Monday, February 8, 2016

Morelli's Off Moreland Melts Away

Morelli's Ice Cream shutters Edgewood location 

Morelli's Ice Cream, which started in Atlanta in 2008 and was named  4th best ice cream shop in America by Bon Appétit Magazine the following year, has closed its location at the Edgewood Retail District.  The ice cream shop, which opened in 2011, occupied a 1,500 square foot space on Caroline Street, adjacent to Figo Pasta.  Prior to Morelli's opening in the space, national ice cream shop Cold Stone Creamery operated in the space.  

While the center, located on Moreland Avenue not far from Little 5 Points, has lost Morelli's, it will soon see the opening of another dessert shop.  Cinnaholic, a Berkeley, California-based cinnamon shop plans to open later this spring, a few doors down from the former Morelli's. 

Shop owners Donald Sargent and his wife, Clarissa Morelli, blamed the closure on their lease saying, "Despite our best efforts to negotiate better terms to stay, we were unsuccessful."

The couple posted a message to both their facebook and twitter profiles announcing the closure earlier today:  

Dear Morellis' Family,   

Thank you for your support for the five years we've been at the Edgewood Retail District location. 

 As of today, Monday, February 8, we have decided to close our Morelli's at Edgewood. Despite our best efforts to negotiate better terms to stay, we were unsuccessful.   

Thanks to all of our loyal customers for your support and patronage, and we expect to see you at our original Ormewood location at 749 Moreland Ave. SE, our Dunwoody location at 4514 Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd., or at We Juice It in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Atrium very soon! Stay tuned for exciting news and updates about our Ormewood location coming soon!   

Thank you again, Atlanta! Please send us a direct message if you have any questions or concerns.  

Sincerely,  Don & Clarissa

Where is your favorite place for ice cream in Atlanta?  What would you like to see open next in the Edgewood Retail District?  Do you think an increase in crime at the shopping center has led to decreased sales at shops like Morelli's?

Please share your thoughts below.  

3 comments:

AJ said...

Business is business. I'm not a commercial leasing agent, but you'd think you'd want to make a lease work with a locally owned, nationally renowned business, but evidently not. I think Morelli's has a longer shelf life than this Cinaholic place...

Anonymous said...

Commercial/retail landlord strategies make NO sense at all. Negotiate a few $ to keep your space from being empty, fools.

Anonymous said...

We don't no the details they could be struggling and asking for huge concessions (think Diner at Atlantic station) and the owner may not need the tenant bad enough to get below market rent. This is the sign of a very healthy commercial market in this area and they wouldn't have let them go if they didn't have a wait list of other prospects. PS I didn't like their ice cream when I tried it once in Dunwoody.

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