The Container Store Can No Longer Contain Itself at Peachtree & Piedmont

The Container Store will relocate late in the fourth quarter of next year to the former Borders within the Buckhead Triangle shopping center.  I'm told the store will be bigger than their current location at Peachtree and Piedmont but that they will not occupy the entire Borders space.  Borders' Buckhead location closed this past May ahead of the liquidation of all stores a short time later.  I'm told Total Wine

Kmart and Sears Release (Partial) Closure List

Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears Holding Company has released a partial list of Sears and Kmart stores it will close after a disappointing holiday shopping season.  Included in the Georgia closings are a Sears store at Macon Mall in Macon and a Kmart store on Buford Highway in Buford.   (A Kmart store already closed last month on Buford Highway in Doraville)

The list includes 79 stores slated for closure though the chain may eventually close between 100 and 120 stores.  

Where did it all go wrong for these two storied retailers?  Should the two companies not have merged?  What other metro locations of Sears or Kmart do you think may be shuttered?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.  

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BirthWatch Progress Report Q4 : A Look Ahead to 2012 and Beyond

New Atlanta Del Taco locations may sport this new look

As we close out 2011, here's a look at what's on tap for Atlanta in the months and years to come...

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G-Star RAW Opens Teaser Store at Lenox Square

G-Star RAW quietly opened a temporary store at Lenox Square a few days ago and will soon close for a full build out.  Based in Amsterdam, G-Star was first launched in 1989, and in 1996, G Star was the first brand to introduce a "Raw Denim" style of jeans, completely untreated and straight out of the factory. Since then the word "RAW" was added to the company branding though it's commonly referred to simply as G-Star.

G-Star's Lenox store took space vacated by LoveSac, which moved next door to the

FOX Sports Grill and City Sports to Shutter at Atlantic Station

Atlantic Station's FOX Sports Grill and City Sports will both close effective January 1st, confirms North American Properties managing partner Mark Toro.  While Toro continues to deny that a deal is in the works to bring Neiman Marcus's new Last Call Studio store to the the same space these two businesses now leave empty, I feel that the pieces are falling into place.

Another Zaxby's to Hatch ITP Next Year

Athens-based Zaxby's will soon add another location to its suddenly growing store count inside the Perimeter (ITP).  Up until recently, Zaxby's lone ITP location was on Memorial Drive across from Belvedere Plaza, not far from the former Avondale Mall, now home to Walmart.  Zaxby's also has a location on Hugh Howell near Lawreceville Highway in Tucker, but it's OTP.  

Neiman's Bringing Sham Outlet to Atlantic Station?

Last fall Neiman Marcus launched "Last Call Studio," not to be confused with their "Last Call" chain of outlet stores, with a local location at Discover Mills in Duluth. Last Call Studio sells all full price items, none of which have ever passed through a full-line Neiman Marcus or Bergdorf Goodman store. Unlike Last Call, which for all intents and purposes is a way to get rid of seasonal merchandise passed down from the full line stores, Studio will carry lines including VINCE and 7 For All Mankind. The store will not carry couture lines such as Marc Jacobs, Gucci or Lanvin.

Pollo Tropical Hoping Second Wave a Hit in Atlanta

South Florida-based Pollo Tropical is continuing its return to Georgia with a second new location, a free-standing restaurant at Akers Mill shopping center in Cobb county.  A location opened in Lawrenceville on Duluth Highway in August, marking the chain's first Georgia location since a local franchisee closed his three Pollo Tropical restaurants in

F.A.B. Bids Downtown Adieu, Looks Ahead to F&B Opening in Buckhead

French American Brasserie or F.A.B., located on Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard in downtown Atlanta, closed last night, Saturday December 17th.  Oddly, the reason provided was so that owners Fabrice Vergez and Cindy Brown could focus on their new restaurant, F&B, set to open next spring at the new Ritz-Carlton residences in Buckhead.  This past August, when the Buckhead eatery was first announced, rumors swirled that it was a replacement for the downtown eatery, a rumor the owners vehemently denied.

The Hail Mary Unsuccessful in Avondale Estates

In a strange turn of events, The James Joyce Pub, which closed in Avondale Estates at the end of September, and reopened days later under new ownership as The Hail Mary, has reverted back to the original ownership and again changed its name, now to Avondale Arms.   James Joyce originally opened in 2002 and did well for a number of years but its owner, Denise Gerard, who also owns the popular Brewhouse Cafe in Little Five Points, saw sales lagging and sought a change.  

Olde Towne Tavern & Grille Taking on 360 Pharr

Olde Towne Tavern and Grille plans to open next year at 360 Pharr Road at the street level of the Atrium apartments. (A lease is in place pending final approval from the buildings landlord)

Corner Bakery Cafe to Rise in Peachtree Corners

Dallas, Texas-based Corner Bakery Cafe will soon open their fourth Atlanta area location, and their first under the ownership of Atlanta-based Roark Capital Group. The 120+ unit Corner Bakery and the 22+ unit Il Fornaio concepts were purchased from Il Fornaio ( America) Corporation in June.  Roark has a variety of investments, in several categories, but recently has been steadily growing its restaurant portfolio.  It's restaurant holdings now include Moe's Southwest Grill, Auntie Anne's, McAlister's Deli, Arby's, Cinnabon, Carvel, Wingstop and Schlotzsky's Deli.

Will Atlantans' Get to "C. Wonder"?

Chris Burch poses in front of a truck promoting the opening of C. Wonder's SoHo flagship store

Chris Burch, ex-husband of Tory Burch and co-founder of her popular namesake clothing line, has opened the first of many planned C. Wonder retail stores. C. Wonder's first location opened in SoHo this past October. Already three additional locations have opened: Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, The Westchester in Westchester, New York and Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, New York which just opened this week.

Tomorrow's News Today Launching New Segment

Many of you have called me out for my DeathWatch, yet the majority of comments this entire year came on its quarterly posts, and in some cases, like the closure of all El Pollo Locos in Atlanta, a restaurants demise locally. BirthWatch garners interest as well, but is less controversial than the DeathWatch, and inspires less interest.

Due in part to this, and also to better distinguish this blog and my interests, I will be launching a new series later this month.

Enrico Liberato Lights Up Buckhead With Fuoco di Napoli

Enrico Liberato, the piazzaiolo from Naples who worked for Fritti, later Antico Pizza, and still later Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria, just opened his very own pizzeria! Located at 30 Pharr Road in Buckhead, Fuoco di Napoli's space was previously home to neighborhood watering hole McTighe's before it closed. A resident of Atlanta all my life, I'd say it's only in the past 3 years or so, that I realized there was another side to Pharr Road! Pharr Road can be found on both sides of Peachtree Road, and Fuoco is found on the side behind the former Three Dollar Cafe.

Fuoco, fire in Italian, is a good name for the pizzeria where

A Closure Here, An Opening There; Checkers Restaurants Making Moves in Atlanta

Tampa, Florida-based Checkers Drive-In Restaurants are disappearing from intown neighborhoods and thus far being replaced by nothing. As many of you know, Checker's pad sites are often small as few feature any inside dining. Most Checkers feature a (twin) drive-thru and a walk up counter. I say twin drive-thru, but in my earlier years I 'd dine at Checkers with some frequency and the twin seemed like a joke, as basically never were both