Bits & Bites

Crafthall Kitchen, the new food concept launched this past April in Sandy Springs, has closed temporarily.  The restaurant, which has gone through a number of significant changes since inception, announced via their Facebook page on November 14 that "We are closing today and until further notice for training and reorganizing!"  Interestingly, the announcement came just one day after the restaurant announced it was launching a new rewards program with Como Sense.   A follow up message was posted on Sunday the 18 that said in part "we are doing an overhaul on our management and will be closed for awhile to work everything out. We are hoping to open up again soon."  The actual restaurant says nothing about the closure so potential patrons would be left assuming the restaurant is closed for good.  ToNeTo Atlanta reached out to founder Jennifer Rotondo, who declined to provide any comment on the situation or a timeline.  Launched as a glorified KenTacoHut [Kentucky Fried Chicken / Taco Bell / Pizza Hut], with four separate concepts under one roof, the restaurant became unified by a single menu in July.  The restaurant also later renovated and did away with its self-ordering kiosks, replacing them with a more traditional point of sale (POS) system.  The restaurant catered to both healthy diners and those seeking gluten-free options and seemed to have been well received overall with an cumulative four star rating on Yelp.com.  That said, many of the restaurant's recent five star reviews came after the restaurant hosted a Yelp event where it provided free food to attendees.  

A second "new look" Moe's Southwest Grill opened November 17 and will celebrate its "Grand Opening" Thursday December 6 in Kennesaw. The new Moe's, which is the first ground-up Moe's to showcase the brand's most significant overhaul since its launch on Peachtree Road in 2000, opened alongside a new Flying Biscuit Cafe on Barrett Parkway.  The two restaurants are part of the a new out-parcel of the Whole Foods Market anchored Kennesaw Marketplace.  Atlanta-based Moe's debuted their new look and new logo last month at an existing but renovated Moe's on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.  The restaurant has graduated to "mega chain" status and its new look seems quite sterile, especially in comparison to its earlier iteration. 

Ashley Furniture HomeStore plans to open a new store at Douglasville Marketplace in Douglasville.  The new store is opening in place of the roughly 30,000 square foot former Babies R Us store.  The center is located along Douglas Boulevard near Arbor Place Mall.  

French cosmetics and skincare company L'Occitane officially returned to Lenox Square  this past Monday when their new store opened on the first level of the mall.  The new store opened in a portion of the former Fendi store and marks the return of the retailer to the mall after leaving over five years ago.  ToNeTo Atlanta first reported on the planned opening this past July, at which point we questioned if the opening at Lenox would spell the end of the road for the company's store at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta.  As of now, the store at The Shops Buckhead Atlanta remains open, but it's seems unlikely that remains true long-term.   

The Assi Plaza international market on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth has been rebranded as the newest location of City Farmers Market.  The Assi on Old Peachtree Road in Suwanee is now the only Assi in Atlanta.  There are now six City Farmers Markets in metro Atlanta: Buford Highway in Chamblee, Buford Highway in Brookhaven, Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross, Powder Springs Street in Marietta and a recently converted former Kroger on Highway 78 in Snellville.  

Quick-serve burger joint Wayback Burgers is now open at Embry Village on Chamblee Tucker Road adjacent to Moe's Southwest Grill.  Other franchised locations of the Cheshire, Connecticut-based chain are already open in Georgia in Lawrenceville, Buford, Braselton and Covington.  

Total Wine & More is now open at Akers Mill Square on Cobb Parkway near Cumberland Mall.  The new store opened in a portion of the former Sports Authority.  ToNeTo Atlanta first reported on the planned store in early August at which time we also indicated a Nordstrom Rack would be opening, which is reportedly still on track for next year.    

A new Circle K convenience store is expected to open next month in the street level retail space at The American Hotel - A DoubleTree by Hilton property.  The hotel, which was renovated and rebranded late last year, is located at the corner of Ted Turner Drive and Carnegie Way in downtown Atlanta.  Circle K, owned by Canadian-based Couche-Tard, has in recently months opened a number of new locations around metro Atlanta and has also replaced the C-store operations of other brands at existing fueling centers.   

Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (“LLCP”), a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, announced Tuesday that it completed the sale of GFG Holding, Inc. (Global Franchise Group).  Atlanta-based Global Franchise Group owns a portfolio of franchised and company-owned brands in the food industry.  These brands include Atlanta-born Great American Cookies, Round Table Pizza, Marble Slab Creamery, Pretzelmaker, MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream & Treatery, and Hot Dog on a Stick. Global Franchise Group has approximately 1,500 franchised and company-owned locations worldwide, primarily located in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Asia. 

Restaurant industry veteran David Abes announced Wednesday the launch of DASH Hospitality Group, a new restaurant consulting firm he is launching.  Abes, who previously served as Director of Operations for both Here to Serve Restaurants and LDV Hospitality, was until earlier this summer, Chief Operating Officer for Buckhead Life Restaurant Group.  All told Abes has 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry and plans to leverage his decades of knowledge to assist new and existing restaurants with operations, systems, purchasing, bookkeeping, staffing & marketing.

David's Bridal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past Monday.  The company, that at one time was said to outfit one out of every four brides in America, indicated in the filing that it owes between $500 million and $1 billion to creditors.  The company has been hit hard by upstart competitors like Floravere, Anomalie, and Urban Outfitters' Anthropologie, declining mall traffic and a decrease in weddings in general. Existing bridal customers will reportedly not be affected by the filing and the company plans to reorganize and remain in business. 

Struggling retailer Gap announced plans Wednesday to close hundreds of stores "quickly and aggressively."  The company operates hundreds of stores in "B" and "C" malls and shopping centers and it's likely those stores will be first to go.  Despite successes at sibling concepts Old Navy, Banana Republic and Athleta, Gap has continued to have difficultly in selling its wares to a generation with more options and cheaper options than ever before.  In metro Atlanta, Gap operates stores in Lenox Square, Perimeter Mall, Atlantic Station, Avalon, Mall of Georgia and Avenue East Cobb, among other locations.