Lexie + Jane, Gone In A New York Minute

Lexie + Jane, located at 516 E. Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead, has closed. In what can best be described as the most poorly executed store in Buckhead in recent memory, the store didn't even make it 100 days. 26 year old "fashionista" Rebecca McWaters opened the boutique this past April 7th and the store closed earlier this week. While the store's Twitter feed is still up, it has not been updated in a week, their Facebook fan page is gone, their website is down, the phone goes straight to voicemail and their store signage has been painted over. I hate to say it but I just don't feel sorry for would-be business owners who assume that their style will be liked by all, and their store will succeed. To carry unheard of designers in NYC or maybe even San Francisco is one thing, but in Atlanta, like it or not, we

Watch Out! Which Wich? Superior Sandwiches Expanding In Atlanta

Dallas, Texas based Which Wich? Superior Sandwiches is expanding its Atlanta presence with up to 5 additional locations. Currently the chain has franchised locations in Athens, Avenue Forsyth in Cumming, The Forum in Norcross and in Hapeville. The only new location I have been able to confirm is at 5250 Windward Parkway in Alpharetta, Suite111, a space I once visited as a W.g. Grinders. W.g. Grinders served a somewhat similar menu, but with pizza and pasta as well. Both concepts are relatively small, and feature prices in the $5-7 range. I only went once so I'm not sure when they closed but I'd guess it was long ago. Other possible Which Wich? locations include the Perimeter Mall vicinity, TOWN Brookhaven and possibly the Lenox Square area. ToNeTo Atlanta

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Vinyl Lives! After 34 Years, Fantasyland Records Relocating

Fantasyland Records, which has been located at 2839 Peachtree Road for the last 34 years, will re-open in a new location July 1st. I'm told that the owners were forced out as the landlord wanted to redevelop the center. Likely to be the lone remaining tenant in the center is the recently relocated Peachtree Bikes. Less than a mile away at 360 Pharr Road, the new location was once a children's play place called Playforming Arts. With all the kids' rooms, I'm told the new location is a smidge bigger than the previous location. One of the

Barcelona, The Restaurant, Coming Soon to Inman Park

I received confirmation late last night that Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant will open in the recently closed Zaya Restaurant in Inman Park. Barcelona Wine Bar & Restaurant is based in Connecticut, with six locations across the state. Atlanta will be the restaurant groups first expansion outside of their home state, and the opening is planned in about 6 to 8 months. I had called the restaurant group a "chain," but Barcelona co-founder Andy Pforzheimer corrected me, saying "each of our restaurants has a completely different look, different menus, different music, a different crowd completely." I'm hopeful this uniqueness, a non

Say Uncle, Uncle Maddio's That Is; Now Franchising

The time has come. Matt Andrew and his partners announced last week that they are now offering franchises of their pizza concept, Maddio's. To be accurate, they are franchising Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint, the third name for this now 18 month old concept. Prior to opening, the eatery's signage said "Mattio's Pizza Joint," but just before opening, it became"Maddio's Pizza Joint." The first name may have been in honor of co-founder Matt Andrew; I'm told that the change occurred due to

Zaya Mediterranean Closing in Inman Park, Opening at Tech

Zaya Mediterranean Restaurant in Atlanta's Inman Park neighborhood will close this Sunday June 20th. Having been open for about 2 years, the restaurant had been for sale and has now found a buyer. Neighboring eateries Fritti and Sotto Sotto along with the newer Pure Taqueria have performed well, but appeal to a broader audience. Having visited Israel myself, I could appreciate the authenticity of the food Zaya offered and the appeal of such a restaurant. Unfortunately their location did not offer the traffic needed to support the restaurant. I spoke with Zaya owner Tarek Tay about his foray into quick serve restaurants (QSRs) and he sees this as the growth area for restaurants. He is very sad to close Zaya's Inman Park location but simply could not justify continuing operations with such little

What's The Fuss? Mama Fu's Closes in Buckhead

The last remaining Atlanta area Mama Fu's Asian House closed earlier this week. I noticed last week that the restaurant seemed abandoned inside and read a posted sign stating that they were open for lunch only: it was lunchtime. This was the chain's original location, opened by former franchiser / developer Raving Brands, in 2003. The concept's largest franchisee, Austin-based Murphy Adams Restaurant Group, purchased the concept from Raving Brands and moved its corporate headquarters to Austin. When Raving Brands owned the concept, there was talk of hundreds of

SunO Knockoff Sno*Flake Drifts Into Inman Park

Sno*Flake Ice House will soon open its first location in Inman Park. Located at 240 Highland Avenue, the eatery will join Zaya Mediterranean, Parish Foods & Goods, Inman Perk Coffee and a host of other eateries and retailers in the Perennial Properties "The Shops at N. Highland Steel." I find it ironic this place would surface now, as just days ago, SunO Dessert, based in Duluth, opened their 4th location in a former Jake's Ice Cream at North Decatur and Clairmont Roads. Similar to popular Fro-Yo joints like Yogli-Mogli and Yogurberry, of Asian origin, this shaved frozen milk with assorted toppings concept has its origins in Asia as well. According to

Wafflery Replacing Cinnabon In Lenox Square Food Court

A new concept is preparing to open in the former Cinnabon in the Food Court of Lenox Square. For all my lifelong Atlantans, I'm referring to the most recently shuttered Cinnabon near the Chick-Fil-A and not the previous location on the other end, the space that is currently "The Farmer's Basket." "The Wafflery" is scheduled to open in mid to late July and will serve traditional Belgian waffles as well as assorted crepes. While this is not a new

Googie Burger Name of New Eatery at Centennial Olympic Park?

Increased chatter indicates the name of the upcoming Shake Shack-ish eatery at Centennial Olympic Park will be Googie Burger. My friends at CL, (Besha Rodell in particular), reported earlier this week that there is a new joint called Googie Burger and I believe this to be the previously unnamed eatery taking the place of FountainSide Cafe in Centennial Olympic Park. As previously announced, Googie architecture will be the main feature at the eatery which may clearly may have led to the name. Above is what the place looks like now and below is a rendering of the final product. The restaurant will serve fresh burgers, shakes, fries and other items in a family-friendly, casual environment. I spoke with the park's general manager Mark Banta, and he said there won't even be a freezer on site. Banta also said they hope to open in time for the July 4th weekend, a historically high traffic time for the park, as they feature a spectacular fireworks show. A currently employed Georgia State hospitality major, I'd encourage any fellow students in hospitality or marketing to explore a position at this eatery as they hope to begin the hiring process in the coming days. ToNeTo Atlanta

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Stars Fell On Phipps Plaza, Michael Stars This Is

Michael Stars will open a new boutique at Phipps Plaza by months end. The new store will occupy approx 1,000 s/f on the first level near Brookstone in the former Crabtree & Evelyn. Michael Stars, a Los Angeles-based, family run business began producing women's T-shirts in 1986 and opened their first stand alone retail store in 2001 in Manhattan Beach, California. The brand caters to women seeking a contemporary look and a comfortable fit. In my eyes, their merchandise is at times similar to

WaterHaven Restaurant May Be Sinking In Tech Square

WaterHaven Restaurant, located in Technology Square near 5th and Spring Streets closed this past Thursday for what is being called "renovations".

Sheets of paper affixed to the front doors read as follows:



"WaterHaven will be closed starting June 1 for renovations. Please visit www.waterhavenatl.com for more information or email waterhavenATL.aol.com."

WaterHaven restaurant recently celebrated its one year anniversary having first opened in May of 2009. When the restaurant opened, it took over for another eatery, The Globe, that developed a cult following of sorts, but not enough business to maintain operations. Joe McCarthy, who opened WaterHaven had previously worked for a number of upscale chain eateries. I feel like he may have over anticipated the traffic this space receives. It's not far from midtown but with limited parking, its still limited in its accessibility to many.

Unlike my experience with Sweet Auburn Bistro, you are able to view their menu via OpenTable, though the page states " This restaurant is currently unavailable." It's any ones guess whether they will actually reopen but having dropped their PR firm (Melissa Libby and Associates) and being unreachable by phone are not good signs. ToNeTo Atlanta

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Renaissance Walk Eateries On Life Support, Good Thing Grady Is Close

Running an errand near GSU, I couldn't help but notice that Yoeshi and One Cafe Blanc were plastered with signs stating that they were closed "due to lease issues" from 5/18-5/24, yet as of this past weekend, they remain closed. A statement issued on their Facebook page on the 18th stated that they were closed for "lease negotiations," yet nothing has been said since. If you ask me, the "issue" is that now they likely want to negotiate a new lease, having determined that whatever they are paying is too great a financial burden to allow the business to stay afloat. As I've said before,

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Ermenegildo Zegna Confirmed At Lenox Square

As usual, you heard it here first!

Today came the official announcement that Ermenegildo Zegna will open a new 3,917 s/f boutique at Lenox Square next Spring. Readers of this site will recall that I first reported this nearly two years ago and have kept you apprised of the progress every step of the way. As recently as last month I reported that they would likely open in the shuttered Rowdy space. The picture to the right is of the space just after Rowdy's closure, its currently occupied by "Natural Beauty Spa Boutique." Since my first report of Zegna's intention to enter the Atlanta market, they opened a boutique on Concourse A of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport last summer. ToNeTo Atlanta

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