Thursday, January 9, 2014

Tin Drum Goes Silent at Emory Village


Tin Drum Asiacafé  has closed at Emory Village.

The Atlanta-based noodle joint converted its short lived burger concept, Wonderful World Burgers & Fries at Emory Village into Tin Drum  Asiacafé in early 2012.  From the beginning, I questioned the wisdom opening a noodle shop across the street from established and well-liked Doc Chey's.  It seems Tin Drum has come to their senses in deciding to close.

Wisely choosing not to leave the intown Emory area completely, Tin Drum will reopen in a new location, about 3.5 miles away, at 2566 Briarcliff Road.  The new location is in a new center, the Village at Druid Hills.  Tin Drum will join Willy's Mexicana Grill (expected to open in May) and Newk's Eatery (opening timetable unknown) as dining options in the center.   A freestanding Mattress Firm and in-line Sprint store have already opened and will soon be joined by a nail salon and Sport Clips hair salon.

Zoës Kitchen had previously committed to the project, but will instead be opening at nearby Loehmann's Plaza.

Tin Drum started in 2003 with its first location on 5th Street at Technology Square.  Today, the chain has twelve locations open, with the replacement location at the Village at Druid Hills marking the chain's thirteenth.  

Look for an exciting post about Tin Drum's growth in the coming weeks. 

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't like the recent changes to Tin Drum's menu. Booooo the menu changes.

TheJohnP said...

Just read earlier today that Loehmann's will be liquidated all their stores. Guess that shopping center may have to get a new name.

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon RE: Menu changes,

I totally agree! The food quality has gone down while prices have gone up. Also, a favorite, the "Drum Roll" was eliminated entirely.

Thanks for your comments and readership.

Atlantan99 said...

@TheJohnP,

I dunno, you know Friday's Plaza is to many still known as Friday's Plaza even though Friday's has been closed for more than a decade. Nevertheless I will be interested to see what happens to Loehmann's Plaza with both their space and the OfficeMax space up for grabs.

Thanks as always for your comments and readership.

G.G. said...

They closed their only store in Birmingham recently, too.

Their new menu is a really confusing mess full of hidden price upcharges. (A V for vegetarian on the menu means that if you pay an extra $1.29, they'll sub tofu, apparently.)

I went to the new store in Marietta, and the food is still good, but the "pop-up" street food design is an eyesore. The restaurant looks like they ran out of money halfway through building it, and the menu is a single piece of orange paper. It doesn't look like a restaurant so much as something that some kids are doing as a side hobby until the mall finds an actual paying tenant.

Also, they never, ever should have converted this location from Wonderful World, firstly because of the Doc Chey's and secondly because those burgers were amazing.

Atlantan99 said...

@Grant,

You are very right about their Birmingham location and as I mention I have an upcoming post that will go more in depth.

I'm with you on the design as well and find their food quality to have gone downhill over the past year or so. Sad.

Also, yes, made zero sense to convert burger joint to noodle joint with Doc Chey's across the street.

Thanks as always for your comments and readership.

Anonymous said...

Were they recently acquired by a PE firm? I thought I heard they were, which could be driving some of these head scratching changes.

That said, when in the world is Pei Wei going to come to Atlanta? And Potbelly's?

Atlantan99 said...

@Anon RE: PE firm,

Yes, BIP Opportunities Fund, an Atlanta firm invested an undisclosed amount in Tin Drum in late 2012 to fuel growth.

Pei Wei would be fine but Potbelly, wowza! I need me some Potbelly in Atlanta ASAP!

Thanks for your comments and readership.

Mr Neutron said...

A little concerned about the North Buckhead location too. Just one person's observation - maybe the lunch biz does well - but it's pretty quiet in there in the evenings.

Rugs said...

There's actually a Pei Wei location in the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson.

Anonymous said...

@Mr Neutron
I think the same thing! It's dead most evenings and occupies a huge space in that shopping center, so rent has to be pretty sizable...

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