The Woman Who Bet on Herself: The Full Story of Marquita Andrews and Auburn Vinyl Store
The BeltLine News — Feature Story
There is a stretch of Atlanta where Black business was never just business. Auburn Avenue — "Sweet Auburn," as John Wesley Dobbs named it — was once called the richest Black street in the world, home to banks, insurance companies, newspapers, and churches that bankrolled a movement. Dr. King was born on this street. Ebenezer Baptist still stands on it.
Today, at 242 Auburn Ave NE, a woman named Marquita Andrews is writing her chapter of that street's story — one banner, one decal, one brand at a time.
The Leap
Every business has an origin story. Andrews's starts with a resignation letter.
She was working a government job — steady work, a guaranteed salary, the kind of security people are taught never to walk away from. And she walked away from it.
"Taking risk has gotten me this far today," she says. "If I would have never took a risk, I wouldn't have never knew what I was capable of. I resigned from a government job — guaranteed salary — for the unknown. Six years later, I'm still standing. Sometimes you have to bet on yourself. Bet on yourself and prosper is one of the slogans that I live by."
The thing is, the leap wasn't clean. She opened Auburn Vinyl Store while she was still working her 9-to-5. She had no investors, no business degree, no mentor handing her a playbook.
"I started with no resources or knowledge on how to run a business," she says. "I was working a 9-to-5 when I opened Auburn Vinyl Store. Clueless and afraid of the unknown, not knowing if I was going to succeed or fail. I overcame the challenges by showing up every day willing to learn and being the best business owner that I could be. I knew that I couldn't go back to a 9-to-5, so I gave it my all. Every day, I'm learning something new."
More Than a Print Shop
Walk into Auburn Vinyl Store with an idea — a logo in your head, a shirt you want for your family reunion, a banner for your grand opening — and you'll find out quickly that printing is only part of what's sold there.
The shop produces custom transfers and prints, banners and retractable banners, custom stickers and labels, window signage, truck decals, table cloths, poster boards, mylar bags, and custom lighters — the full visual toolkit a small business needs to look established. If you've seen a sharp-looking Atlanta food truck, a polished vendor booth, or a storefront with clean window graphics, there's a decent chance a shop like hers made it look that way.
But Andrews doesn't describe her business by its product list.
"Auburn Vinyl Store is not just a print shop, but a pillar for the community," she says. "I take pride in helping my customers bring their visions to life, building brands, sponsoring kids, and being very supportive."
That philosophy is built into the calendar. Her Build-Your-Brand Mondays sessions exist for entrepreneurs who are where she once was — big vision, no roadmap — and her one-on-one Cricut classes hand the craft itself to anyone willing to learn it. She is, in effect, teaching the next row of Auburn Avenue business owners how to make their own signs.
The Hard Days Are Part of the Story
Andrews doesn't sell a fairy tale. "This journey has not been easy at all," she says plainly. "I have days where I get discouraged, but overall it's been very rewarding."
What carries her, she says, is faith and the people who walk through the door. "I want to give a shout-out to God for giving me the strength, wisdom, and courage to persevere throughout this journey. I had no clue on how to run a business. And I want to give a special shout-out to my customers, because without their support, it wouldn't be Auburn Vinyl Store. They have really been very supportive and uplifting throughout this entire journey."
Asked to show a visiting friend her Atlanta, she'd ride scooters down the BeltLine, stop at Ponce City Market for the rooftop views, and find a waterfall at Roswell Mill — an Atlanta booster through and through. But her real tour of the city is the one she gives every day from behind her counter: this is a place where a woman with no resources and no blueprint can still build something that outlasts her fear.
What's Next
Andrews is not done. "I want the world to know that Auburn Vinyl has more to come," she says. "Stay tuned."
On Sweet Auburn, they've heard that promise before — from bankers, pastors, publishers, and printers — for more than a century. It built a street the world called the richest of its kind. Marquita Andrews is keeping the tradition exactly where it belongs: open for business.
Auburn Vinyl Store
📍 242 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30303
📸 Instagram: @auburnvinylstore
👩🏾💼 Founder: Marquita Andrews
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