Thursday, October 4, 2018

Bits & Bites

Designer jeweler boutique Mayors will relocate next spring from their current first floor space near Victoria's Secret to a new space near Starbucks at the cusp of the Lenox Luxury Wing.  The store will assume both the former Bvlgari boutique as well as a portion of the former Fendi boutique. (Bvlgari left the market, while Fendi relocated and expanded to the Luxury Wing).  French cosmetics and skincare retailer L'Occitane will occupy the remaining portion of the Fendi space, planning to relocate back to Lenox Square from The Shops Buckhead Atlanta.  The new Mayors store will measure 3,224 square feet, larger than the company's current 2,993 square foot space.  The new store, which is slated to include a Rolex boutique, will have separate entrances for the store and the luxe timepiece brand.    

Art supply store Sam Flax will relocate early next year from Brookwood Place on Peachtree Street to a new as-yet undisclosed location nearby.  The 100+ year old retailer relocated to the former Kroger on Peachtree Street in late 2011, having previously spent 20 years in Northside Drive where today Goodwill operates a thrift store and donation center.  The grocery space was built as a Harris Teeter, but the company left the Atlanta market before the store opened. Kroger opened in the space in 2003 and closed in mid-2011.  Sam Flax expanded from 25,000 square feet to 36,000 square feet when it moved from Northside to Peachtree, but it's unclear how big the new store will be.  FullStory, an Atlanta-based customer experience analytics company started by former Google engineers, has signed a lease to open in not only the current bi-level Sam Flax, but also the adjacent second floor former Spa Sydell space as well.  CoStar, which first reported the news, indicated that the lease at Brookwood Place "came out of nowhere" and was not on the short list of sites the company was first considering.  FullStory is currently located on Ottley Drive in Armour Yards.  The new space will be about four times larger than their current office and the company expects to occupy the Peachtree Street office by mid-2019.   

Chicken Salad Chick will open its latest Atlanta area location in McDonough later this month.  The new eatery replaces a quick-serve location of the Folks restaurant chain. The grand opening of the new restaurant, located in the Southern Crossing Retail Center at 1655 Highway 20, will be Tuesday, October 16 at 10:30 a.m. The new McDonough location is the seventh Atlanta location and 11th overall for local developers Origin Development Group.  The new McDonough location will also be the second in the Origin portfolio to feature a drive-thru: the Evans location was the first.   On Tuesday, October 16, the first 100 guests at the new McDonough location will win one large Quick Chick of chicken salad every month for an entire year. 

Highgate Hotels is transforming the existing Wingate by Wyndham Atlanta Buckhead at 3600 Piedmont Road into “The Burgess Hotel,” a Wyndham Trademark property.  Highgate is spending $11 million to remake the hotel’s 100 rooms, public spaces and exterior, among other areas of the property. The renovation will also include a new full-service restaurant, meeting rooms and an outdoor pool.  The as-yet unnamed restaurant will feature "American/Mediterranean" cuisine, according to its website.  Interestingly, The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead was rechristened "The Whitley" in 2017, and also has a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant: Trade Root.  The hotel remains open during the renovations and is expected to complete its Burgess conversion in January.

CNBC reported Tuesday that Mattress Firm could file for bankruptcy as soon as this week.  The beleaguered retailer is struggling to regain its footing as it fights internet upstarts like Casper and leesa as well as dealing with the effects of an over-expansion that saw it take both its in-house and preferred real estate executives to court of over alleged fraud.  

"Superfood cafe" Vitality Bowls, which specializes in açaí bowls, will be opening their newest Atlanta area location Thursday, October 4 in Alpharetta.  The new cafe will be offering BOGO 50 percent off açaí bowls all day, plus us the first 50 customers will receive a FREE bowl.  The new franchise location will be the first for Jeff and Paula Sauer, long-time area residents.  The new restaurant will be located at 364 Commerce Street, at the busy intersection of Park Plaza and Commerce Street. This restaurant will be the fourth Vitality Bowls café in Georgia, joining existing locations in Peachtree City, Midtown and Dunwoody.  The San Ramon, California-based company operates 57 locations nationwide.

New Realm Brewing has officially opened its Beltline-adjacent beer garden, offering 85 additional seats for outdoor casual enjoyment. The beer garden includes stone seating with fire pit tables, creative water features, stone pavers and over 200 newly planted trees and bushes. Patrons can enjoy the full menu for both food and beer while taking in BeltLine people watching. 

The Bojangles' at 3101 Canton Highway in Marietta has closed.  The franchise restaurant opened in late 2015 and reportedly closed earlier this week.  When it opened, the Bojangles' occupied a newly constructed building on a site once home to a Shoney's restaurant.  

Starting this Sunday October 7, ATL Taco in Lenox Square will offer all-you-can-eat tacos every Sunday after 7 p.m for $12 per person.   Taco options include the ATL Hot Chicken, cheeseburger, fried catfish, veggie and more.

After over seven years in East Cobb, The Cook's Warehouse announced late Wednesday that they will be closing their 4,813 square foot store and cooking school in Merchant's Walk.  The company owned by local entrepreneur and chef Mary Moore will continue to operate locations in Midtown at Ansley Mall and in Chamblee at Peachtree Station, as well as their website cookswarehouse.com.  Effective immediately, the store is offering 10% off everything in the East Cobb store only, excluding Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe Packages (which are already at incredible, deeper discounts). The last scheduled class at East Cobb will be Italian Trattoria Date Night Hands On on November 17th.  Early last year, the Cook's Warehouse closed their store with Sherlock's Wine Merchant on West Ponce de Leon Avenue at Commerce Drive in downtown Decatur.  Moore plans to relocate both the Decatur and East Cobb locations when the ideal locations become available.  

Atlanta magazine will host the third annual Best Burger Battle on Saturday, October 20 from 1pm-5pm at Lenox Square. The event features over two dozen of the best local burger joints, bourbon, blues, and brews that Atlanta has to offer.   2018 Best Burger Battle participants include: American Cut Steakhouse, ATL Taco, Butcher & Brew, Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse, Dixie Q, El Super Pan, Farm Burger, Grub Burger Bar, Jim Adams Farm & Table, KirbyG’s, Local Republic, Marlow’s Tavern, NFA Burger, Oak Steakhouse, Public Kitchen and Bar, Shake Shack, Seven Lamps, The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, THERE Brookhaven, Village Burger, Williamson Brothers BBQ and Zinburger, among others.  The event is 21+.  Tickets can be purchased here

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Re Chicken Salad Chick: Have given at this restaurant 2 opportunities (2 different locations) to empress me. Both times were a trio with different varieties. This is the most bland, overly processed chicken salad I have ever eaten. I can hardly tell the difference between the varieties - spicy, savory or fruity. The only time I found evidence of what was exactly in my Fancy Nancy was a WHOLE grape. IMHO, CSC is overrated. The masses seem to be happy with mediocre food so they should do well without my patronage.
-----------------------------
Gwinnett Daily Post is reporting Snellville is getting a Fazoli's in early 2019, with a different franchisee than was to open in early 2017. This location should do well with "palates" in the area.

Alex said...

Hey Anonymous,
You are so awesome. Can I buy you a hero sandwich?

Anonymous said...

@ Alex

The reason I am awesome is because I don't eat garbage like hero sandwiches! Thank you!

Anonymous said...


I don't get the whole chicken salad chick thing either. Kind of expensive for what it is. I don't fancy the flavor of any of them either. Can't understand how they stay in business.

Anonymous said...

The summary about Chicken Salad Chick mimics my experience as well. I don't get their popularity. I've been to the Alpharetta licaloca 3 times. Their service isn't good either.

Anonymous said...

Fazoli's is the Taco Bell of "Italian" food. YUCK!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...