Woman sues Georgia city that denied permit to open hair braiding business
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Awa Diagne stands in front of the storefront where she wants to open her African braiding shop. Photo courtesy of Institute for Justice
A business owner is suing a metro Atlanta city over its refusal to allow her to open a hair braiding shop based on its proximity to a similar establishment.
Why it matters: Awa Diagne's quest to open her African braiding shop runs counter to South Fulton leaders' desire to limit what they say is an "oversaturation" of beauty salons in parts of the city.
Driving the news: The lawsuit was filed late last month in Fulton County Superior Court by Awa Diagne, who was denied a special use permit by the city of South Fulton to open the shop.
- The lawsuit argues that South Fulton's denial "is unconstitutional, unlawful, arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, imposes a significant detriment on petitioners, and is unrelated to the health, safety, morals, or welfare of the public."
What they're saying: Will Aronin, an attorney with the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that works to end "widespread abuses of government power" and is representing Diagne, told Axios that a 2023 Supreme Court decision ruled that governments can't stop someone from starting or opening a business to "protect other companies from competition."
- "It hurts everybody when towns and cities do this," Aronin said.
The other side: A South Fulton spokesperson told Axios the city does not comment on litigation.
Flashback: According to the lawsuit, Diagne operated a braiding shop in Atlanta and in 2021, she and her family moved to South Fulton.
- Soon after the move, her husband was diagnosed with COVID-19 and died.
- The business owner, now a single mother, decided to close her shop in Atlanta and started braiding hair out of her home.
- Diagne found a storefront in the Parkway Village shopping center at 5370 Campbellton Fairburn Road and applied for a special use permit to open in that location, which was ultimately denied by the City Council at its July 23 meeting.
Friction point: Eugenia Davis, owner of Salon Vibez, which offers hair braiding in addition to other services like hair washing and styling, coloring and sew-ins in the same shopping center, opposed Diagne's permit.
- "The community wants diversity," she said at a July 9 hearing. "South Fulton is already saturated."
- At that same meeting, Council member Carmalitha Gumbs said it is "not fair for small businesses to have to compete right next door to them."
- Diagne said her business would differ from nearby salons in that it would only offer hair braiding services.
Context: Council member Helen Willis said at the July 23 Council meeting that South Fulton has a process in place that requires a special use permit for businesses that want to open within a 1-mile radius of existing ones that are similar to their uses to "promote diverse business growth."
- "We don't want any business to suffer any losses due to an oversaturation," she said, adding Diagne should work with South Fulton's economic development director to help her find another location "where no one is competing against you and you're not competing against anyone."
What's next: A court hearing will be scheduled in Fulton County Superior Court, Aronin told Axios.