by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman
July 14, 2025
Atlanta’s code enforcement says the tattoo store violates a ordinance that wasn’t round till years after it opened.
A preferred tattoo store fights to remain open and keep its place in Atlanta’s arts and cultural scene.
Metropolis of Ink first opened within the metropolis’s Castleberry Hill neighborhood in 2006. On the time, its co-founder hoped to show an deserted area into a spot fueled by artwork.
“It was all deserted on the time, so we stated we’d get the store open, we’d promote artwork, and add tattooing to the method. That was quick cash,” Miya Bailey stated.
Through the years, the store advanced right into a cultural staple, resulting in artwork galleries, inventive occasions, and extra. It additionally turned an emblem of Atlanta, particularly on its Westside, even showing in standard music movies in the course of the rise of town’s lure music scene.
Now, a code violation threatens its future, leaving its destiny within the fingers of the group it has served.
The Metropolis of Atlanta’s Code Enforcement halted operations on the store in April, issuing a stop-work order immediately at its door. It says that Metropolis of Ink violates an ordinance handed in 2008, which forbids tattoo retailers from working inside a sure proximity to one another.
The non permanent closure instantly shocked the house owners and the Westside group, as Metropolis of Ink has grown into greater than the typical tattoo parlor. Its house owners argue that the tattoo store predates the ordinance in query. Given this, they need to be exempted from this burdensome rule.
“I’m working like I’m grandfathered in. So I by no means thought we’d have an issue with that since we have been there earlier than the ordinance,” continued Bailey. “I consider within the mayor and him maintaining his phrase. He stated he’s going to work it out.”
Supporters of the tattoo store additionally consider that the legislation might hurt town’s cultural cloth. Plushette Ellis, Castleberry Hill Financial Enterprise Improvement Chair, believes that the shutdown may have extra penalties that bleed into the group.
“I believe at stake is erasing the historical past and tradition of Atlanta by way of the lens of gentrification,” Ellis stated. “But additionally we needs to be investing in arts and tradition. That’s Atlanta.”
Forcing the closure of the tattoo store would additionally consequence within the lack of a Black-owned enterprise within the space. Atlanta has already made important strides in growing numerous entrepreneurship.
Whereas a 2025 report by LendingTree lists Atlanta as having the very best proportion of Black-owned companies within the nation, these firms usually battle with first-year success and acquiring loans, making the longevity and recognition of this tattoo store much more notable.
A listening to will happen July 17, however Bailey believes the mission is greater than physique artwork.
“It’s not about tattoos,” he added. “It’s about group…it’s about legacy…it’s about tradition…it’s about using individuals and maintaining jobs in Atlanta.”
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