What are the best businesses to open in Great Lakes?

The top businesses to open in Great Lakes include Kosher Restaurant with a ~82% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~84%, followed by Juice & Smoothie Bar and Tattoo & Piercing Shop.

Is Great Lakes a good place to start a business?

Great Lakes is ranked number 31 across neighborhoods in and around Atlanta to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~69%. StreetSpring data shows the best-fit business types at prime Great Lakes addresses outperform the neighborhood average by as much as ~3%.

What businesses are most in demand in Great Lakes?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Great Lakes are Kosher Restaurants, Juice & Smoothie Bars, and Tattoo & Piercing Shops.

How can you find the best location to open a business in Great Lakes?

StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes 100 factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, and mobility patterns to pinpoint which blocks in Great Lakes maximize success.

Business Survivability in Great Lakes, Atlanta

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Great Lakes is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•16 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Kosher Restaurant in Great Lakes (~82% average survival rate, ~84% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #31 across all neighborhoods in and around Atlanta

Neighborhood average: ~69% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Reviewed: April 29, 2026 by Bobby Koons, StreetSpring founder

In this article:

Summary
Is Great Lakes a good place to start a business?
How to find the best location
Best businesses to open
How much money could a business make?
What businesses should open next?
Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Great Lakes is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~84% chance; next is a Juice & Smoothie Bar with a ~82% chance, followed by a Tattoo & Piercing Shop with a ~80% chance.

Should you open a business in Great Lakes?

**What goes wrong in Great Lakes.** Across 89 subtypes we track, **Juice & Smoothie Bar averages 82%** — the highest in the neighborhood. Yet a site-level look shows Juice & Smoothie Bars range from **80% to 85%** across Great Lakes — a 5-point window where the address, not the concept, decides the outcome. For competitive density: Liquor Stores are the most-concentrated tracked subtype (9 within 0.5 miles).

Out of all neighborhoods analyzed in and around Atlanta, Great Lakes ranks #31 for business survivability with a ~69% average Survivability Score.

StreetSpring data shows the best-fit business types at prime Great Lakes addresses outperform the neighborhood average by as much as ~3%.
That said, the same business types at the worst-fit addresses in Great Lakes can drop substantially below average. The survivability gap between the best and worst addresses in a single neighborhood can be 20 points or more.
With 100.0% of the local population employed, Great Lakes presents a stable consumer base — particularly for food, beverage, and service businesses that depend on repeat discretionary spending.

Employment and vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.

Where in Great Lakes should you open a business?

Rather than relying on neighborhood averages, StreetSpring's scoring tells you which specific addresses in Great Lakes give your concept the best odds of survival. Here is the top survivability address for a Kosher Restaurant in Great Lakes, per StreetSpring's 2026 model:

Reading visibility, frontage, and parking carefully

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The highlighted area represents the address in Great Lakes that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Kosher Restaurant survivability. Competition and spending patterns shift constantly; StreetSpring's live tool reflects the most current conditions for any specific address. StreetSpring's scoring incorporates 100 inputs, including competitive quality and density, projected consumer spending, Revenue Capture Score, and mobility data.

Check if this location is still available →

Which business types have the highest survivability in Great Lakes?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Great Lakes

Opening a Kosher Restaurant in Great Lakes shows ~82% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
Juice & Smoothie Bar (Ranked #2): ~82% average in Great Lakes. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~80%.
Tattoo & Piercing Shop is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Great Lakes: ~80% chance on average, best at ~83%, challenging at ~77%.
Nail Salon — ~77%–~81% survivability range, with an average of ~80% across Great Lakes.
Opening a Barber Shop in Great Lakes shows ~79% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~76%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Great Lakes

Liquor Store (Ranked #6): ~79% average in Great Lakes. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~77%.
Gym is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Great Lakes: ~76% chance on average, best at ~78%, challenging at ~74%.
Coffee Shop — ~74%–~78% survivability range, with an average of ~76% across Great Lakes.
Opening a Portuguese Restaurant in Great Lakes shows ~75% average survivability. Top locations reach ~76%; lower-end sites show ~73%.
Italian Restaurant (Ranked #10): ~74% average in Great Lakes. Best-case storefronts: ~76%. Challenging locations: ~73%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

How much money could a business in Great Lakes make?

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, choosing an address that maximizes your Revenue Capture Score in Great Lakes could lead to you making ~3% more than if you selected an average location, and ~5% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.

How StreetSpring calculates location value

The right address for one business type may be the wrong one for another — always evaluate fit for your specific concept.
The right location can make a business; the wrong one can break it.
Choosing locations with superior Survivability Scores directly correlates with higher revenue potential.
StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.

Where the next great business in Great Lakes should go

The top businesses to open next in Great Lakes:

Kosher Restaurants — ~82% average survival rate, up to ~84% at best locations
Juice & Smoothie Bars — ~82% average survival rate
Tattoo & Piercing Shops — ~80% average survival rate

Competition and spending patterns shift constantly; StreetSpring's live tool reflects the most current conditions for any specific address. StreetSpring has analyzed hundreds of thousands of business outcomes across major U.S. metros. The survivability rankings for Great Lakes are grounded in real economic conditions: 100.0% employment and 3.9% vacancy are among the key inputs that separate high-scoring locations from low-scoring ones here. Because market conditions shift constantly, StreetSpring updates every location's survivability score weekly — you can see current scores for available storefronts in Great Lakes right now.

See the Survivability Score for your new business

Related Articles:

See the Atlanta Business Survivability Rankings
See the Atlanta Neighborhood Survivability Rankings

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Great Lakes.

What type of business should you rent your Great Lakes storefront to?

For landlords in Great Lakes, StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies Kosher Restaurants, Juice & Smoothie Bars, and Tattoo & Piercing Shops as the business types most likely to produce stable, long-term tenancy.

The right location can make a business; the wrong one can break it.
StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location. StreetSpring allows property owners to evaluate any address against 700+ tenant types — so you can prioritize the categories that score highest at your specific location.

Should you rent your Great Lakes storefront to a Kosher Restaurant?

According to our 2026 survivability model, a Kosher Restaurant leads all business categories for Great Lakes landlords — ~84% at the best addresses and ~80% at the most challenging ones in this neighborhood.

StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.

What should I consider when opening a business in Great Lakes?

Survivability Score is the North Star metric for any location decision in Great Lakes: it aggregates 100+ factors so you don't have to evaluate each one individually.

Revenue Capture Score matters more than any other single metric when predicting business outcomes.
StreetSpring uses its own proprietary forecasting tools to identify the Revenue Capture Score for each unique business.
No subscription required: access the current survivability score for any Great Lakes address through StreetSpring's free tool.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

Real estate professionals and business owners across 24 major metros use StreetSpring to ground their site-selection decisions in data, not guesswork. Aggregated survivability rankings for Atlanta are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

How seasonality plays out here

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
Lease term	Locking into 7-10 years without break clauses, then needing to relocate after year 2.	Negotiate a relocation or termination clause. Confirm assignment + sublease rights are in writing.
Parking & visibility	Storefront looks great from the sidewalk but is invisible from the road.	Drive past at 30 mph from both directions. Count street parking + nearest paid lot capacity at peak hours.
Permits & licensing	Assuming a 30-day permit timeline, hitting 90+ days, paying rent on a non-operating storefront.	Call the local zoning office before signing. Confirm your use is already permitted; if not, factor a 2-3 month variance timeline.

Full dataset for Atlanta: /resources/data/atlanta-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Beyond the Numbers: Local Context

Further questions, with answers anchored on this neighborhood's actual data.

What share of Great Lakes residents have a bachelor's degree or higher?

74% of Great Lakes adults have at least a bachelor's degree — above the Atlanta metro median of 67%. Education attainment is close to the metro median, so business-type signals come more from income and density.

How does Great Lakes's commute profile affect retail demand?

Great Lakes's median commute (~33 min) is above the Atlanta metro median (27 min). A longer commute suggests residents work elsewhere — peak demand shifts to evenings and weekends, favoring dinner-oriented dining and weekend retail.

How does Atlanta's survivability compare to national sector averages?

BLS publishes 5-year cohort survival rates by industry. For sectors StreetSpring covers, the range is 47.8-61.8% — Active Life low, Health & Medical high, Restaurants and Retail in the middle around 47.9-50%. Location-specific factors drive most of the variance around these baselines.

Build-out budget rules-of-thumb for this neighborhood

**Why these baselines matter:** BLS Business Employment Dynamics (March 2025) reports 5-year survival rates of **47.8-61.8%** across the industries StreetSpring covers. Restaurants survive at **50.0%** nationally — not 20%. The location decision is what separates the 30% above the baseline from the 30% below.

**Daytime population context (Great Lakes):** Per US Census LEHD LODES, the median 1-mile workplace-jobs population within Great Lakes is **17,560** — about **19.2× the resident population**, which qualifies as a strong commercial-corridor / CBD signal. Retail-sector jobs in that radius: **1,030**. This shapes which business models have a natural demand floor here.

Landmark anchor: Great Lakes's park anchor is Gladys Morgan Waddell Park, which sets weekend and warm-weather foot-traffic patterns for the surrounding blocks.

**Great Lakes economic snapshot:** ACS reports neighborhood unemployment at **0.0%** (below the 24-metro neighborhood median we track). The Atlanta metro's BLS QCEW average weekly wage is **$1,103** (below our metro median), and the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey logged **9,318** new residential permits in Fulton County in 2025 — useful triangulation for population-growth and labor-cost assumptions in this neighborhood.