Why some Atlanta entrepreneurs are embracing shipping container storefronts

For years, the shipping container was a symbol of global trade. Now, they’re becoming a launchpad for Atlanta entrepreneurs.

Across the region, startups and even established companies are trying out the steel boxes to house their businesses.

There’s a 24/7 grocer in Pittsburgh Yards. A business park with two dozen container suites off Chattahoochee Avenue is home to hairstylists, barbers, a florist, a phlebotomist and a 3D-printing business.

Nationally, even Starbucks and Smalls, a chain of slider sandwiches, have tried containers to quickly open new locations.

The appeal is the same reason the shipping container took over global trade in the first place: it’s modular, durable and, at scale, cheaper and faster to build with than traditional construction, said Eric Rubin, who runs 1130 Chattahoochee Avenue Suites, the container office park.