Students and residents walking down Court Street may notice new signs for two familiar businesses.
School Kids Music, 12 S. Court St., which had been in Athens for 25 years, closed this summer and reopened one month ago as Banana Road.
Instead of selling music records, Banana Road switched to mainly posters and costumes.
Competition from larger, chain retailers and Internet businesses was cited as the main reason for the business transformation.
Downloading of MP3s online and copying of CDs hurt the business
said Melanie Barnett, one of the managers of Banana Road. And for a small business it was hard to compete with Wal-Mart when it came to the town.
Barnett said the store now owns more than 3,000 types of posters, many of which are sold on the Banana Road Web site (www.bananaroad.com).
Also, vintage clothing and costumes will be sold on the second floor of the store beginning next week, Barnett said.
With Halloween coming up more students will come in and find costumes for the big event
she said.
Another business along Athens' main strip, Mountain Leather and General Store, 25 S. Court St., changed its name to Athens Gifts and Treasures two weeks ago.
Kip Parker, owner of Athens Gifts and Treasures, said the original store name did not accurately reflect the business.
I used to sell more leather than I do now. It's just not as popular anymore
he said. I have a lot of students tell me that they never came in because 'Mountain Leather' does not mean anything to them.
