Virginia-Highland

The Lay of the Land

Virginia-Highland is a walkable 1900s streetcar neighborhood whose small commercial heart sits at the corner of Virginia Ave and N Highland Ave. The shops run along N Highland Ave NE from St Charles Pl to Virginia Ave and on Virginia Ave NE just either side of the intersection, with a second cluster farther up N Highland Ave in the 1390s and 1400s. It pairs well with a walk in Piedmont Park, the 189-acre park between Midtown and Virginia-Highland, or on the BeltLine.

Street parking is free on N Highland Ave and the surrounding residential streets, and PERC Coffee's corner has its own parking, so park once and walk. The closest MARTA rail station is Midtown, about 1.5 miles away, and the Eastside Trail is a short walk through residential streets.

What to Shop For

Books and gifts anchor the main block. Virginia Highland Books, opened in 2021, fills two floors of a 1900 brick building with new fiction and nonfiction, puzzles, games and journals, and has a window-seat reading nook; check its calendar for signings, the book club and kids’ storytime. Moosh (1037) sells dresses, handbags, jewelry, home fragrance and books, and Dakota J’s (1038) carries Free People, Sanctuary, Z Supply and Spanx, with personal styling.

On Virginia Ave, Mickey Lynn (996) is the Atlanta jewelry brand’s first shop and a working studio where you can watch pieces being made, order custom sizing and book permanent jewelry. Cromwell’s Paradox, at the same address, opened in 2024 and sells candles, perfumes and soaps from brands such as Granado and Lumira, some not sold elsewhere in Atlanta. Urban Cottage is a mother-and-daughter furniture and decor shop open since 1998 that also does interior design and custom furniture.

The specialists are worth a detour. Highland Woodworking has sold hand tools, power tools and supplies to cabinetmakers and hobbyists since 1978, and Atlanta Pro Bikes (1039) sells new and used bikes from Kona, Surly and Linus, with repairs and rentals. Up N Highland Ave, Highland Diamond (1393, #2) makes custom pieces and reworks old ones in its own workshop, and Highland Fine Wine (1402-6) pours free walk-up tastings Saturdays 3–4pm. Back south, Intown Hardware has a garden center and gift shop, and pets are welcome.

Coffee, Gelato and Lunch

PERC Coffee, the Savannah roaster’s cafe, makes the Good Times Latte with vanilla-lavender and habanero sugar. Press & Grind makes its own nut milks, and ASH Coffee is known for Vietnamese egg coffee. Kinship Butcher & Sundry is a whole-animal butcher and grocer with breakfast sandwiches on house-made sausage, and Alon’s Bakery sells bread, cheese and sandwiches such as smoked peppered turkey.

For dessert, Paolo’s Gelato has been at the corner since 1999, with pistachio and amaretto alongside dairy-free green apple, guava and mango. Morelli’s Gourmet Ice Cream posts its flavors daily on its website. For a meal, So. Fox earned a MICHELIN star in 2026 for seasonal Southern-leaning dishes, La Tavola Trattoria does its own takes on traditional Italian, and Murphy’s is the neighborhood’s modern American mainstay.

When to Go

Shops generally open 10–11am and close 5–7pm, with shorter Sunday hours. Virginia Highland Books runs Monday to Saturday 10am–7pm and Sunday noon–5pm. Dakota J’s and Mickey Lynn are closed Monday, Urban Cottage is open Tuesday to Sunday 11am–5pm, and Atlanta Pro Bikes is closed Sunday. Moosh, Cromwell’s Paradox, Kinship, Paolo’s, Morelli’s, Highland Fine Wine and Intown Hardware don’t post hours, so call ahead. On spring and fall Sundays, a farmers market runs 9am to 1pm at Virginia-Highland Elementary School.