Wednesday, October 3, 2012

BirthWatch! BirthWatch! BirthWatch!

Upcoming Del Frisco's Grille in Buckhead

As you might have noticed, this year has been full of ups and downs not only for this blog but for the entire hospitality and retail industries.  Established retailers like Wolf Camera, unable to keep up in a digital and cloud-based world are now closing all of their stores while the cheap, teen-oriented chain five below opened nine new locations in Atlanta this past year.  2012 saw Miami-based Pollo Tropical return to Atlanta for a second time and California-based Del Taco return to the Peach State for a third time!  Starwood's aloft hotel will finally enter the Atlanta market while Perimeter will get Le Méridien.

This post was intended to have been published multiple times over the course of the year with updated material. Delays and work obligations combined with constantly changing schedules and concepts resulted in this post continually being in draft form.  This post may not be 100% accurate, as some dates and plans have changed even this week, but please find below a general idea of what's to come in Atlanta over the next year or so...

As always, if you see something missing or incorrect, please comment and let me know.

Thanks for reading my 1000th post!

Eateries

Amura (Terminus/Buckhead) First quarter 2013

Another Broken Egg Cafe (Dunwoody, Vinings & Alpharetta) November & December 

Bantam & Biddy (Ansley Mall / Midtown)  Shaun Doty's new chicken restaurant in the former Planet Living. September Early December

Bantam Pub (Old Fourth Ward) Ralph McGill near Two Urban Licks and the amazing new Fourth Ward Park. Hopes to open in mid November

Barberitos (The Prado) Hoping to be open December 1st ( it's "not set in stone" )

Bhojanic (Shops Around Lenox / Buckhead)  second location opening in former Y-3 space in Buckhead. Mid to late AugustEarly September October late 2012 / early 2013

Big Kahuna (Downtown / SunTrust Plaza) by September Hoping to be open November 1st

Bruegger's Bagels (The Prado) "By the end of the year"

BurgerFi (Brookhaven) Sometime in the first half of 2013

Buttermilk Kitchen (North Buckhead) Taking space left vacant when the Cafe at Pharr shuttered, Buttermilk Kitchen will open October 1st October 8th

Cafe Intermezzo (Midtown) -  Cafe Intermezzo will open in 1065 Peachtree in Midtown.  Originally slated to be an additional location, it will instead replace the Brookwood location and is expected to open in November.  I'm a little disappointed to see them leave the Brookwood location as part of Intermezzo's appeal for me was that location.

Chickabiddy (Atlantic Station) Shaun Doty will open in Atlantic Station a restaurant similar to his forthcoming Bantam & Biddy restaurant, in Ansley Mall.  Plans call for the Atlantic Station eatery to open in the spring... and likely fail by fall.  

Chutney (Midtown)  Chutney, a new full service Indian eatery, is being opened by the owners of The Palace, a Norcross favorite since 1998.  The new restaurant will be located in the 12th & Midtown project and is slated for a late May/early June opening.

Del Frisco's Grille (Buckhead)  Late August or early September  October 13

Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand (West Midtown) Looking for a second space - Location TBA

Fox Bros. Rib Joint ( Decatur) Former Maddy's .. Shooting for August opening. Canceled

Fig Jam (Midtown) Next Spring

The General Muir (Emory Point) West Egg Cafe's new Jewish deli concept is scheduled to open in January.

Golden Corral (North DeKalb Mall) Should be open in early to late in the second quarter of next year

Gunshow (Glenwood) Kevin Gillespie's new Glenwood area restaurant is scheduled to open  next Spring

Unnamed Mexican joint (former Decatur Diner) Cinco founder Mike Brosius will open his an yet unnamed Mexican eatery in the former Decatur Diner/Atlanta Brad Company space soon.  No date has been announced but progress onsite seems to suggest an early to mid January opening may be possible.

Hudson Grille (downtown) Former Golden Buddha adjacent to Philips Arena on Marietta Street.  Hoping to be open late October or early November

Ichiban Izakaya  (Brookhaven) Late 2012

Ink & Elm (Emory Village) Former Park Bench goes high end with ai3 designing this new restaurant that plans to open next spring.

Ito Ito Sushi (Buckhead) Fuyuhiko Ito and his wife Lisa will open their own Japanese eatery at Two Buckhead Plaza in the former Mayor's Jewelers, near the St. Regis.  Plans call for the restaurant to open by early next year.

KR SteakBar (Peachtree Hills) Kevin Rathbun returns to Buckhead with his new Peachtree Hills eatery said to feature "small plate steaks meet Italian fare."  The new eatery will open on Peachtree Hills Avenue, adjacent to ADAC (which opens to the public October 1st for the first time in its 50+ year history) The restaurant was originally scheduled to open in August, then was delayed to November, and is now early January  

LA Tagliatella (Midtown & Emory Point) Spain based La Tagliatella will open what they are calling their U.S. flagship location in the former Silk at The Shops at Metropolis in midtown, and a second location at Emory Point near Emory University.  Both locations are slated for late November openings.

MAR (Decatur) MAR, Coastal Mexican restaurant & tequila tasting room will open in the former Feast Restaurant near the train depot in mid to late October.

Marlows Tavern (Emory Point) Opening in November

Mi Cocina (Midtown) - Irving, Texas-based Mi Cocina will open at 1010 Midtown in late October or early November 2012.  Mi Cocina is a full-service Mexican eatery and will join fellow restaurants RA, RiRa and Piola in the project already. Early November

Modern Restaurant & Bar -  (Buckhead) Modern will open at Tower Place in Buckhead in the former Copeland's. Connecticut-based restaurateur Kane Xu will open a restaurant in the space along with what he is calling a "tasting room and market." He previously anticipated opening in February ( of this year) currently looks to be on track for a mid-late October opening.

Noche (Johns Creek) Today

Pano's (Buckhead) - Buckhead Life Restaurant Group was to reopen Pano's & Paul's as simply Pano's at the St. Regis Hotel in Buckhead. As that plan fizzled, another was born.  Pano's will open basically across the street from the St. Regis within 103 West.  Pano's will occupy about 3,500 square feet on the main level of 103 West.  Bill Johnson of the Johnson Studios will collaborate with Pano and his sons on the design of the new eatery.  The restaurant and accompanying lounge should seat about 200 patrons in total.  Planned for November got the back-burner to new Lobster Bar- Sea Grille in Fort Lauderdale - delayed indefinitely 

Papi's (Tucker) Papi's is an Atlanta-based casual Cuban eatery that will open their fifth Atlanta area location in Cofer Crossing in Tucker.  The chain has  existing locations in Midtown, Stockbridge, Kennesaw and Lawrenceville.  Currently the restaurant hopes to open by mid October

Romeo's Pizza (Emory Village and Lawrenceville) - Johns Creek-based Romeo's Pizza will jump from one to three locations by summer. Romeo's will open its second location by mid January in Lawrenceville followed by their third location at Emory Village by early April.  Now I'm told it will open "anywhere in the next 6 months." now " by the end of summer" "in the coming weeks"

Seven Lamps (Shops Around Lenox)  Dre van Leuvan, formerly executive chef at Concentrics' One Midtown Kitchen, will open in place of Blue Genes.  His new restaurant was originally planned to open in June, then September, and currently is targeted for an early December opening

Taco Diner (Midtown)  Taco Diner is the more casual sister concept to M Crowd's Mi Cocina. Both eateries will feature Mexican fare and both are located in the 12th & Midtown project.  Taco Diner is slated to open late in the second quarter of next year.  

Tin Lizzy's (Emory Point) Fall 2012

The Varsity (Buckhead)  The Varsity will open in the former FIVE GUYS in north Buckhead.  Plans call for the restaurant to be open by early next year.  

Victory Sandwich Co. (Decatur)  Hoping to be open by late August / early September  November

The Village Tap (Buckhead) Hoping for mid-November

Villains (Old Fourth Ward) TBD

Waffle House (Downtown)  Waffle House will open what it's calling a "showcase" location this coming spring.  The restaurant is located at the corner of Andrew Young International Boulevard and Centennial Olympic Park Drive, across the street from Centennial Olympic Park and a couple blocks from CNN Center.  Previously announced to be opening in August.  February 2013

Willy's Mexicana Grill ( Brookhaven ) Planning for mid December

Yum Bunz (Westside) - Mike Blum, founder of the original The Real Chow Baby, left the baby and the bowls behind to launch this new concept. Similar to Lettuce Entertain You's "WOW BAO" from Chicago, Yum Bunz will feature "Bao," a favorite food in Asia. The "Bao" are puffed bread filled with vegetables, meats and in some cases, sweets. Yum Bunz will open in the street level retail spaces of the 935M apartments on Marietta Street, not far from Bocado and 5 Seasons Brewing Co.  September December

Zaxby's (Peachtree Boulevard) - Athens-based Zaxby's will open its location in Chamblee on Peachtree Boulevard  June 26th July 2 July 9th October 8th

Unnamed Ford Fry American concept (Former Nava in Buckhead) January 2013

Retail

Athleta (Atlantic Station) "by the end of the year"

The Container Store (Buckhead ) Former Borders to be reborn as The Container Store.  About 10,000 s/f bigger and will open September 15th November 10th

hhgregg  (Buckhead) Hoping to be open by end of October

lululemon athletica (Perimeter Mall) lululemon athletica plans to open their third Atlanta area store November 9th on the second level of Dunwoody's Perimeter Mall.  

Tory Burch (Phipps Plaza) October 5th

Von Maur (Dunwoody/Perimeter Mall) "November 2012"

Hotels & Projects

Aloft (downtown)  aloft Hotels, a vision of W Hotels and the extended stay, cheapter version of W will finally open an Atlanta location.  Rather than build a new hotel from the ground up, aloft will rehab the vintage Days Inn downtown. The hotel was previously announced to be opening  spring of next year but the corporate site now reflects a "January 1st 2014" opening.

Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites (Dual branded Hilton Hotels) Hilton Hotels is currently constructing two new hotels overlooking the downtown connector.  The two brands, Hilton Garden Inn and Honewood Suites are being built side by side and share the same parcel of land.  The two hotels will be housed in a 12-story tower and will feature 226 rooms: 134 rooms branded as Hilton Garden Inn, and 92 branded as Homewood Suites. Currently, plans are to have both hotels open in late December.

Hyatt Atlanta Midtown (Midtown)  Noble Investment Group, who previously rebranded the Sheraton Midtown as the W Midtown and the Crown Plaza Buckhead as the W Buckhead, is hard at work on its latest rebranding effort.  The group is rebranding what was the independent Hotel Midtown to Hyatt Atlanta Midtown.  The hotel, located at 10th and Juniper, will see its room count increase from 191 to 194, and is expected to open early next year

Le Méridien (Dunwoody)  The first ever W hotel closed  last year and had been operating as the Atlanta Perimeter Hotel & Suites.   Perimeter and the Dunwoody area are set to welcome Le Méridien on January 10th 2013.  It will be only the 9th in the U.S.


Newborns

Eateries


Al's Cafe Agora (Midtown )
Brooklen Water Bagel (Akers Mill )
Campagnolo (Midtown)
Farm Burger ( Dunwoody)
Willy's Mexicana Grill (Midtown) 
Egg Harbor Cafe (Sandy Springs)
Lure (Midtown)
Panda Express (Northlake )
RED (Philips Arena)
Revolution Doughnuts (Decatur)
The Optimist (West Midtown )
The Spence (Midtown)
West & Mill  (Westside)
STG Trattoria (Buckhead)
Watershed on Peachtree (South Buckhead)
Yard House (Atlantic Station)


Retail

Billy Reid (Westside)
Free People (Westside)
Lilly Pulitzer (Phipps Plaza)
NORDSTROM rack (Alpharetta)
Rebecca Taylor (Phipps Plaza )
Sperry TopSider (Perimeter Mall )
VANS Off The Wall (Multiple locations)


Properties

Mandarin Oriental Atlanta





What opening are you most looking forward to? Is there a restaurant or retailer not yet in Atlanta you'd like to see open?  Did I miss something?  Leave me a comment below and share your thoughts.  

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22 comments:

AJ said...

So this post was mainly factual except for one posting (maybe I missed others): Chickabiddy (Atlantic Station) Shaun Doty will open in Atlantic Station a restaurant similar to his forthcoming Bantam & Biddy restaurant, in Ansley Mall. Plans call for the Atlantic Station eatery to open in the spring... and likely fail by fall. As this was the only one with such a strong (& harsh) opinion, I ask you to elaborate as to why you feel this way. I hope it's more than your simple dislike/disgust for anything Atlantic Station. Thanks!

mindspringyahoo said...

I'm surprised that Waffle House is putting their showcase restaurant down there.

The Underground WH actually removed some chairs and tables after 3-4 weeks b/c they were not doing as much dine-in business as they had originally anticipated.

I think that there are any number of places where they could have put it where it would have done more business. Maybe it will get some sporadic but very heavy tourist business.

Chlonigiri said...

I'm disappointed about Cafe Intermezzo's closing of their Brookwood location, too. That was a cool spot for studying late night.

Also, congratulations PB on the 1000th post yay!!!

Lady in ATL said...

What about Bantam & Biddy (looks like it has a ways to go)? And what happened to whatever was going to take over that empty diner on Monroe across from Midtown Promenade

SB said...

Awesome Eli. Thanks for all the hard work on this. Is that Five Guys North Buckhead the one on Roswell in the Fresh Market plaza? If so, had no idea they closed.

Anonymous said...

Any word on the Katharine Kidd store?

Anonymous said...

The Varsity is going into the strip near Goldbergs and Willy's on Roswell near Wieuca? My prayers for the resurrection of the V Jr. have at last been answered!

Two dogs and some rings!

Atlantan99 said...

@AJ,

Thank you for reading my blog and taking the time to share your thoughts.

I think Bantam & Biddy will be a success in Ansley Mall as the concept described by Doty fits perfect into the hood.

As far as Atlantic Station goes, the demographics of the center do not support anything like what Doty has described. When you look at what's there and what is still there, it's all chains and all mediocre chains at that. Nothing chef-driven or local or for that matter healthy will make it there. Look at YardHouse and CPK, both do well and both are a far cry from local or fresh.

I've been to the The Grove in LA and try as Toro may, Atlantic Station is not now and never will be anything like The Grove aside from both having a movie theater.

Atlantan99 said...

@Lady in Atl,

Thanks for reading the blog and for the comments.

I'm not sure, apparently they realized there was far more to do than they originally planned for.

As for the former Diner on Monroe, I'm not so sure. What had you heard it was gonna be?

Atlantan99 said...

Thanks Chlonigiri!

Atlantan99 said...

@SB, that would be a yes!

Gotta keep up --> http://www.tonetoatl.com/2012/09/the-varsity-team-wins-former-five-guys.html

You musta been caught by that cybersquatting other blog and are therefore a month behind on my posts ;)

Thanks for reading and commenting on the site.

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon RE : Katharine Kidd,

The Katharine Kidd store is supposedly still on track to open at 200 Peachtree Hills but details on exactly when are scarce. I will be sure to update with anything firm as soon as I get it.

Thanks for reading and for the comment.

Anonymous said...

I think a Bluefin/Bonefish (something like that) is opening in Towne Brookhaven next to the AT&T store.

For newborns you can add Farmburger (Dunwoody) and Zoe's (Dunwoody/Sandy Springs).

Mark said...

Great post- thanks!

This is the first time I have been hearing about Bantam Pub, but this sounds like great news! Any more details on the exact location?

Anonymous said...

Container Store delay was a sourcing issue for structural steel for a new elevator that had to be built.

Then it was a Container Store issue of other Container Stores around the US opening in the Sept/Oct timeframe. It could have opened sometime in mid to late September as originally planned but Container Store and Selig worked together to manage the issues.

Still no word on what is taking Container Store's old space. Rumors are that a large national liquor store chain is very interested.

Anonymous said...

any hope for ANYTHING opening around kennesaw?

AJ said...

While chains do appear to do best at AS, I don't recall a place like Chickabiddy even being attempted. The places that have closed down (Fox, Dolce, Geisha, Tahitian Noni, Doc Greens, Grape) all had inferior products - and were all chains (well maybe not Noni). I'm not 100% sure what Chickabiddy is going to be (fast casual, sit down), but if it's at a decent price point, I actually think it will do well. Yes CPK is crazy busy, but I don't think that equates to people not wanting a locally owned place. My view is there just isn't the food people want. I actually wish that CPK and Copelands were different restaurants, but they've been there since the beginning so I guess they meet a need. And yes, Yardhouse is doing well and is a chain, though a new chain to Atlanta, and yes, a perfect fit to the AS demographic. But I do think the demographic would also like Chickabiddy. Who knows until it opens. And if/when it's successful, I do hope you'll acknowledge that just as quickly as you'd acknowledge it if it fails.

Anonymous said...

I believe Delia's has officially announced they will be at the corner of Northside and Marietta.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it's a Bonefish in Town Brookhaven next to AT&T. The signage is up, but have no idea how far along construction is.

And I've also been to The Grove in LA and agree Atlantic Station will never become that.

Anonymous said...

There is a new pizza place going in Brookhaven as well, behind SAVI and across from Kaleidoscope

Unknown said...

Cheddars is opening in McDonough, GA!!!!! Looks like they are aiming for a early to mid November opening date! They have consistently been working on the new construction every single day since the summer and now have put all the equipment and furniture in the restaurant and have posted a "Now Hiring" sign.

Lady in ATL said...

La Hacienda was mention by CL in Feb to replace Silver Grill on Monroe.

http://clatl.com/omnivore/archives/2012/02/24/gravy-train-new-life-for-silver-skillet-feast-restaurant-to-close

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