Friday, March 9, 2018

Bonus Bits & Bites

AtlantaFresh Artisan Creamery actually ceased production last month and its factory store was reportedly "hit hard" after ToNeTo Atlanta's original post this past Friday.  If you have not yet made your way to their shop in Norcross, you may be out of luck.  The popular Atlanta-based maker of Greek yogurt is being forced to close after nearly ten years in business after Whole Foods Market, a customer that had become the company's largest account, abruptly cancelled a seven year contract after just fourteen months. 
The factory store at AtlantaFresh as of  Wednesday afternoon

Chido + Padre's, the Baja-style Mexican restaurant opening in place of upscale BBQ eatery Smokebelly,  plans to open this coming Tuesday, March 13 in Buckhead Village.  

Kale Me Crazy has signed on to open in Toco Hills Shopping Center.  The new smoothie and juice joint will open beside Spiller Park coffee in 1,500 square foot space that formerly was part of the former Shoe Center.  This will mark the Atlanta based chain's 13th Atlanta area location. Two other Kale Me Crazy eateries are coming to the Larkin on Memorial development in Grant Park and to the Modera Vinings apartment community in Smyrna/Vinings near Cumberland Mall.   

Publico Kitchen & Tap plans to open by the end of the month in the former Front Page News on Crescent Avenue in Midtown.  The restaurant, whose original location was in Columbia, South Carolina, features a Latin-Asian fusion menu and dozens of beers on tap.  

Philadelphia-based City Tap House will open later this year in the former Gordon Biersch on Peachtree Street in Midtown.  The Atlanta location, the seventh overall City Tap, will feature a more upscale menu than its predecessor and is seen as more a gastropub than a sportsbar.  

Emory Point will host the Georgia Craft Food Makers Market on Saturday, March 24 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  The market, which is free to the public, will be a unique opportunity to meet the makers behind some of Georgia's well known and lesser known brands, sample new and seasonal products, and enjoy an afternoon outdoors on Emory Point’s green, complete with live music from local band Lilac Wine.  Popular food brands that will be represented at the market include Alta Cucina Italia, Banjo Cold Brew Coffee, Bee Wild Honey, CalyRoad Creamery, Chinese Southern Belle sauces, Georgia Grinders nut butters, Goodson Pecans, High Road Craft Ice Cream, Montane Sparkling Spring Water, Oliver Farm artisan oils, One Screw Loose jams, PeachDish meal delivery kits, Pine Street Market specialty meats, Proper Pepper Pimento Cheese, Pure Bliss Organics, Strippaggio - Artisan Oils, Vinegars, Specialty Food & Gifts, The General Muir Bread, and Unicoi Preserves.

Sources say that Little Alley Steak is now targeting a mid-April opening for its new restaurant at One Alliance Center in Buckhead.  The restaurant, which ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report on in August of 2016, is replacing what had most recently operated as Aja in the Buckhead office tower.  

Tutto Kitchen & Bar in historic downtown Roswell has closed.  The restaurant, which was located on Elizabeth Way, just off Canton Street, opened in late 2014 next to The Real Fix Pizzeria.  The restaurant was owned by the team behind Peachtree Diner and The Diner at North Point.  

A report late Thursday by Bloomberg indicates that bankrupt toy retailer  Toys “R” Us may completely liquidate its US operations.  "Toys “R” Us Inc. is making preparations for a liquidation of its bankrupt U.S. operations after so far failing to find a buyer or reach a debt restructuring deal with lenders, according to people familiar with the matter.  While the situation is still fluid, a shutdown of the U.S. division has become increasingly likely in recent days."   ToNeTo Atlanta reported in September that Wayne, New Jersey-based Toys "R" Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  This past January Toys "R" Us announced that it would close about 180 stores with plans to restructure and emerge from bankruptcy protection.  The closures represent about one-fifth of its U.S. store count.  In Georgia, the retailer has active liquidation sales at eight stores:      

2601 Dawson Road, Albany (Toys "R" Us) 
2955 Cobb Parkway, Smyrna (Toys "R" Us & Babies "R" Us) 6380 North Point Parkway, Alpharetta (Babies "R" Us) 
1155 Mt. Vernon Highway, Dunwoody (Babies "R" Us) 
6875 Douglas Boulevard, Douglasville (Babies "R" Us) 
8160 Mall Parkway, Conyers Lithonia (Babies "R" Us) 
221 Newnan Crossing Bypass, Newnan (Babies "R" Us) 
132 Pavilion Parkway, Fayetteville (Toys "R" Us & Babies "R" Us)  

In 2015, Toys "R" Us closed metro locations in Tucker and Buckhead.  The former Tucker store in Northlake Tower Festival shopping center remains vacant while the Buckhead store in Buckhead Station was replaced by a Saks OFF FIFTH and a relocated Cost Plus World Market.  

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really liked Tutto; ate there last month. Will hit up Zuzzu more often now.

Anonymous said...

Tutto was a good one. No parking for them in that little strip.

Anonymous said...

Why did Front Page News close? I thought they did well..

Anonymous said...

Just another example of big business pushing out another small business. Our economy is rich today because of the small businessman & businesswoman.

Ben & Jerry's was one of the few small businesses that stood up to big business and won. Big Business eventually bought Ben & Jerry's.

Since so many people loved Atlanta Fresh, maybe Amazon should have given this more thought.

Anonymous said...

Atlanta Fresh had good products, but pricey. Seems they relied too much on WF and stopped going after the other retailers. Also, kinda their fault if they left such a glaring fault in their contract to allow this to happen. Also to Anon, your comment on Ben & Jerry's, basically states that they lost.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 11:19 clearly despises entrepreneurs and is pro corporate shark devouring and destroying the small businesses. Jeff Bezos is your God.

Anonymous said...

The Cobb Parkway/Akers Mill TRU/BRU is open for now - it's part of a handful of stores whose closure was initially announced and then reversed.

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