[BREAKING NEWS] Whole Foods Market to Open Next Month in Chamblee

Well placed sources indicate that Whole Foods Market has finally set a date for their highly anticipated new store in Chamblee.  ToNeTo Atlanta and our friends at The Brookhaven Post were first to report on the planned store in January 2015 and I'm pleased to say the store is expected to open Friday August 18th! 

Starbucks Sours on Teavana Brand, Plans to Shutter All Stores

Earlier this afternoon, Seattle, Washington-based Starbucks Corp. announced it would shutter all of its 379 Teavana stores.   The company indicated that closures would happen within the next year, with most closing by spring 2018. 

Starbucks founder Howard Schultz at a Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar shop in New York

Adios! Cheeky to Shutter at The Forum in Norcross

Cheeky, a Mexican sports bar concept, will be closing their location at The Forum in Norcross after dinner service this coming Saturday.  The approximately 5,000 square foot restaurant opened in late 2014 and was the fourth location for the Suwanee-based chain.

[EXCLUSIVE] The Iberian Pig Plans to Trot to Buckhead Next Year

Castellucci Hospitality Group (CHG) plans to bring their popular The Iberian Pig restaurant to Buckhead next year.  The original Iberian Pig opened on the square in Decatur in late 2009.  The Buckhead location of The Iberian Pig will be located on the ground floor of the new Hanover Buckhead Village high rise apartment complex currently under construction at the corner of Roswell Road and Irby Avenue in the heart of the Buckhead Village.   

Bits & Bites [Atlanta Commercial Real Estate News]

The Wendy's restaurant at 8455 Roswell Road in Sandy Springs is expected to reopen next week.  The restaurant, which has been closed since a January 2014 fire, was reportedly plagued by delays related to the insurance coverage.  The franchisee of the Sandy Springs Wendy's, PAP Enterprises, owns four other metro Atlanta Wendy's restaurants including one on South Cobb Drive at Windy Hill Road in Smyrna.   

A Bust in Brookwood Hills, HAUS Sets up Shop in Brookhaven

A new establishment called HAUS is coming soon to Brookhaven.  Renovations are currently underway at 3009 Buford Highway to convert the existing, roughly 3,000 square foot building, into HAUS Restaurant & Bar. HAUS is being opened by entrepreneur Tamara Young with New Jersey native Chef V. Harper listed as the restaurant's Executive Chef.  

[UPDATE] The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead Loses its General Manager

ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported this past May that The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead was likely being sold and re-flagged.  In the months since, some details have become clear.  Come this holiday season, there will likely not be a "The Ritz-Carlton Hotel" in Buckhead.  

The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead mid-renovation last month 

New Poke Purveyor Sweet Tuna Planned for Perimeter Place

A new restaurant called Sweet Tuna is coming to the former daVia Italian fast & fresh in Perimeter Place shopping center in Dunwoody.  The approximately 2,400 square foot restaurant is well situated within the center and includes a good sized patio.  The restaurant space was originally occupied by Doc Green's Gourmet Salads, a failed salad-centric quick serve restaurant from Martin Sprock of Moe's Southwest Grill fame. 

Salata Secures Space in Second Suburban Center

Salata, "The Next Generation Salad Bar," is coming to East Cobb.  The Houston, Texas-based salad joint will open in place of the former Uncle Maddio's Pizza at the Home Depot/T.J. Maxx/HomeGoods/Sprouts Farmers Market- anchored  Providence Square shopping center on Roswell Road. 

Chamblee Adding to its Public Park Space, Brookhaven Too

The City of Chamblee plans to significantly increase its public park space, most dramatically with the planned preservation of existing green space at the former Jim Hearn Golf Center on Buford Highway.  The driving range, located at 4445 Buford Highway just north of Dresden Drive, sits on 16.5 acres and had been in business for decades before closing over a year ago. 

Regions Bank Cashes in on Former Pollo Tropical in East Cobb

Birmingham, Alabama-based Regions Bank has leased the former Pollo Tropical restaurant in East Cobb and plans to build a new branch in its place.  The Miami-based chicken chain opened its freestanding restaurant on September 9, 2015 and closed it October 25, 2016.  The restaurant building, which was located in an out-parcel of the Kroger-anchored Parkaire Landing shopping center on Johnson Ferry Road, replaced what had most recently been a Shell gas station. 

[EXCLUSIVE] Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse Destined for Dunwoody in 2018

Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, Inc., the Southlake, Texas owner and operator of the Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, and Del Frisco’s Grille restaurant concepts, announced Friday plans for a Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse in Atlanta.

Click to enlarge

BRIO Tuscan Grille to Bid "Ciao" to Buckhead Next Month

BRIO Tuscan Grille plans to shutter its Buckhead restaurant after dinner service on Sunday, August 6th.  The approximately 9,000 square foot restaurant in Buckhead Centre at 2964 Peachtree Road opened in 2000.  Bravo Brio Resturant Group, the Columbus, OH-based owner of the BRIO Tuscan Grille and Bravo Cucina Italiana restaurant chains, confirmed in May that it planned to close "at least six restaurants this year."   The first three closures occurred earlier this spring in North Bethesda, MD (BRIO), San Antonio, TX (BRIO) and Willow Grove, PA (BRAVO!). 

Ebrik Coffee Room Finds Space in Sandy Springs for Third Location

The owners of independent coffee shop Ebrik Coffee Room, have signed a lease to open what will be their third metro Atlanta location in Sandy Springs.  The new 1,359 square foot shop will open as part of the Modera Sandy Springs apartment project at 6125 Roswell Road, near Hilderbrand Drive.  As ToNeTo Atlanta has previously reported,  Casi Cielo, a new  concept from the owners of the La Parrilla Mexican Restaurant chain and The Local Pizzaiolo, a new quick serve pizza concept, are also opening in the 340-unit "luxury" apartment project. 

Bits & Bites [Atlanta Commercial Real Estate News]

World of Beer has closed its location on Chastain Road in Kennesaw. The beer-centric eatery which opened in late 2014 quietly closed a little over a week ago according to local sources.  The nearly 4,000 square foot restaurant was located in Madison Place at Chastain, a shopping center also home to Marlow's Tavern, Del Taco and Uncle Maddio's Pizza, among other tenants.  Tampa, Florida-based World of Beer continues to operate just one metro Atlanta location, in the bottom of the Viewpoint condo building on Peachtree Street in midtown.  A World of Beer location that was planned for Dunwoody in 2015 is still not open and seems to have been abandoned [the space is listed as available on the property's leasing page] despite the location's listing as "coming soon" on the company website.  For what it's worth, the Kennesaw location, too, is still listed as active on the company's website. 

Third Henri's Bakery to "Rise" on Atlanta's "Upper Westside"

Henri’s Bakery & Café is moving forward with plans to renovate a onetime church and reopen it as a commissary kitchen and retail operation.  The new Henri's, located at 2310 Coronet Way on Atlanta's burgeoning "Upper Westside," is expected to open later this fall.  The new Henri's will be about 4,200 square feet, about double the size of the planned location at Andrews Square in Buckhead and the existing Sandy Springs outpost at Sandy Springs Plaza on Roswell Road. 

[UPDATE] Kroger Marketplace Embry Village in Doubt, Others Delayed Indefinitely

Cincinnati-based Kroger, which industry experts indicate controls just under one third of the metro Atlanta grocery market, is doubling down on some of its most successful locations. This effort includes enhancements to both its North Decatur Square and Toco Hill stores in-town, as well as other OTP stores like those on Buford Drive and Riverside Parkway in Lawrenceville, among others.  

Bits & Bites [Atlanta Commercial Real Estate News]

Lush, purveyor of fresh handmade cosmetics, is coming back to Lenox Square after closing at the mall in 2011.  Previously located on the mall's main level near Bloomingdale's, the new store will be near Lovesac, and will occupy the former Bachrach store. The store, estimated to be about 2,400 square feet, will be on par with the company's other two Atlanta area shops in Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody and Mall of Georgia in Buford.  Both the Perimeter Mall and Mall of Georgia stores reopened earlier this year in significantly larger spaces than they'd previously occupied.  The Lenox Square store, which opened in 2008, was less than 1,000 square feet but was complemented by a shop-in-shop on the main floor of Macy's which as of now is still open.

SIMON Says Sayonara to SIMON Rewards

Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) announced Monday afternoon that it was ending its roughly three year old rewards program, Simon Rewards.  The program, which was only available at select Simon-owned centers, rewarded customers with points that could be entered into multi-market contests, and provided opportunities to win offers/coupons instantly by "checking in" to local malls.  

[OPENING ALERT] 4 Rivers Smokehouse to Debut This Saturday, July 15th in Atlanta

4 Rivers Smokehouse, the highly anticipated barbecue joint from chef John Rivers, will officially open their first Atlanta area restaurant this Saturday, July 15th.  The restaurant,  located in the old fire station No. 16 on Marietta Street, took longer to expected to complete, due in part, I'm told, to the efforts made to preserve the historic structure.

[UPDATE] Bowl Lab to Open Tuesday, Grand Opening Planned For Thursday

Bowl Lab, a new quick-serve Hawaiian Poké and Brazilian Açaí bowl concept that ToNeTo Atlanta was first to announce as coming soon this past May, will open its first location this  Thursday in Vinings.  Located in the Vinings Main Retail Centre on Vinings Slope, the new 1,455 square foot eatery opens in place of a former Subway restaurant.

[EXCLUSIVE] Perennial Properties Planning Peachtree Apartment Project

Atlanta based Perennial Properties plans to construct a new 12-story, 256 unit apartment complex in Brookwood Hills.  The project would be located at 1781 and 1789 Peachtreee Street, parcels that Perennial purchased in 2014 and 2015 respectively.  The two parcels total just over two acres and are currently occupied by a pair of low-rise office buildings. 

Rendering of Perennial's new Brookwood Hills project (click to enlarge)

HUFF Furniture "Restructuring" to Compete in Modern Retail Market

Buckhead's HUFF Furniture is currently having what it is calling an everything must go "Restructuring Sale."  The sale, which started this past Friday, offers discounts of up to 70% off all merchandise. 

Burger 21 a Bust in Buckhead

Quick serve burger chain Burger 21 has closed its restaurant in Chastain Square in north Buckhead. The roughly 3,100 square foot burger joint opened in the Publix-anchored center on Roswell Road in late July of 2015 and closed this past Friday, June 30th. As I reported this past December, the restaurant was not meeting expectations and had been for sale with local restaurant brokerage, The Shumacher Group.  According to Steve Josovitz of The Shumacher Group, the listing has been off their site "for a while."

[UPDATE] Chick-fil-A North Druid Hills to Close in August

This past April, I revealed that the freestanding Chick-fil-A on North Druid Hills and Briarcliff Roads, the first ever freestanding Chick-fil-A, would be closing to be rebuilt. The news was met with shock and surprise with many wondering when exactly it would close and when it would reopen. 

Bits & Bites [Atlanta Commercial Real Estate News]

 Wahlburgers plans to open their first Atlanta area location next week at The Battery Atlanta at SunTrust Park. The restaurant, an independently owned franchise of the Massachusetts based restaurant started by the Wahlberg family, is the first of potentially six planned for the greater metro Atlanta area. As of today, the restaurant is planning to open Thursday, July 6th. I sure hope Mark Wahlberg can spare some time in his "Unlimited" schedule and make an appearance at the restaurant.