Just in time for Atlanta Pride 2019, Barking Leather has set up a new shop just feet from Brushstrokes Pleasures and other LGBTQ-owned businesses in the Ansley neighborhood.
“The goal was to get in here right before Pride to make sure that there was a lot of exposure that we moved here,” said Ray Stewart, owner of Barking Leather. “Easier location, easier access, a lot more parking.”
He admits while their old store of Cheshire Bridge Road was a lot bigger, this new location located in the Ansley Square Shopping Center has a much more intimate feel.
“Customers won’t feel like I’m ignoring them if I’m helping someone else out,” he said. “I think customers will be happier here.”
Two weeks prior to their official move day on Sept. 29, owners got word that they’d successfully secured the new location. Stewart quickly reached out to the community. “Barking Leather is moving, can y’all help?” he said.
Within minutes, he says a Facebook event page was created, and all of the sudden, members of the leather community said they’d be there. When Stewart arrived at the old store on the last Sunday of September, about 60 people were there waiting.
“We took everything out of the old store and moved it into the new store in three hours,” he said. “It just shows how loving our community is, and how they’re willing to step up in special ways.”
Stewart says while the signage outside of the new shop shows GCB Gift Card Boutique, the store is open and ready for business. “It’ll be anywhere from four to six months before people see a sign go up,” he said. His advice: look for the new shop’s windows covered in Barking Leather signage and a blinky OPEN sign in the window front.
It’s just another gay-owned business solidifying itself as part of Atlanta’s most prominent gayborhoods, says Stewart. “This is the gayborhood. It has been for a long time. A lot of gay business owners have sought out this area because of that,” he said. “The landlord here wants to keep gay business here, so it’s a one-stop-shop for everybody.”
The address for Barking Leather’s new location is 1510 Piedmont Ave Ste A, Atlanta Ga 30324, and their phone number remains the same at 404-900-5847.