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Designing Connections: Edie Weintraub's Journey in Retail and Hospitality Real Estate

• Courtney Twiss • Episode 42

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Edie Weintraub, a trailblazer in the real estate world, takes us on a journey through the vibrant landscape of retail and hospitality design. With a career spanning nearly two decades, Edie reveals how her father's influence in land development ignited her passion for real estate, leading her to transition from being a paralegal to discovering her niche in retail spaces. Her relentless pursuit of working with a particular company, ultimately forging a successful partnership, demonstrates her dedication to the more creative and dynamic aspects of retail rather than traditional roles. Listen along as Edie shares her inspiring story of persistence and innovation in the ever-evolving real estate industry.

Ever wondered how the spaces around us can combat the loneliness epidemic? We explore this intriguing idea with Edie as she discusses how human-centric design in retail and hospitality can create communities that foster connection and belonging. Imagine small retail villages within master-planned communities, where coffee shops, bookstores, and microbreweries act as social hubs without the need for long commutes. These thoughtfully designed areas encourage residents to interact and form meaningful connections, transforming isolation into a sense of camaraderie and community spirit.

Our conversation extends to the art of building robust teams in real estate, drawing insights from the dynamic team at Tara Alma, who specialize in bridging gaps between local operators and property developers. By concentrating on smaller, more manageable spaces, they ensure quicker cash flows and foster enduring relationships. We delve into the importance of collaboration and staying on top of emerging trends in the restaurant and retail sectors. Finally, we touch upon the enriching power of storytelling, sharing personal tales of creativity inspired by guests on the "Hustle and Heart" podcast, and celebrating the stories that shape the world of real estate and beyond.

Connect with Edie:
www.terraalma.com
www.edieeverwhere.com
Instagram @terraalma_ and @edieeverywhere

Follow us:
www.instagram.com/allthingstwiss
www.instagram.com/askthegeneral
https://www.youtube.com/@nowpodcastforreal

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Speaker 1:

And she's Mariposa's rodeo royalty princess Sweet. So we had to manage like a I don't want to say a booth, but like a little trunk or treat like a little area. So she did that till like 7.30 and she was like I'm done.

Speaker 2:

I know, yeah, it's a lot.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to episode 42 of Now Making Moves in Real Estate. Today we're excited, or I'm excited. I don't have Courtney here today, so I'm excited to host um this guest, edie Weintraub. I say that correctly, you nailed it. Yes, good work. A seasoned real estate professional with nearly 20 years of experience and human centric design, which I'm definitely interested in learning more about. That for retail and hospitality. She leads a team that helps brands create spaces people love, from wellness-focused retail to experience-driven restaurants Also really cool.

Speaker 1:

Known as the Inner Circle, edie and her team are trusted insiders in the industry, spotting trends and knowing the latest moves in retail before to even reach the news. Also very intriguing. There's so many intriguing elements to this introduction, with over 56 million square feet closed and $785 million in transaction value. She's partnered with top brands like BurgerFi Club, pilates Cycle Bar. Loads more listed on her website that I'm not going to mention because it's just the list is too long. Anyhow, join me as Edie shares some insights into emerging trends and building community-centered spaces. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in commercial real estate and experience-driven design.

Speaker 2:

Coming from Atlanta, georgia, edie yes, thank you so much for having me, michelle. I'm really excited to be here.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so how did you find us? I was going to ask you that you found us and I'm like, wow, this girl's dynamic, how'd you do that?

Speaker 2:

Oh, I am a digital sleuth. I am often social, listen and, you know, just watch what others who I admire are watching and, just you know, make my way into the folks that you know are really commanding the presence. So thank you for commanding presence.

Speaker 1:

Ooh, I love that. Thank you for that. So we have a large audience of listeners that are obviously real estate professionals. I'd like for you because this is the first time in 42 weeks we haven't missed a week. This is the first time that we've had a guest with your background. Mostly it's been content around leadership, business strategy, production, I mean, you name it. We haven't had anything specific to commercial real estate and your unique background. So let's start off with giving the listeners a little bit about your background and where you started and where you are now.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely so. I was encouraged to connect in real estate by my father, who has always been in real estate, whether he dabbled in it while he was gainfully employed somewhere else. But he just can't help himself. He keeps coming back to the soil and he assembles land, talks to property owners, puts it together and then tees it up for development, gets it fully entitled and sells it to a builder, residential developer. And he's done this my entire life. And I figured out while going to school for biology, working for my dentist, working in law. And he goes Edie, I've seen you, you're not going to be a dentist, right? Like? You like talking to people too much. I, you know, I would love for you to be in law, but you know, like, really like, I really think you need to check out real estate. So he encouraged me to get my license while I was still a paralegal and he said that's it, just come work for me, we'll figure it out. And I said, okay. So I was. I can't help myself again, I'm a digital sleuth. So I was going on Craigslist and I was meeting people who were renting and I was helping them find rental units and residential, because I figured over time they were going to buy something and I think I quickly realized that I had a lot of great investors who would buy properties and then rent them out, and this was in 04 and 05. And I did want to do the land assemblages and the entitlements and dealing with cities and stuff that my father was doing, but working with residential and with the investors.

Speaker 2:

I was spending a lot of time, nights and weekends, working in real estate and I said there's got to be something to this. That's more like nine to five, that's not emotional and a little bit more business centric. So I went through the exercise of talking to folks in office, folks in industrial and ultimately folks in office, folks in industrial and ultimately folks in retail. And I quickly realized everyone in office wore a suit. Even the few women that were in office at the time wore suits. And I go yeah, that's totally not my jam. I'm in bright colors, I'm artsy. Whatever Suits, not my thing.

Speaker 2:

Industrial. To me every single warehouse looks exactly like the next warehouse and I got a couple of warm connections through family members into retail. And there was one company that I said I just have to work here. So every single month for 18 months I called five people at this company, and so they heard from me every single month and they said okay, edie, we get it. You've been calling five of us for 18 months without fail. We know that you're going to be a huge advocate for your team. So I was brought on as a junior broker underneath another gal who did retail real estate, and it was awesome. So she and I worked together for 11 years to became a partner at the company.

Speaker 2:

For me, though, I quickly realized that working on behalf of Famous Footwear and Party City was pretty amazing, helping to roll out their expansion strategy. But I would open a store and I'd look around and I'd say where are all the people? And, of course, I'm there on like a Thursday at two o'clock, right, but you and I have leisure time, nights and weekends. Otherwise, you know most people are working. You know eight, nine to five, pre-pandemic, of course, and so I said you know what?

Speaker 2:

I had always worked in nightclub promotion and restaurants all throughout college, in addition to working at my dentist's office and my orthodontistist office. It was a good balance of like business and then fun. My theory was always why should I pay to go out clubbing when I can be paid to go out clubbing and so I became the promoter for my nightclubs and you know I was able to marry kind of that nightlife restaurant food and beverage into the real estate. And so when I started doing real estate I said, oh well, you know I do real estate, I can bring in my relationships from the nightclubs, from the restaurant industry and pull that all together. So that's how it evolved into doing retail and restaurant real estate Still have a handful of national brands that I represent, but my true passion lies in helping those small mom and pop businesses grow and thrive and open. You know, number two, number three, number 10. That's interesting.

Speaker 1:

So what like what? What is your primary focus then? Are you targeting like locations and acquiring commercial real estate and then bringing in the businesses to fill those spots? Great, question.

Speaker 2:

So the majority of my business historically has been in tenant representation. So I'm working with the restaurants and the retailers directly and helping them look at the market to strategize growth. So national brands they already know that they're coming into the market. They need X number of stores to make it worthwhile. I'm helping to lay out their expansion strategy for the market. Because anyone who doesn't know Georgia would say, oh, I guess I could do like four or five and I'd say no, you need to come into the market. You're 2,500 square foot QSR quick service restaurant brand. You can do a total of 30 locations here. But we need to be strategic in terms of how we lay them out. What's that first round of market penetration? Because that truly sets the mark for who you are and how you're going to show up for this brand.

Speaker 2:

Atlanta historically has not done great with national brands coming to the market because they often are not attentive, because Atlanta is not necessarily welcoming to outsiders.

Speaker 2:

If you come in and you're like, look at me, I'm amazing, I'm from New York, we don't care.

Speaker 2:

But if you come in softly and you say, hey, Atlanta, I'm here for you, I want you to welcome me and you come in and you hire people from within and you kind of put it together and you collaborate. We're all about it. So it's just about the right approach. So, having grown up in New York, I tell everybody I bring my Yankee work ethic to the South, and you know I'm always traveling and I visit all of our clients before we take them on, and so if I haven't seen you operating in your space, I can't speak to where you need to get positioned in Georgia. And so we make it a point to travel to our clients before we come up with a market strategy, because we want to make sure we truly understand who they are and the audience that they look to speak to. So you know, as we say, it's human centric, right. We want to emulate what has been successful for you elsewhere, so that when you come into Atlanta you have a very successful launch.

Speaker 1:

So the commercial space is pretty unique, right Like I feel. Like I go around and I'm all wow that building's vacant, vacant, vacant. I mean every market's different. Clearly You've seen a lot of different trends over, you know, 20 years of experience. So what's your take on commercial real estate specific to your market right now?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's a very tough time. We're seeing a lot of closures of restaurants. These are not bad operators. They're not bad real estate locations. It's very unfortunate.

Speaker 2:

There was a Surgeon General's warning, I think, a year, two years ago, that we're the loneliest we have ever been in our lives and this just breaks my heart. And then there was an article that came out, I want to say, a couple of weeks ago that found that people are not only eating at home more often, but they're eating alone. And so really, where I like to spend our time when we're working with local operators is being in places where there's density, being in places where we're have the opportunity to create community. You don't go out or restaurant when you just want to be alone or maybe you really love, you know, the bartender, the mixologist that's there and you're like, oh, I gotta go see my friend Bobby. But for the most part we're going out to enjoy the company of others and hopefully the people that are caring for us are, you know, sending that, that love and attention to us through serving us. So when I'm out talking to prospective clients, I tell people we serve those who serve others, because if we're working on behalf of restaurateurs, they're taking our care of us. We're helping to take care of them.

Speaker 2:

So it's, I think, a challenging time.

Speaker 2:

A lot of the new construction that has gone up has proformed the retail and restaurant spaces at ridiculous rents that just don't warrant anyone being successful in those spaces and oftentimes, if you look at any multifamily or office above retail restaurant, they are not performing, they're not budgeting appropriately to bring in the restaurants and the retailers that are set to build community.

Speaker 2:

Because if you live above or you work above a space and you have a coffee shop that maybe turns into a wine bar at night and you end up going down there for a coffee because you're like, ah, it's two o'clock, I need a little pick me up, and then you run into someone who's in line in front of you and you find kinship in the shirt that they're wearing, just like you and I were talking about earlier. Great choice of color, great choice of color. You build community and those people, whether they live in the residence or they live, you know, they work in the offices you are fostering relationships because you've created a space where that magic happens. And so if you don't have the spaces at the base of those buildings or you don't bring in the operators that create that space. You know you're missing out.

Speaker 1:

I think you just answered one of the questions I wanted to ask you. I was going to say why is it so important for retail and hospitality spaces today to focus on that? Human centric design is what I wanted to ask you, and I feel like that was the answer.

Speaker 2:

Yes, well, it's interesting. I've been doing some consulting on behalf of master plan communities where there's, you know, big tracts of land. They're getting entitled, they're bringing in builders to build different products and they bring me in for the retail consulting part of it, because they don't want to just build massive tracks of subdivisions anymore, they want to intersperse incremental retail, or they should want to intersperse incremental retail where I'm a working mom, you're a working mom. Why do I have to drive 30 minutes away to go to the dentist for my child when their school is down the street? And so, as I've been working on behalf of these master plan communities, I said let's do a small retail.

Speaker 2:

Village Doesn't have to be big. We'll do a coffee shop, maybe a bookstore, a microbrewery, a micro food hall, a local bodega that maybe does like a subscription service for the community. And then the retail is fitness, beauty, light, medical right, Like why can't I take my kid to the dentist and then take them on a bike ride down to their elementary school and drop them off at school? I shouldn't have to get in my car to do that. And so, while I'm grateful that cars exist so we could travel and go further, we really need to come closer to one another.

Speaker 1:

So what about your team? I was looking up your team and it's Tara. Tara Alma is the team that you created. It's like seven individuals and I got to tell you I was really impressed. It seemed like every single one of them have a specialty. I loved it. And so is that how you're able to do all the things you just described, as you plug into each teammate, or how does that function?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think everybody kind of has their own personality in terms of the types of folks that they want to pursue and the business that they want to work on. We really fall into two buckets One is tenant representation, the other one is landlord or development representation. Obviously, it gets a little messy when you try to do both sides, but I love exposing our team to both sides because it's great working on behalf of the tenant, strategizing their growth strategy and then, conversely, teaching landlords and developers how to reach those local operators. We do not work on behalf of any institutional owners no real estate investment trusts, no people who are focused 100% on spreadsheets and so we really help kind of bridge that gap and bring the owners, developers, landlords, together with the local operators. Because you know there's only so many locations that Starbucks can do and I would much rather work with the local coffee shop that truly speaks to the community that they're in, and people that go into that coffee shop. They know that the dollars that go into that coffee shop put that owner's child to, you know, music lessons or something like that. So, yeah, the team. You know I host a lot of networking events on behalf of the company, whether that's a client and vendor appreciation dinner, or we've got a sister company that's focused on women in restaurants, and so there's a lot of opportunities to network and I encourage my team to come to all of them because you just never know who's going to be the right fit for the next future client. And then we collaborate on everything.

Speaker 2:

Right now, the team is working on a very big pitch that's happening next week for a project we are excited about and I'm a little bullish.

Speaker 2:

I feel like we have already got it. But we have to go through the process and we're actually doing a collaboration with another individual who's known for their connections in the music and the arts arena and activation, and I got a text from them today and they said, oh my gosh, I know I should know this, but I am so blown away by your team and we really need to catch up because, while, yes, we're collaborating on this, there is so much more that I know we can do, and until we've had this experience of working together obviously you don't know until you're in it and so to get that glowing recommendation from this individual today is just. It gives me so much pride. I feel like a you know, a big sister, I've seen my team in action where I, you know, helped educate them about the questions to ask, about properties and this and that, and I and I sit back and you know I'm just beaming because I remember teaching them to ask these questions and now they're asking the questions and I'm just, you know, I'm so, I'm so blessed.

Speaker 1:

You're being a leader of leaders, it sounds like. By the way, it's been quite a joy. Yeah, your bookshelf.

Speaker 2:

I thought that was really, that's just the last three months.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, let's just one on your on the internet and I was like, oh, I've read that one, I've read that one, I read that one. So, yeah, we're very big, big readers over here on this side of the world too. So so one of the things I mentioned is that you're known for identifying emerging trends in restaurants and retail. What are some of the most exciting trends you're seeing right now, and how can real estate leaders leverage these trends to create those desirable spaces that you keep speaking about? Of?

Speaker 2:

course I, like you, I get paid on the value of the deal, and so the bigger the deal, the more rent, the bigger the square footage. Right, like the bigger commission I make, I want my clients to be with me until I die, or to work with my team forever, because I'm seeing that small is the new black right. Instead of taking a 5,000 square foot space, let's take a 2,500 square foot space. Let's cash flow that and then we can move on to number two or number three or we can create a new concept. So in my mind and the education that I've been giving to our clients, both developers and operators, restaurant operators or retailers try to get yourself to go as small as possible, because you don't need to bite off more than you can chew. And if we can get to cash flow in year two versus year five, that makes me feel so much better. So that's really been our guiding principle, because we care, we want our folks to be successful.

Speaker 2:

It's not for us just about one deal. We're here for all of them and we're here for the relationship. All of our folks will say that we do so much more than just the real estate side of it. We handle PR for our clients because, again, than just the real estate side of it, we handle PR for our clients because, again, a lot of them are emerging brands and we really want their stories to be told, and so we want them to have the headlights and we're happy to have the little byline at the bottom when we're representing a tenant and taking them to market. We want to cast a wide net just to let everybody know that they're growing and we're working together, but at the same time, we're taking a very strong strategic look as to where we know they would be the most successful. So it's good to let everybody, everybody know that they're growing, but at the same time, we're already 10 steps ahead with where we really want to be in terms of positioning.

Speaker 1:

Such a great piece of advice, starting small for sure. That's especially in this market right now. The other thing I wanted to ask you, given your two decades and in the industry, what advice would you give to real estate professionals who want to stay relevant and ahead of market changes in a competitive industry? Cause you're in, we're all in a competitive industry. Um, we're, we're losing a lot of real estate agents right now, but nonetheless there's still a lot of us um, and the markets change. So what kind of advice would you tell them? So I've got two.

Speaker 2:

Your network is your net worth and so be social, know people, connect dots for individuals. I mean, I was out with an affordable housing woman this morning and I don't do affordable housing, but just in our conversation there are three people that I need to connect her to and, conversely, she goes Edie, I've got affordable housing and they have retail because they're required to do retail on behalf of the municipality, but they really don't want to do retail. So can you come in and consult with them about the types of retail that should be here to benefit, as an amenity, the folks that live upstairs? And so, again, we're not in each other's space, but we're all in each other's space. The other piece that I would offer is that you are your greatest investment.

Speaker 2:

As you were remarking earlier about reading, I read a lot. I have a great time, you know, comparing notes of people and sharing my bookshelf. This tower back here is three months and my boys look at me and my husband like where do you get time? I'm up at 5am every day. The house is quiet, I don't have to wake anybody up until close to 630 or so, so I get an hour and a half all by myself and I read.

Speaker 2:

My boys are in travel sports and there's oftentimes a lag between when their event is on and I read knowledge and information that you can share on behalf of your clients, because oftentimes they're so busy in their business that they're not able to work on their business, and so, if you're able to learn something, I go to almost every conference for retail, for restaurant, and I'm learning about the conference. Yeah, of course I'm always inviting them. Hey, can you come to the conference? Hey, do you want to go speak at this? I'm moderating this panel. Come, let's do it together. Hey, do you want to go speak at this? I'm moderating this panel. Come, let's do it together. But if they're not, I'm coming back and I'm sharing what I'm learning, either through my newsletter, my blog, just giving them that information because they might not have the time.

Speaker 1:

Well, I love that you actually read an actual book. And it's funny because, like years ago, I was having a hard time with my reading because I was reading on my Kindle and I kept falling asleep and my daughter was just killing it with reading and I was getting a little because I'm a little competitive. I'm like you're like nine at the time, you know, and I'm like reading better and more books than me, and she gave me the best advice. She's like Mom, why don't you just try an actual book, just read a book, and then you'll just have it in your hand and I'm all oh, I could try that. And I've never gone back to the Kindle.

Speaker 2:

It is very convenient to have multiple books in one tablet, but I write in all of my books and there's a couple of books that I've actually gone back to and it's fascinating. I should start dating it, because I've gone back and I've read books and I'm like, oh, I was thinking that at the time I'm going to read. I read this differently now, but it's fascinating to kind of get a glimpse into your former self as to what I was thinking and how it applied to what I was reading at the time. And I find that because I'm writing in the book, I'm much more engaged, because sometimes I'll like daydream and I'm still reading, and so writing in the book allows me to stay focused, because I'm applying what I'm reading and putting it back into words.

Speaker 1:

I love that. I love that so well. That's awesome. I also wanted to mention, before we wrap up, because I was checking everything out, all things Edie, you have a podcast, hustle and Heart, so you're the host of that. It looks like you're doing that, you know, three to four times a month. I was trying to look back, but it looks like you're maybe picking up on that. So tell us about Hustle and Heart. People want to plug into that. Thank you, yes, so it's Hustle and Heart People want to plug into that.

Speaker 2:

Thank you. Yes, so it's Hustle and Heart conversations with culture creators. I find that, you know, all the folks we come across, you know, don't always have the opportunity to share their story and there's so much to learn from them. So we've had chefs, we've had musicians, singer-songwriters, we've had artists, we've had farmers on, and so I just feel like these stories need to be told and the audience needs to hear them, because so much of what they're doing ultimately affects our everyday lives.

Speaker 2:

One that really just touched my soul recently was an artist that we had on. Her name is Jillian. She's a artist on her own, but then she also teaches, and just hearing the stories of which she's sharing with these kids and shaping their lives and helping them understand that we are all artists, we are all creative and, it's sad, I think even the founder of SCAD, savannah College of Art and Design. Part of the reason why she left public school is she just felt like we were industrializing academia and that we were just printing out people to go work in corporate America, and she left Atlanta. She went down to Savannah, she bought this old building. She had, I think, 50 students and 10 teachers, and her family supported her and, like the day before they were supposed to open there was this massive storm but they opened and now she's got a massive campus in Atlanta.

Speaker 2:

Like they do fashion, they do music, they do graphic design, they do film production and I embarrassingly so I had never been in like the story of SCAD, and so I happened to be in Savannah a couple weeks ago and I said you know what I am way overdue to do like this deep dive, and it was magical. I really wanted to break out my phone and record it because it was like in 4D and the wind was howling and like you got the air like underneath your feet and it really you felt like you were in Savannah experiencing this while she was telling the story. And you know, at the end of the day, we're all creators and we all have a story to tell, and so I just, you know, doing the podcast is really giving these folks a platform for them to share their story and for us to get the word out that we all are here to inspire one another.

Speaker 1:

That's great. Well, let's see. Hustle on Heart is the podcast. Tell our listeners where they can find you to plug in to learn more about Edie and your team.

Speaker 2:

Sounds great. Yes, so part of creating the name of the company is that I wanted it under 10 characters and I did not want it to be named after me because I want it to survive me. So Tara Alma is T-E-R-R-A-A-L-M-A dot com. And then I do have a personal website that is Edie Everywhere, because I feel like if I'm not everywhere, then I'm not doing a good job for my clients. So EdieEverywherecom On social media, instagram also Edie Everywhere and also Tara Alma.

Speaker 1:

All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate your time, Edie. It was a pleasure to getting to know you, and next time I'm in Atlantalanta I'll definitely look you up please do.

Speaker 2:

I've got a couple of great restaurants to take you out to that. I see that. Thanks, michelle, appreciate it. Thank you.