Friday, January 8, 2021

[EXCLUSIVE] Grand Lux Cafe To Reopen Soon at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead

After an extended hiatus, Grand Lux Cafe at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead will reopen later this month.  The roughly 11,000 square foot second floor restaurant, which first opened August 2018, has remained closed since last summer following the detrimental effects of the pandemic on restaurant sales and associated decrease in foot traffic at Phipps Plaza.  

According to multiple sources with knowledge of the restaurant's plans but who spoke to ToNeTo Atlanta on condition of anonymity, Grand Lux will reopen Thursday January 21.  It's unclear what prompted the restaurant to remain closed as long as they did given that other eateries had reopened or what the motivation is behind their late January reopening.  That said, the reopening will surely be welcome news to mall owner SIMON who owns not only Phipps Plaza and neighboring Lenox Square but dozens of other malls and centers around the country.  

Calabasas, California-based The Cheesecake Factory Inc., parent company of Grand Lux, has several locations in metro Atlanta including one at Lenox Square in Buckhead that has remained open throughout the pandemic when restrictions allowed.  

This past October, when Cheesecake reported their results for third quarter of fiscal 2020, the company revealed that they had closed one Grand Lux unit during the quarter.  The restaurant, located at Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, originally opened in July 2012.  Following the closure and after the reopening in Atlanta, the chain will operate a total of eleven units in eight states.  

ToNeTo Atlanta revealed this past October that local landmark eatery The Tavern at Phipps would not be reopening at Phipps Plaza.  The eatery, a Buckhead favorite for nearly three decades, closed in late March and decided not to reopen.  Fellow full service Phipps Plaza restaurant Agency Socialthèque remains open at the mall while the upscale Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse is closed for good as we reported earlier Friday.  The former Genuine Pizza at Phipps Plaza, located on the ground floor of the mall facing Peachtree Road, remains vacant since their January 2019 closure.  

Plans for a Buckhead outpost of the popular cafe, bakery & market Alon's at Phipps Plaza remain in flux with no word on when/if it will open.  ToNeTo Atlanta was first to reveal in September 2019 owner Alon Balshan's plans to open at Phipps Plaza.  To date, the only action at the space (the remaining portion of the former Twist not occupied by Agency) was an August 6, 2020 building permit for "commercial alteration" filed with the City of Atlanta, which estimated the cost of construction to be $1.25M.  

Are you pleased to hear Grand Lux is reopening at Phipps Plaza?  What is your favorite Phipps Plaza eatery?  Have your trips to Phipps Plaza (and Lenox Square) decreased in light of recent criminal activity at the two popular malls?

Please share your thoughts below.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am a Grand Luxe fan as I've never had a bad meal there and their breakfast is really outstanding. I've only been to the Phipps location a couple times when going to movies but since the Covid outbreak, there hasn't been much reason to visit Phipps. I'll really miss Tavern - that was one of my favorite places to eat and drink.

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