Friday, April 28, 2017

Grand Lux Cafe Planning Peachtree Premiere at Phipps Plaza

The original Grand Lux Cafe at The Venetian in Las Vegas 
New to market eatery to open at Phipps Plaza

Simon Property Group, the Indianapolis based owner of both Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, among other malls, revealed in an 8-K filing yesterday that it plans to add a Grand Lux Cafe to Phipps Plaza.   

The new restaurant would occupy the current Frontgate retail space with Frontgate shifting to a larger space nearby in the Nordstrom wing.  Although the Grand Lux space was most recently occupied by Frontgate, the second level space was home to The Peasant Uptown, a popular local restaurant, for many years.  The Peasant Uptown closed in the early 2000s. 

The current Frontgate space is about 10,600 square feet with Grand Lux believed to be leasing about 75% of the space.  The restaurant will also reportedly have a patio overlooking Peachtree Road.  

Representatives from Phipps Plaza and from Grand Lux's Los Angeles based PR firm were unavailable for comment on the exact size of the restaurant. 

Grand Lux Cafe, as I've written about before, was launched in 1998 at The Venetian in Las Vegas.  The restaurant is owned by The Cheesecake Factory and is an upscale version of its parent company in many ways, similar to the relationship between Gap and its upscale sibling brand, Banana Republic.  
In 2011, The Cheesecake Factory "toned down" Grand Lux Cafe, making it look more like its namesake restaurants after it failed to continue to draw in the crowds it expected.  The Company also reduced the size of the Grand Lux concept. 

Grand Lux opened the first of its leaner restaurants in Cherry Hill, New Jersey during the summer of 2012.  The Cherry Hill restaurant measures about 8,700 square feet, down from the typical 11,000 square foot locations of years past.  

Grand Lux 2.0 was also designed with "decor less formal and fancy," so as not to intimidate the average suburban family who wanders in after a trip to the mall on a weekday night, explained Cheesecake's Chief Executive David Overton.  Grand Lux also reduced menu prices by about $2, putting it more in line with its flagship parent brand.  

There was talk in early 2013 that Grand Lux might open at Lenox Square.  Eventually The Cheesecake Factory relocated to Lenox Square from a standalone building on Peachtree Road, about a mile and a half south of Lenox Square.  

2013 proved to be a challenging year for Grand Lux with the company closing three units: Park Meadows Mall near Denver, Scottsdale Fashion Square near Phoenix, and at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.  

Today, Grand Lux Cafe operates a total of thirteen restaurants throughout seven states.  The most recent Grand Lux openings were at King of Prussia in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania in 2015 and The Domain in Austin, Texas this past November.  

Grand Lux operates a total of five restaurants at Simon owned properties: King of Prussia in King of Prussia, PA, Roosevelt Field in Garden City, NY, Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, FL,  The Domain in Austin, TX and Town Center at Boca Raton in Boca Raton, FL.  


The Cheesecake Factory has locations in both King of Prussia and Sawgrass Mills, while they also operate locations nearby to both the Grand Lux locations in Boca Raton and Roosevelt Field. 

Phipps Plaza previously revealed that the new, 19,615 square foot Frontgate store is expected to open this fall.  The 8-K indicated that Grand Lux won't open until May of next year.  

In addition to Grand Lux, Phipps Plaza is expected to welcome Daniel Reed's Public Kitchen & Bar this coming September and Ecco sometime next year

Are you excited about the many new restaurants planned for Phipps Plaza? Have you ever been to a Grand Lux Cafe?  What other restaurants or retailers would you like to open in Phipps Plaza?

Please share your thoughts below.  

5 comments:

Ham said...

I’m mildly excited since I’ve always enjoyed movies at Phipps, so more pre or post moving dining options will be great.

Anonymous said...

Love Grand Luxe - Always go there when in Vegas for breakfast and have also gone in Chicago and Dallas. It is always outstanding and I have often wondered why we never had one.

Anonymous said...

I'm excited about this concept coming to Phipps. I went to Earl of Sandwich there recently and it was very good!! I like going to Phipps...just try to avoid the Legoland kids.

Anonymous said...

Nice! We've had Grand Luxe in South Florida for probably like 10 years, so good.

Unknown said...

We love the Grand Luxe. We always stay at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas because this is our favorite place to eat and gamble. We are super excited....we give this restaurant a 10 plus✅

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