the North Shore and things are looking up. The walking distance and convenience of the area is a breath of fresh air.
So when I first moved to Chattanooga, North Shore is what really sold me on the city. I distinctly remember going to stores like All Things Groovy and Winder Binder and completely falling in love with the area.
Another big pull for me was the dog groomer slash treat bakery, it had such a sense of a mini-Portland to me that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put down roots.
During these five years of living in the downtown region, a lot of business has moved away from the North Shore area and migrated towards the south side of town, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that North Shore has lost all of its business or popularity. Recently, a lot of new and exciting things began happening on the other side of the river and I’m here to fill you in on all of the details.
I had a chance to sit down and interview two North Shore businesses, one being a well-established local hub while the other was a new up and coming vendor. First of all, Winder Binder has been a staple of the Chattanooga community for more than twenty years. Mandy Abercrombie, a manager at Winder Binder in the heart of North Shore, shared her opinions on all of the changes happening around the riverside.
“I personally love it, but I am a little weary of some of the more high-end things like condominiums. I wish it was a little bit more centered around businesses,” Abercrombie said.
“I never saw a huge group leave from here, it’s more of two different types. The Southside tends to be more college oriented while we have more families around North Shore. I think now because of this boom the places that I like to visit such as Sluggos have a better chance of staying in business, which is really cool.”
Winder Binder has been a part of the North Shore community for quite some time, but I also wanted to get the opinion of someone who recently joined the north side scene. Scott Barnett, the owner of Tennessee Hemp Exchange, just recently set up shop on Cherokee Boulevard and his reasons on the choice of location for his shop were positive to say the least.
“When we researched the area we actually chose this place specifically. We fell in love with this street just about immediately. We love the neighborhood, we like the look of the neighborhood, and we like the direction that everything is going,” said Barnett. “The city has changed a couple of times, but it always seems to be for the better.”
There is no doubt that North Shore is the new place to be. Even if everyone is talking about the Southside the North Shore never left and it never will. Support your local businesses on the north side of the river and keep Chattanooga spinning!