Buckhead, Brookhaven, Midtown and More! --- Bits & Bites

Villains - wicked heroes opening soon  in midtown

There are plenty of things in the works, opening and closing in Atlanta, here are a few you might care about.  

The Cookie Studio opens today on Pharr Road.  The cookie and coffee shop relocated to Buckhead from Decatur and opens in place of short-lived pizza joint, Fuoco di Napoli.  

Cactus Car Wash locations in Buckhead on Piedmont Road and Midtown on Ponce de Leon Avenue were stripped of their "Cactus" branding effective April 1st.  While exterior signage displays no actual name, a company representative reached by phone tells me that the two stores are now known as "Mr. Car Wash." One ToNeTo Atlanta reader reported  "The accessory wall was down, wifi wasn't working, and employees had on new shirts."   Charleston, South Carolina-based Cactus Car Wash still has Georgia locations in Alpharetta / Milton, Douglasville, Gainesville, and Marietta.

Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming has reopened in Buckhead on Peachtree Road near Cacao and Fellini's Pizza.  The pet shop franchise closed last year but is now open again under new ownership and management.  

A new structure being erected on the southbound side of  Peachtree Road in Brookhaven will reportedly be a veterinarian office.  The parcel sits between General Hardware and a Chevron gas station and had been empty for quite some time.   

In other Brookhaven news, signs posted in the windows of Cafe at Pharr / Baci  claim the business is "back to original management and menu" A separate sign mentions that the "original Baci dinner menu will being Monday April 22 (today)" and "P.S. - Due to the change of ownership, we can no longer accept the Scout Mob promotions. Sorry for any inconvenience." 

Kazoo Toys, a Denver,Colorado-based retail franchise enters Atlanta with a store in Buckhead this week.  Franchisee Joe Novak will open his first of three planned Atlanta-area locations this Friday the 26th in Powers Ferry Square.  Kazoo strives to offer toys and games not found in other stores, especially mass merchants.  I still miss childhood favorites like Zany Brainy, Learningsmith, Store of Knowledge and The Toy Store but perhaps Kazoo can be "that" store for a new generation of kids.  

Zaxby's has broken ground on their new Ponce de Leon Avenue location.  The Watkinsville, Georgia-based fast food chicken joint has recently been expanding in the metro Atlanta area and news that it was opening in midtown was met with overall enthusiasm and joy.  My two questions : Will Zaxby's adjust their hours for the late night diners of Ponce?  What do I have to do to get a Bojangles' ITP?

Dunkin' Donuts has not quite broken ground but has taken down the former Church's Chicken / Check cashing joint on Ponce de Leon Avenue at Boulevard. This Dunkin' Donuts would seem to replace the Dunkin' location at nearby Midtown Place that closed in 2011 and later reopened as Starbucks Coffee. 

In other Dunkin' Donuts news, a location that I spoke of a year ago is finally coming close to happening.  Dunkin' Donuts plans to retrofit the existing structure at 299 Moreland Avenue in the heart of Little 5 Points into a new restaurant that could open as soon as "late 2013."  The structure was built as a gas station and later became a laundromat / dry cleaners, but is currently vacant.  During its time as a laundromat / dry cleaners, a drive-thru was added which would today not be allowed under current current neighborhood commercial ordinances.  Dunkin' is also proposing 30 parking spaces, not the 43 spaces required under current zoning regulations making it necessary for them to apply for a parking variance. Multiple neighborhood associations as well as nearby business owners are against Dunkin's plans and one group, The Little Five Points Business Association has even retained legal counsel to challenge the drive-thru.    

Kroger will close what I think may be one of its oldest, if not the oldest Kroger store in Atlanta early next month.  Kroger's Candler Road store at Rainbow Village near South DeKalb Mall predates even the "greenhouse" style Kroger stores that were all over Atlanta in the mid 80s but have mostly all been closed, renovated or replaced with newer stores.  The Candler Road Kroger was a fixture in south DeKalb county for 38 years and will surely be missed by area residents.  A sign posted in the location informs customers the store will closed May 3rd and directs them to three other "nearby" stores, each about three miles from the Candler Road store. 

Photo courtesy of Edric Floyd 

Jared Lee, Jason McClure, and Alex Brounstein plan to open their new restaurant, Villains either late this week or early next week.  The new "wickedly delicious" sandwich shop opens in place of Little Azio at the corner of 8th and Peachtree Streets in midtown.  

Lovies BBQ is planning on opening a restaurant at 3420 Piedmont Road in Buckhead in place of GoldMax, a gold buying store.  The restaurant is still is in the planning stages as it needs to get a number of items approved including a requested addition to the bottom level of the structure that would allow for a new expanded kitchen as well as outdoor seating.