Bits & Bites

Amore Cucina & Bar plans to "soft open" for dinner Saturday March 31, with plans to be completely up and running by Monday April 2.  The full-service pizza-centric restaurant is opening in TOWN Brookhaven in place of what was most recently a PizzaFire franchise.  The Brookhaven Amore is meant to be a sister location to the restaurant's original location in Stamford, CT.  Amore is owned by "six-time World Pizza Champion/Restaurateur/Television Personality Bruno DiFabio." 

[SOURCE] Farrell's Return to Atlanta Falls Short of Finish Line

Farrell's, the beloved ice cream chain and restaurant that we announced in November would be returning to the Atlanta, is reportedly no longer planning to open here.  Farrell’s Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlour was to open in a shared space with Sweet Pete's, a gourmet candy shop at the Battery Atlanta at SunTrust Park.  The two businesses were to share a roughly 10,000 square foot, two-level space adjacent to Wahlburger's and across from CRU, a wine bar and restaurant.

Coming soon signage at The Battery Atlanta still displays both Farrell's & Sweet Pete's 

River Street Sweets Sours on Second Floor Space, Plans to Shutter

River Street Sweets will close its longstanding location on the second floor of Phipps Plaza this coming Saturday, March 31.  The shop, a satellite location of the Savannah-based candy shop, has been a mall mainstay for almost 20 years.  There will be no inventory liquidation sales associated with the closure.  

[NEWSFLASH] Chick-fil-A to Close and Rebuild Restaurants in Smyrna and East Cobb

Chick-fil-A will soon close its longstanding location at 3100 South Cobb Drive in Smyrna.  The restaurant, which first opened December 15, 1988, will close Friday April 13, and be demolished and rebuilt, similar to the "scrape & rebuild" the company completed this past January on North Druid Hills Road in Atlanta.  The freestanding North Druid Hills Chick-fil-A was referred to as the oldest freestanding Chick-fil-A restaurant in the company.  The North Druid Hills restaurant opened April 16, 1986, and was soon followed by others, South Cobb Drive among them.  

Chick-fil-A at 3100 South Cobb Drive in Smyrna 

Bonus Bits & Bites

Men's retailer Mizzen + Main plans to open a new pop-up store at The Battery Atlanta adjacent to SunTrust Park in the coming weeks.  The new men's shop, which is opening in the same space in which Chubbies popped-up last year, is expected to open Thursday March 29, in time for the The Atlanta Braves home opener at 4:10 against the Philadelphia Phillies.  Mizzen + Main, who proudly states "We are not cotton. We are better than cotton." primarily features men's dress and casual shirts made of Nylon, Polyester and Spandex.  The shirts as said to breathe, stretch, and wick away moisture, require no ironing or dry cleaning, and be machine washable.  Mizzen + Main claims their shirts are "comfortable AF" and are made of "performance fabric."    The brand's online origins and brick & mortar evolution is not unlike the growth of fellow men's lines UNTUCKit and Bonobos.   The Dallas, TX-based brand has one other pop-up shop open, in Plano, Texas, and is also carried by a number of local retailers including Nordstrom at Perimeter Mall and  assorted Kinnucan's locations, among others. 

Chick-fil-A Hopes Downtown Athens is Prepared to Eat Mor Chikin

Chick-fil-A is one step closer to bringing its chicken sandwiches, waffle fries, frosted lemonades and the rest of its popular menu to downtown Athens.  The Red & Black - an Athens-based publication focusing primarily on the University of Georgia and Athens news - broke news of the restaurant's approved plans Wednesday evening. 

Photo courtesy of Chamberlain Smith

The Brothers Hsu to Open "Lazy Betty" in Honor of Their Hard-Working Mother

Howard Hsu and his brother Ron plan to open "Lazy Betty," a new chef-driven restaurateur adjacent to their Sweet Auburn BBQ on North Highland Avenue in Poncey Highland.  The restaurant, named for their mother Betty, will open in place of Soul Vegetarian No. 2.  Little is known about the concept thus far, but the restaurant's Facebook page describes it as a "chef driven restaurant introducing a new southern cuisine."

At left, Howard and sister Anita with brother Ron and mother Betty - Photo Mia Yakel 

[UPDATE] Keba Sandwiches Kaput in Emory Village

KEBA Sandwiches has closed its location at Emory Village.  The restaurant, which opened in early January of last year, reportedly closed without notice earlier this month.  A ToNeTo Atlanta reader noted the closure yesterday while the restaurant's most recent Yelp rating, from March 13, noted that "Keba's sandwiches and fries are great, but today their door is padlocked with no sign or note indicating why or if it is temporary."  

Inside the KEBA Sandwiches at Emory Village in 2017 

Bits & Bites

Calhoun-based outdoor retailer RAK Outfitters will open its first ITP location later this month at Lenox Square in Buckhead.  The roughly 2,000 square foot store will open on the mall's main level, adjacent to Sprinkles Cupcakes, in a space previously home to Sperry TopSider.  RAK has five existing Georgia locations in Calhoun, Fort Oglethorpe, Woodstock, Kennesaw and Dalton.  Sources say the current plan is to have the store open next Friday, March 30.  

Neighbors Seek Path Forward for "Blighted" Sprayberry Crossing Shopping Center

Neighbors in one local Cobb county community are meeting this week to discuss options for a blighted shopping center that many feel is an eyesore.  The center, Sprayberry Crossing, is located in east Cobb county at the corner of Sandy Plains and East Piedmont Roads, not far from Sprayberry High School.  The physical address of the center is 2692 Sandy Plains Road.  

The former Bruno's at Sprayberry Crossing 

[UPDATE] Sandy Springs Rize Pizza Falls

After lasting longer than many thought it would, Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads has closed its second and final location.  The restaurant, located in the street level retail of the new Square One apartments at the corner of Roswell Road and Hammond Drive in Sandy Springs, reportedly closed earlier this week and was cleared out hours later.  Sources close to the restaurant say that the eatery was evicted by its landlord, Crim & Associates.  

[BREAKING] No Fare-Thee-Well: Earth Fare to Exit Atlanta & Peachtree Corners Stores

Natural foods grocer Earth Fare will soon close two of its Atlanta area stores, after just over three years in business.  The stores, located at the Village at Peachtree Corners shopping center in Peachtree Corners and Emory Point in Atlanta, opened in January and July 2015, respectively.  A third store, located at The Collection at Forsyth, opened in December 2015 and is remaining open for now.  

[UPDATE] Toys "R" Us to Become Toys Were Us, Plans to Close All Remaining U.S. Stores

Toys "R" Us will soon end its U.S. operations after what it called a "horrific holiday season."  The Wayne, NJ-based retailer, which was founded in 1948 and once had over 1,500 stores, announced early Thursday that it plans to liquidate its remaining roughly 735 U.S. stores after failing to come to terms to continue as a going concern in bankruptcy court.  The closure of Toys "R" Us will leave its 31,000+ US employees out of work.   

Popular Hang Out HOBNOB To Venture OTP

The owners of HOBNOB are bringing their popular concept OTP to Dunwoody in late summer.  The new HOBNOB will open at the SuperTarget anchored Perimeter Place shopping center in place of what was Mimi's Cafe.  As ToNeTo Atlanta reported last fall, Mimi's abruptly closed this past September after opening with the center in 2006.  

Bits & Bites

A new restaurant called BoneYard Kitchen & Tap is coming to Etris Road in Roswell.  Ownership describes its concept as "a family friendly high end sports bar with high quality food and great drink options."   The restaurant, which is opening in place of what was most recently Blue Agave Mexican Bar & Grill, plans to open in late April.  A menu is not yet available, but updates to the restaurant, a confirmed opening and menu will be shared with followers of the restaurant's social handles on Facebook and Instagram at @boneyardkitchen.  

1000 Degrees Pizza and Golden Krust to Open at Marietta Trade Center

A number of new eateries are coming to Marietta Trade Center in Marietta.  A property flyer for the Walmart Supercenter anchored shopping center indicates that 1000 Degrees Pizza, Golden Krust and Moe's Southwest Grill are all "coming soon."  Fellow quick serve eateries Jimmy Johns and American Deli are already open in the center, while Chick-fil-A operates a freestanding drive-thru adjacent to the center, and a former Pollo Tropical drive-thru sits idle since its December 2017 closure. 

[EXCLUSIVE] RaceTrac May Be Proposing New Site in Marietta

Atlanta-based RaceTrac recently submitted plans to the City of Marietta for the construction of a new fuel center and convenience store at the corner of Windy Hill Road and Cobb Parkway.  The new RaceTrac would replace an existing Folks Southern Kitchen restaurant as well as a Chevron gas station and convenience store. 

The new RaceTrac would look similar to this 

Krystal Planning Shiny New Restaurant in Buckhead

Krystal plans to demolish and then rebuild their Buckhead restaurant at 3037 Piedmont Road.  The existing restaurant, built in 1999, is about 2,000 square feet and sits on about six tenths of an acre.  Krystal, which owns the property, plans to construct a new, slightly smaller restaurant measuring about 1,800 square feet that will sport the brand's latest, more modern "clocktower" design. 

The new Buckhead Krystal should look like this 

Bonus Bits & Bites

AtlantaFresh Artisan Creamery actually ceased production last month and its factory store was reportedly "hit hard" after ToNeTo Atlanta's original post this past Friday.  If you have not yet made your way to their shop in Norcross, you may be out of luck.  The popular Atlanta-based maker of Greek yogurt is being forced to close after nearly ten years in business after Whole Foods Market, a customer that had become the company's largest account, abruptly cancelled a seven year contract after just fourteen months. 

The factory store at AtlantaFresh as of  Wednesday afternoon

[UPDATE] DeKalb Planning Commission Recommends Denial of Controversial Redevelopment

The DeKalb County Planning Commission met Tuesday night and recommended denial of the proposed RaceTrac/Wendy's/Express Oil Change redevelopment at the corner of Clairmont and Briarcliff Roads, just off I-85 in DeKalb County.  

Bits & Bites

A new Wendy's is coming to the former Checkers at the Concourse B food court at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.  The space, which airport sources indicate has been empty about two years, will mark the return of the popular square burger eatery to the world's busiest airport.  Wendy's previously operated a location in the airport's atrium where Popeyes is today.  

[UPDATE] Former Trust Company Bank Branch Receives Historic Designation

We are pleased to report that The Historic Preservation Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources announced Wednesday that the Trust Company of Georgia Northeast Freeway Branch has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The property is located at 2160 Monroe Drive and was targeted for redevelopment as a self storage complex in 2016. The property owners sponsored the nomination and Ray, Ellis & LaBrie Consulting prepared the nomination materials.       

[UPDATE] Proposed 245-Unit Tucker Apartment Development Seeks New SLUP

San Diego based apartment developer Fairfield Residential is planning a new 245-unit apartment project just off  I-285, on Northlake Parkway.  The proposed redevelopment is scheduled to go before the Tucker Planning Commission Thursday, April 26.   The project would be developed on 8.65 acres at 2180 and 2200 Northlake Parkway currently occupied by the largely vacant Northlake Quadrangle shopping center as well as the extended stay Northlake Inn motel.

[EXCLUSIVE] We Have a Problem: Houston's on Lenox Road Closing

Houston's plans to close their longstanding restaurant on Lenox Road at East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead later this month after nearly 40 years in business.  ToNeTo Atlanta has confirmed that the restaurant, which first opened in 1978, will close after dinner service on Saturday, March 31.  Sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that staff was informed of the upcoming closure this past weekend with severance pay being offered to all employees with at least five years of service.  As a company, Houston's is known for its consistency both in food and service, the latter of which will make its nontenured employees a hot commodity for other restaurants looking to hire.

[STINKY NEWS] AtlantaFresh Forced To Shutter Following Removal From Whole Foods

In an incredibly unfortunate update to our post from this past November, AtlantaFresh Artisan Creamery confirmed earlier this evening that they will close for good in about two weeks.  The closure, largely the result of of the company's removal from Whole Foods Market following their acquisition by Amazon last year, means the end of a nine-year run for the Norcross based business.  Despite attempts by AtlantaFresh to remain a going concern though new partnerships with both Publix and Sprouts Farmers Market,  among others, the hole left from Whole Foods Market was simply too big to fill.  

AtlantaFresh founder Ron Marks with his son Andrew

[NEWSFLASH] Taco Mac Has Been Sold

This week, Taco Mac was sold by Dallas-based private equity firm CIC Partners to a team of independent investors and experienced restaurateurs led by Atlanta resident and longtime Taco Mac guest Harold Martin, Jr. 

Bits & Bites

Westside Market is now open at Toco Hills shopping center.  The new and used antique and gift market opened in a large portion of the former Department of Labor office (onetime Colonial grocery store) and is the second location for the locally owned company. The original, and far larger Westside Market is actually on the Westside and is located on Ellsworth Industrial Avenue.