[UPDATE] Black Walnut Cafe Closed in Alpharetta & Peachtree Corners, Exits Atlanta Market

Just over three years after opening their first location in the area, Black Walnut Cafe has left the Atlanta market.  Based in The Woodlands, Texas, a suburb of Houston, restaurants at 5805 Windward Parkway in Alpharetta (opened 7/2016) and 5242 Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners (opened 4/2017) were to be the first of as many as seven locations in metro Atlanta.  A third location planned for the former Old Hickory House in Dunwoody was later deemed to be too small, and the parcel was sold and then demolished to make way for a relocated SunTrust Bank.  

[ACTION!] Alamo Drafthouse Cinema to Make Atlanta Premiere

Austin favorite Alamo Drafthouse Cinema plans to enter the Atlanta market... in Doraville...in 2021.  The new cinema complex is planned as part of a recently announced wave of new developments at Assembly, the 165 acre mixed-use development on the site of the old General Motors assembly property just off I-285 in Doraville. 

[EXCLUSIVE] Wheelhouse Craft Pub & Kitchen Rolls into Onetime Old Hickory House Near Decatur

A new locally owned eatery is planned for a long vacant restaurant space near Decatur.  The owners of Wheelhouse Craft Pub & Kitchen recently started renovations of the building at 1479 Scott Boulevard near Suburban Plaza to suit their needs.  Contrary to incomplete and inaccurate reporting by another website, Wheelhouse is not in any way associated with Meehan's Public House or its parent company, 101 Concepts.

After Long Life, Shorty's Pizza Has Closed at Toco Hills

Shorty's Pizza in Toco Hills has closed after more a dozen years in business.  The restaurant, located in the LA Fitness anchored shopping center at the corner of North Druid Hills and LaVista Roads, closed without warning within about a week ago, according to local sources.  There was no mention of the closure on the restaurant's official facebook page.  The most recent post was on September 13 advertising a dinner special.

[LOOK!] Lidl Looking to Land Littler Store in Roswell

Albeit slower than before, German grocer Lidl is again plotting an Atlanta expansion, this time in Roswell.   The discount grocer would open in place of an existing shopping center at 690 Holcomb Bridge Road.  The center, The Crossings at Roswell, is set on roughly four acres at the intersection of Holcomb Bridge and Old Roswell Roads, and was built in 1984 according to real estate site LoopNet.  Plans call for a complete demolition of the roughly 40,000 square foot center and for the new Lidl to be about 29,000 square feet, according to documents submitted to the City of  Roswell. 

[AVAILABLE] Secluded South Buckhead Restaurant 1KEPT Up For Grabs

1KEPT Kitchen & Bar has closed and is being marketed for lease.   The casual American restaurant located at 2293 Peachtree Road in south Buckhead opened in 2013.  When it opened, on the rear side and lower level of a Peachtree Road-facing building adjacent to Imperial Fez, it replaced the original location of Taqueria Tsunami. Before the short-lived tauqeria, the space was home to  Toulouse, a French eatery that was in business for 16 years.  Proprietor Thaddeus Keefe opened a second 1KEPT at the Renaissance Charleston Historic District Hotel in mid 2017 but closed this past July.   

[EXCLUSIVE] Break Bread at Alon's Buckhead in 2020

Alon Balshan, the man who has been baking up delicious breads, macarons, pastries and other delicacies in Atlanta for three decades, is finally bringing his treats to Buckhead!  Alon shared the exciting news with the Concierge Society of Atlanta at an event held Tuesday at his Dunwoody location across from Perimeter Mall.  The new Alon's Bakery & Market, which Balshan hopes to have open by late summer 2020, will open in the remaining portion of the former Twist restaurant along Peachtree Road at Phipps Plaza.  Alon's will be situated between Agency Socialthèque (fka Daniel Deed's Public Kitchen & Bar) and Nordstrom.  

Alon's in Dunwoody at Park Place 

[FLYING HIGH] Altitude Trampoline Park In to Thaw Formerly Frozen Facility

A growing chain of trampoline facilities is entering the Atlanta market.  Altitude Trampoline Park, based in Southlake, Texas, will open a new location behind Parkaire Landing shopping center in East Cobb.  The new Altitude will open in the roughly 30,000 square foot building that previously housed the Marietta Ice Center.  The Ice Center, which opened in the early 1970s as part of what was then Parkaire Mall, changed hands earlier this year, but closed a short time later.

Inside a typical Altitude Trampoline Park 

[Déjà vu?] Both Watershed on Peachtree and Saltyard For Sale

The owners of both Watershed on Peachtree and Saltyard have put their respective restaurants up for sale.  Both restaurants are located in the street level retail of The Brookwood, a luxury condo high-rise at 1820 Peachtree Street in Brookwood Hills.  Each restaurant changed hands in 2018 when chef Matt Marcus purchased Watershed from original owners Emily Saliers (of the Grammy award-winning folk rock group Indigo Girls) and Ross Jones, and Lee Schulman of the Old Vinings Inn purchased Saltyard from its original owner, chef Nick Leahy.  Leahy opened Saltyard in 2013 with business partners Christian and Kristy Favalli.  Leahy became sole owner of Saltyard in 2017.

[EXCLUSIVE] Liquidation Retailer Gimme A $5 Opening First Georgia Store

Gimme A $5, a growing chain of discount stores which bills itself  as "The Original $5 Treasure Hunt," is entering the Georgia market.  The new store, to be located at Dalton Mall in Dalton, is expected to open in the coming weeks.  The new Gimme A $5 opens in place of a space that was originally home to anchor Loveman's, later Proffitt's, and finally Belk. Belk, which already had a store in the mall, operated both stores for a time, but later consolidated to their original space, making this one available.

Bins of merchandise inside a Gimme A $5 store 

[UPDATE] Cinnaholic Hopes to Find Sweet Success in Former Poke Space

A second Atlanta area location of Cinnaholic is coming soon.  The new franchise, to be located in the Publix-anchored Dunwoody Hall shopping center along Chamblee Dunwoody Road, will open in place of the short-lived Poke City. (The poke joint opened late last June and was closed by early this past March.)  The new 1,340 square foot shop will be in an endcap space behind Novo Pizza. 

[UPDATE] Local Tin Drum Asian Kitchen Closes "Temporarily"

Tin Drum Asian Kitchen in Johns Creek has "temporarily closed."   The restaurant, located in Johns Creek Festival at 11160 Medlock Bridge Road, opened August 10, 2017, and within the past few days posted signage indicating that it is closed "temporarily." Despite indication of the closure being only temporary, the Johns Creeks location has been removed from the Tin Drum corporate website and its space is currently being marketed by Riverwood Properties, who owns Johns Creek Festival. (Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a corporate sibling of Tin Drum, also has a location in the same plaza and remains open.)

[COMING SOON] A New Opportunity to Love That Chicken From Popeyes

A new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant is planned for Tucker near Stone Mountain.  The new Popeyes, to be built at 1690 Mountain Industrial Boulevard, would occupy a currently wooded lot not far from where a new Hardee's opened in 2017.   The Hardee's, at 1727 Mountain Industrial Boulevard, adjacent to Stars & Strikes, debuted in December 2017. 

[CLOSURE ALERT] Chicken and the Egg Closed in Marietta

Chicken and the Egg on Whitlock Avenue in Marietta has closed. The restaurant, which chef Marc Taft opened August 2011, closed earlier this week. The restaurant occupied a 8,550 square foot space in the Burnt Hickory Village shopping center at 800 Whitlock Avenue.  Chicken and the Egg is the third Taft concept to close in recent months following the December 2018 closure of FEED Fried Chicken + Such at The Battery Atlanta and the May 2019 closure of Brine Seafood Shack at Avalon in Alpharetta.

Bits & Bites

Beloved chocolate and treat shop River Street Sweets will return to metro Atlanta with a location at The Battery Atlanta at SunTrust Park.  The new 1,500 square foot shop, expected to open later this fall, replaces Tomahawk Harley-Davidson, which closed in August at the mixed use development. The sweet shop will offer guests traditional favorites like its World Famous Pralines and a variety of chocolate treats including homemade fudge, candied nuts, bear claws and more.   Local Atlanta-area franchisees, Doug Hicks of Milton, Georgia and Jamie Wright, of East Cobb will operate the new shop.  Based in Savannah, River Street Sweets for nearly 20 years had a store on the second floor of Phipps Plaza in Buckhead, but it closed last March.

[UPDATE] Bareburger Midtown Up For Sale

Barely 15 months after opening, Atlanta's lone Bareburger restaurant is up for sale.  The restaurant, located at 715 Peachtree Street in Midtown, opened in late May 2018, and is a franchise of the New York-based eatery.  Steve Josovitz of The Shumacher Group, who is handling the sales offering of the restaurant, describes the eatery as a "Midtown Atlanta “In Your Face” Location on Peachtree Steps From The Fox Theatre, Universities, Malls, Business, Buckhead, Highways & Everywhere."

[EXCLUSIVE] Sixty Vines and Whiskey Cake Restaurants Coming to Perimeter Mall

ToNeTo Atlanta has confirmed that Texas-based Front Burner Restaurants plans to bring two of its upscale, full service restaurants to metro Atlanta in 2020. The restaurants, Sixty Vines and Whiskey Cake, are planned for Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody.  Sixty Vines, a wine bar and restaurant, will occupy an as yet unbuilt structure on an outparcel near the intersection of Perimeter Center West and Ashford Dunwoody Road, while Whiskey Cake, an American kitchen & bar, will open in an existing restaurant space at the mall.

[UPDATE] PNC Bank Plans to Build New Branch on North Decatur

PNC Bank is planning to open a new branch near Decatur next year.  The new, roughly 2,900 square foot bank will be built at 2626 North Decatur Road at its intersection with Church Street, on the site of a shuttered Church's Chicken restaurant.  The fast food eatery abruptly closed in October 2016.  The .6 acre corner site has sat vacant since then.

[SCOOP] Popular Ice Cream Maker to Open Buckhead Scoop Shop This Month

Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams plans to open their new Buckhead Scoop Shop Thursday September 19, according to sources familiar with company's plans.  The new shop occupies a 1,398 square foot space in the Whole Foods Market-anchored Buckhead Market Place shopping center at 77 West Paces Ferry Road.  The new shop marks the fifth in Atlanta for the Columbus, Ohio-based ice cream maker.   The new "scoop shop" occupies a portion of the former The North Face store.  (The outerwear retailer previously consolidated their Atlanta operations into a single store at Lenox Square.)

[UNCLE!] Another Former Uncle Maddio's Franchisee Rebrands, Launches "Daddio's Pizza"

Just a few short weeks after the operators of five Georgia and Alabama area Uncle Maddio's rebranded their restaurants to Pazzi's Italian Grille, former franchisees in Florida made a similar move.   

[CONFIRMED] Del Taco Moving Forward With Restaurants in Buford and Lawrenceville

Just days after we reported that Del Taco closed its Roswell restaurant after just nine months in business, we have now confirmed a total of four more locations the chain plans to open in the greater metro Atlanta area in the coming months.  In addition to units planned for Conyers and Loganville, ToNeTo Atlanta has now confirmed that the Lake Forest, California-based chain will also open new restaurants in place of shuttered Pollo Tropical locations in Buford and Lawrenceville. 

[SLICED!] Your Pie Out Cold at Perimeter Place in Dunwoody

The franchised location of Your Pie in Dunwoody at Perimeter Place has closed.  Owners Lisa & Morgan Maclellan announced the abrupt closure via their facebook page early Friday and to email customers Saturday.  The restaurant's last day in business was Thursday night.  By Saturday evening, the Your Pie Perimeter facebook page had been deleted.  

The Maclellans celebrating Perimeter's 4th anniversary this past January 

Bits & Bites

Siblings Nik Panagopoulos and Artie Antoniades are reconcepting their Teela Taqueria restaurant in Sandy Springs.  The duo plan to reopen it as Apron + Ladle  this coming Wednesday, September 11.  The restaurant, located in a 2,500 square foot space in the Kroger-anchored City Walk shopping center, will offer assorted sandwiches as well as breakfast fare.   The restaurant will reportedly be two sections: "A sit down, full-service experience in the main dining room with a European flare; and a counter service café in the adjacent room to grab a coffee and a Southern biscuit on the go, or sit and enjoy a more casual setting with complimentary Wi-Fi." 

[EXCLUSIVE] Bar That Claims to Have Invented the Buffalo Wing Bound for Former Burger Joint in Kennesaw

A restaurant that claims to have invented the Buffalo wing is opening a location in metro Atlanta.  Frank & Teressa's Anchor Bar is slated to open in place of the recently shuttered Fuddruckers restaurant at 2708 Town Center Drive near Town Center at Cobb in Kennesaw.  Fuddruckers Kennesaw closed at the end of July after 25 years in business.

The original Frank & Teressa's in Buffalo, New York 

[EXCLUSIVE] gusto! to Open Next Location in Chastain Park

Nate Hybl plans to bring his quick-serve restaurant gusto! to north Buckhead in 2020.  The new restaurant will open in The Fresh Market-anchored Roswell Wieuca shopping center on Roswell Road near Chastain Park.  Gusto will open in place of what was most recently Cheeseburger Bobby's, between Willy's Mexicana Grill and Chicken Salad Chick.  

Plans call for improvements to the brick facade for better branding 

[UPDATE] Fork U Planning to Open Spanish Tapas Eatery Silla Del Toro This Month in Marietta

The owners of Taqueria Tsunami, Stockyard Burgers & Bones, and Forno Vero, plan to open a new concept later this fall in a familiar Marietta Square location.  Silla Del Toro, a Spanish style tapas restaurant and bar, will open at 30 South Park Square on the square in Marietta.  The new restaurant  replaces Pressed Panini Bar which closed this February after a little less than six years in business.  Pressed, like the aforementioned other three concepts, was owned and operated by local restaurant group Fork U Concepts Inc.

[CLOSURE ALERT] Bon Glaze Abruptly Shutters Doughnut Shops in Brookhaven and Buckhead

Gourmet doughnut shop Bon Glaze abruptly closed both of its Atlanta area locations.  The shops, located in Brookhaven near Blackburn Park and in north Buckhead near Chastain Park, both opened in 2016, and according to signage and local sources, closed around Labor Day.  The Brookhaven  location, situated in a roughly 1,700 square foot space in Brookleigh Marketplace along Johnson Ferry Road, was almost three times the size of the satellite Buckhead location at just 604 square feet.

[CLOSURE ALERT] Del Taco Departs Roswell After Nine Months

Del Taco, which earlier this January opened on Mansell Road in Roswell, has closed.  The restaurant, located at 850 Mansell Road, just off Alpharetta Highway, opened in place of The Counter, a quick-serve burger eatery which had operated out of the converted bank for about ten years.  Lake Forest, California-based Del Taco, which is currently celebrating 55 years in business, didn't even last one year in Roswell.  The restaurant reportedly closed effective Monday, September 2.  

[EXCLUSIVE] Poke Gives Way to Ponko in Buckhead

Poke eatery Poke Nooke in north Buckhead has closed after about nineteen months in business.  The restaurant, located in a 1,200 square foot space in the Publix-anchored Chastain Square shopping center, opened February 6, 2018, and closed as of August 29, 2019.  The restaurant, which occupied a corner space behind Swoozies, will not stay vacant for long, with signage indicating it will soon reopen as a PONKO Chicken franchise.  Poke Nooke owners Alex & Linda Lam will own the new venture under a franchise agreement with PONKO.

[OPENING ALERT] Seafood Joint Crab404 Set For September Opening in Sandy Springs

A new restaurant called "Crab404" is setting up shop in Sandy Springs.  The restaurant, which describes itself as a "seafood bar," is opening in Belle Isle Square on Roswell Road, where it will replace Food 101 which closed this past March after 19 years in business.  The roughly 4,600 square foot space is currently under renovation with plans for the new restaurant to open "real soon" according to a Facebook post on the official Crab404 page early Tuesday.