ATLANTA — Borders Books said it's filing for bankruptcy and closing stores across the country, including five in metro Atlanta.
Atlanta's Cumberland location on Cobb Parkway will leave another hole in the parkway pavilion. Commercial real estate attorney Bob Simon said it is a big loss.
WATCH:Metro Area Seeing Big-Box Store Closures
"There's a real ripple effect on everybody," Simon said. "It's going to have an immediate impact on the traffic generated for the other tenants of the shopping center."
When big-box retailers shut down, the effects are widespread. The landlord takes a hit, losing income and often having to make concessions to other tenants. Neighbors could see changes in their leases once an anchor store is gone. And consumers have to look elsewhere.
"In the long run, we will see a lot more empty spots cause we're not going to be frequenting them much," said Buckhead resident Binita Vijay.
Others are more optimistic.
"Something else will come in its place, hopefully, but you still have the movie theater. You still have other businesses around here," Stone Mountain resident Andres Acosta said.
Some big-box locations are easier to fill than others. Exactly how long it takes is anyone's guess.
"It's very difficult to fill these vacancies quickly. It's going to be very difficult to find a big-box user to step right in and use that space," Simon said.
One commercial broker told Channel 2's Jovita Moore a store like Best Buy or TJ Maxx could replace Borders, for example. The Brookwood Borders on Peachtree Road will be replaced by an Aveda Salon.