Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Has The Family Dog Finally Been Put Down?

"Grateful Tables" restaurant group left with one restaurant.

Chef Ron Eyester's big mouth, lousy attitude and lofty expectations for his mediocre food may have cost him his budding restaurant empire.  Seemingly unsatisfied with the success of Rosebud and The Family Dog, Eyester subsequently opened Timone's in Morningside and Diner at Atlantic Station.  Neither restaurant was all that good with Timone's being so bad it was closed and reconcepted, only to close a second and final time this past July.  

Earlier this month, I detailed Eyester's emotional letter to patrons where he expressed his gratitude for their business but also shared the dire state of his crumbling empire.

Following my post, comments flooded in with others' experiences and thoughts on the man known as @AngryChef:

"Cantankerous, pugnacious personality. Lousy food. Iffy service."

"Ron Eyester just needs to go away."

"The "Angry Chef?" You're in a service business, dumbass, and "angry" and "service" don't go together. I don't want an angry drycleaners, or an angry bank teller, and I sure as hell don't want an angry chef. Letting this label stick to you...not so smart. But maybe in your next career you can be the Careless Truck Driver or the Dumb High School Teacher."

"The 'Angry Chef' has done a good job of ruining his business by insulting customers and serving mediocre at best food." 

As of last week, The Family Dog closed with signage on the front door stating they would reopen yesterday, the 6th, at 6PM. That didn't happen.  Now, Diner too, is closed with what looked like the beginnings of a clearout occurring inside the restaurant.  I reached out to both employees of Rosebud as well as Atlantic Station's "Concierge Services" desk, both of whom expressed doubt that either restaurant would reopen. 

If Diner does in fact remain closed, it would mark one of the shortest, most expensive restaurants in Atlanta in recent memory.  Not only that, with it closed as well as Strip, it's rather unfortunate timing for Atlantic Station's new owner Hines Interests.   Hines reportedly paid about $200 million for the retail/restaurant core of the center earlier this month.

While Atlantic Station does have plenty of generic retail options, they are lacking a Mattress Firm.  Perhaps the popular retailer will have interest in opening a superstore in the former Diner space?  

Do you think The Family Dog or Diner will reopen? Do you want them to?  What would you like to see open in their places if they remain closed?    

Please share your thoughts below 

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pointless backbiting.

Anonymous said...

LOL! You never miss an opportunity to troll Atlantic Station.

AJ said...

Agree with the other comments re: AS. It's doing well. Yes, a couple of restaurants closed within days of each other. But AS, contrary to what you think, is now a success. Is it the best development ever? No. But retail was (before the 2 restaurant shutdowns) 90% leased. Office space is being leased. Homes are being purchased. Etc. I'm a former AS home owner. I'm not anymore. I have no connection to the space other than as a shopper, diner, movie goer. It just gets old and makes it seem like AS did something to you personally. This is obviously your website and you can write what you want, but what was once true and sometimes funny, is just yawn inducing.

Anonymous said...

It's funny to see commentators doing the same thing they accuse the blogger of. If you don't like what or how he writes, there's an easy solution - STOP READING THE BLOG.

Anonymous said...

A lot of restaurant closings in ATL this week. Yikes!

Anonymous said...

I personally blame Ford Fry. While his strategy of opening a new restaurant every other month is questionable, he has upped the competition in Atlanta severely. Mediocre food and service at high end prices just won't do in Atlanta anymore.

Jonathan said...

The dog is a pretty decent neighborhood sports bar and a lot of solid staff. We hit it on post-tennis weekend brunches a lot, when the fairly heavy food isn't as guilt ridden. Rosebud is the wrong side of the hood for us for fine dining, but always seemed to do good business. Timones was a mess - solid ingredients and bad crust is no way to make it with expensive pizza. The original idea of NY style cheap pizza by the slice take away is a solid idea - but needs a location with lots of foot traffic.

Matt said...

turn down the gloating, dude. people lost their jobs. the dog was the ONLY bar in morningside and a great spot for live music and will be missed. my son still misses timones and morningside is left with even fewer family friendly options. I've been reading your blog for years, but your hatred for eyester is getting really old.

Anonymous said...

I always hated the family dog. It was way always way too loud. There was no where to sit. If you could sit, the seat sucked because it was not comfortable. Plus, the food was garbage and over priced. I'm glad it is closing because that is a good spot for a good place to go.

Anonymous said...

The "Family Dog" was a stupid name to begin with, everything else followed suit. I hope this shuts the arrogant, know-it-all's mouth up for good.

Jenna S. said...

Thanks for the post, as always. As someone who only has 1 now-infamous memory of eating at the Family Dog, I am fine with it closing =) I think that all of the restaurant closures in Atlanta this week are a shame for the workers and all of the void in retail space that now needs to be filled but with every change comes opportunity, so we'll see what happens. Personally, C and I really love your Mattress Firm comment. That is a true LOL!

G.G. said...

Diner is still open as of this morning. Slow and quiet, as ever, but open.

Anonymous said...

Heard that Rosebud closed at end of day yesterday (Sun. Oct 11).

Hope Rosebud, Family Dog, and Timone's spots will find awesome new tenants. Sorry for Ron, even if his persona rubbed people the wrong way.

Anonymous said...

If it's true Rosebud is closed also, that makes 3 great spots now available in Morningside for some decent restaurants. Never understood the appeal of Rosebud's; Timones was horrible and never set foot in the Family Dog. Eyester is a certifiable madman and needs to find a different line of work.

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