Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Bits & Bites

Atlanta's first Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House plans to open September 19 in the street level retail of the new State Farm office in Dunwoody.  The new restaurant, the upscale sibling of the existing Del Frisco's Grille in Buckhead, is, as it's name suggests, a steak house rather than an American eatery like the Grille.  ToNeTo Atlanta first reported on the planned restaurant last July.

The new West Midtown Center on 17th Street at Northside Drive will soon welcome a number of new restaurants.  On the heels of the recent opening of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Zaxby's, Blaze Pizza and McAlister's Deli will soon open in the complex.  Blaze Pizza will open this Thursday, September 13 with plans to provide free pizza to all patrons on Friday September 14.   Zaxby's, located in a freestanding building adjacent to the new Extra Space Storage along Northside Drive, will open Monday, September 17.  McAlister's Deli, a concept from Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands, will become the second of the group to debut new look restaurants in metro Atlanta.  Schlotzsky's, another FOCUS Brand, opened a new look restaurant in Sugarloaf Marketplace early last year.  The new McAlister's will also open Monday, September 17 at 10:30AM, with the first 50 customers in line receiving a free $50 McAlister's Deli gift card.  Atlanta's third Gusto is also expected to open in the center in the coming months.  The center is expected to be anchored by a new Kroger, but the grocer's plans to have hundreds of apartments atop the store have it significantly delayed, with sources close to the project indicating it may not open until sometime in 2020. 

The J. Crew store at Ponce City Market has dropped women's clothing and is now a J. Crew Men's Shop.  The decision to convert the store is likely due to the popularity of the Madewell line, a women's only brand from J.Crew which already has a store at Ponce City Market.  The new Men's Shop is the second in metro Atlanta, joining the the existing location at Lenox Square.  Earlier this year, J. Crew closed nearly 40 stores nationwide including five in metro Atlanta including those at the shop at Westside Provisions District and at Mall of Georgia in Buford. 

Flatbread eatery Flats quietly closed in late July in the former Subway on Centennial Olympic Park Drive at Walton Street in downtown Atlanta.  The restaurant first opened in early 2016.

White Windmill Bakery & Cafe is planning a new location in the same center as Iron Age Korean Steak House off Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw.  The new White Windmill will open in a 1,960 square foot space between Thomasville and Ashley Furniture in the popular Cobb Place shopping center.  Thus far, Atlanta-based White Windmill, which specializes in Asian-inspired pastries, has one location on Buford Highway in Doraville and a pair of satellite locations in Duluth in Nukoa Supermarket on Steve Reynolds Boulevard and in Mega Mart in Gwinnett Place Mall.  In Kennesaw, White Windmill joins Sweet Hut Bakery & Cafe which opened off Barrett Parkway on Chastain Meadows Parkway last August.  White Windmill expects to open its Kennesaw outpost in the coming months. 

Zinburger will open its new Dunwoody restaurant Tuesday, September 18 off Ashford Dunwoody Road at Sterling Pointe.  The new restaurant, the chain's second in metro Atlanta, joins the chain's first which opened in 2014 at the front of Lenox Square in Buckhead.  ToNeTo Atlanta first reported on the planned restaurant October 2017. 

Marietta-based High Road Craft Ice Cream announced late last week that they had acquired Boston-based Ciao Bella Gelato Co. Inc.  High Road started in Chamblee in 2010 and has grown to include a wide variety of ice cream flavors and products and wholesales to numerous local and chain restaurants.  Ciao Bella started in New York in 1983 and is currently distributed nationally to both retail and wholesale accounts.  Keith Schroeder, High Road’s founder and CEO, will helm the combined companies with Ciao Bella’s CEO, Carlos Canals, joining High Road as its chief integration officer, High Road said.  Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. 

A new "experiential" cosmetics store called Winky Lux is "popping-up" at Lenox Square in the former Bebe at the front of the mall.  The space had last year been used as a Mercedes-Benz pop-up, after which it was to become an Amazon bookstore, but never did.  The new store will feature seven "experiences" that require a $10 admission which can then be applied towards a product purchase.  The company describes the areas as "completely transportive rooms that celebrate wildly unique products and magical beauty moments." "The WINKY LUX EXPERIENCE is a pop-up, designed to spark imaginations, create shareable content and foster opportunities to connect with fellow beauty lovers and friends."  There is no admission charge to enter the retail portion of the store.   The first Winky Lux opened early last month in New York's SoHo neighborhood and the company reportedly has plans to open additional locations in Chicago, Miami and Nashville in the coming weeks. 

Starbucks will open their new Sandy Springs location this Friday,  September 14 at 4520 Roswell Road, just north of Wieuca Road.  The new freestanding coffee shop with drive-thru opens on the site of a former Caribou Coffee and replaces the Starbucks in Chastain Square shopping center that closed earlier this week. 

The Atlanta Bread on South Cobb Drive in Smyrna will celebrate its reopening Monday September 17 through Sunday September 23 with a host of promotions and special offers.  The restaurant recently completed a renovation that saw the addition of two private conference rooms and a remodeled dining area.  

13 Stories Haunted House is teaming up with "Trap Star" 2 Chainz to introduce a one-of-a-kind hip hop themed haunted attraction.  "Look for scenes from urban classic films of the 80’s and 90’s,” a statement on the 13 Stories website reads. “See The Pink Trap House resurrected and experience a new form of nightmarish entertainment as these iconic Atlanta based artists collide to bring you The Haunted Pink Trap House at 13 Stories!”  The Haunted Pink Trap House is located in Newnan and will be open from September 21 through November 10.  

A new franchise of Nashville based Helen's Hot Chicken will open at the 200 Edgewood student apartment building in Downtown Atlanta later this winter.  The new restaurant will be the first for the chain in metro Atlanta, and only the seventh overall, according to its website.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ate at this Zaxbys Oct 13th. Lots of people lingering around waiting on dine-in food. Took 35 minutes to get my dine-in. Management was issuing refunds. One group of females had been waiting over 30 mins for their salads. Bad management, no corp personnel there for a new store. This location is doomed...

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...