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The final FLIP Burger Boutique has been sold and will reportedly soon be converted to an "upscale restaurant bar & lounge." Brothers Joseph and Matthew Hsiao, who had in 2018 purchased the business, sold the restaurant to Kechia Matadin, according to Steve Josovitz of The Shumacher Group who brokered the transaction.
A new high-rise apartment tower will rise next year near The Battery Atlanta. SK Commercial Realty announced Tuesday the development of "The Henry," a 502 unit tower planned for undeveloped land between 900 and 1000 Circle 75 Parkway. Atlanta-based SK Commercial Realty, which is headquartered at 900 Circle 75 Parkway, Nebraska-based Goldenrod Companies and the Atlanta Braves Development Company will all be involved in the planned development.
It's been more than three years since Whole Foods Market made the disappointing decision to "move" its beloved Briarcliff store to a glitzy new mixed-use development in Midtown, some six miles away. There had been hope for a time that the grocer, owned since 2017 by Amazon, would see the error of its ways and reopen, that dream seems highly unlikely today. ToNeTo Atlanta has reviewed planning documents that indicate that a new Tesla sales and service center will replace the former grocer at 2121 Briarcliff Road.
The owners of Slope's BBQ on Johnson Ferry Road in Sandy Springs have ditched the Slope's franchise and rebranded. "We are excited to let our friends and the Sandy Springs community know that after 20 years of serving southern BBQ, today we are rebranding to McDaniel’s Qn2!" The new restaurant reportedly features the same great BBQ, sides, and friendly faces, with the new name the biggest "change." "Our new name embodies the key elements of our restaurant: Andy & Glenn [McDaniel's] ⭐️BBQ [Q] ⭐️2 [most menu items include two sides]" The McDaniel brothers also operate the Slope's BBQ in Alpharetta which which for the time being remains unchanged.
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A new steakhouse is coming to Alpharetta! Connors Steak & Seafood, a Tennessee-based concept with five locations currently open, will make its Georgia debut with a new restaurant along Windward Parkway not far from Costco. The steakhouse, which will be joined by a new outpost of First Watch, will replace former locations of Romano's Macaroni Grill and Chili's Bar & Grill which closed in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
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| Typical Connors interior |
The sandwich shop known for offering "a sub above" is in the midst of a significant Atlanta area expansion. Jersey Mike's Subs, which already has about about 90 locations in Georgia, has another sixteen "coming soon," according to its website.
A former Atlanta area salad bar will soon be transformed into a new kind of restaurant. New "coming soon" signage indicates that the former Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy Springs will reopen "TOP Korean BBQ & Hot Pot." The Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy Springs, three others in metro Atlanta, and the entire nearly 100-unit San Diego-based chain shuttered in May 2020 due to their inability to continue operations during peak COVID-19.
Luxury retailer Balenciaga which this past December opened a 3,000 square foot store at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead, will now add a second store to Lenox Square, also in Buckhead. A permit filed June 10 with the City of Atlanta indicates that the Spanish fashion house will open in place of what had been timepiece retailer Tourneau, on the mall's first floor, not far from the former (and soon to reopen?) Starbucks.
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| Balenciaga's "full destroyed" sneaker which retails for $1,850 |
Tucker area breakfast and lunch spot The Little Farmhouse Cafe is closing. In an "Important Announcement" Friday afternoon on its official facebook page, the restaurant revealed that it will close at the completion of service on Sunday June 19, Father's Day. Chef Chris Morrison, along with his wife Angie first opened MRDfoods, a catering company, along Presidential Parkway near Spaghetti Junction at PREP, a commercial kitchen facility.
Apple authorized retail and service provider Simply Mac is shutting down after sixteen years in business. The company is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and will be completely liquidated, according to materials reviewed by ToNeTo Atlanta Thursday.
It had been a while since ToNeTo Atlanta visited the Mall of Georgia, and while things are basically the same, we did note several new developments in and around the Buford mall. Opened August 13, 1999, Mall of Georgia is owned and managed by Simon Property Group, and today includes anchors Von Maur (former Nordstrom), Macy's, Dillard's, Belk (former Lord & Taylor), JCPenney, Havertys Furniture, Barnes & Noble, Dick's Sporting Goods (former Galyan's), and Regal Cinemas.
WOK Provisions has opened in Duluth. The new Szechuan eatery from popular operator Gary Lin is located in a 2,800 square foot space in Duluth Station, a Publix-anchored shopping center at 2750 Buford Highway, near its intersection with Old Peachtree Road. In addition to the new WOK Provisions, Lin is a partner in Wei Authentic Chinese in Buford and Marietta, Hai Chinese in Suburban Plaza near Decatur and on Windward Parkway in Alpharetta, Urban Wu in Piedmont Peachtree Crossing in Buckhead and Hao Chinese in East Point. Later this summer, potentially as soon as July, Lin will open Urban Hai at 77 12th in Midtown.
Asana Partners, one of the largest owners of properties and shopping centers within intown Atlanta, is putting three of its assets up for sale. The Charlotte-based firm, whose local holdings include Krog Street Market and Midtown Promenade, has hired CBRE's National Retail Partners-Southeast to market Plaza on Ponce, Morningside Village and Glenwood Park for sale. The firm is also marketing another Asana asset, Edgehill Village, in Nashville's Edgehill neighborhood, not far from Music Row. The sales listing indicates that "ownership will accept offers on an individual property and/or portfolio basis."
In a move that many will find shocking and disappointing, Mattress Firm has closed its store at 3158 Peachtree Road (Peachtree Plaza) in Buckhead. The store, which occupied a 4,650 square foot space in the small strip center along Peachtree Road, closed in recent days with signage directing would-be patrons to the nearby Mattress Firm at 3275 Peachtree Road (Buckhead Sqaure), about a half mile away.
Several well-placed sources confirm to ToNeTo Atlanta that Hermes will move from Buckhead Village District (BVD) to Phipps Plaza in 2024. The move, which would coincide with the conclusion of the retailer's ten year lease at the outdoor center, is no doubt a blow to the center and a shot in the arm for Phipps Plaza.
A Canadian outerwear company will later this year open just its fourth full-line store in the U.S. in Lenox Square. Moose Knuckles, a company specializing in coats, jackets, parkas and bombers, will open in suite 3098 C, a roughly 3,000 square foot space on the first floor of the mall, according to permits recently filed with the City of Atlanta. The new store will occupy a portion of what had been a large, two level Topshop before the British retailer closed it and ten other U.S. stores in 2019. Before Topshop the space had been Kenneth Cole.
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| A Moose Knuckles store in Toronto |
Wild Wing Cafe in Dunwoody has closed. The restaurant, located in Ashford Place (4788 Ashford Dunwoody Road), opened in February 2015 and closed as of May 31, according to a post on the restaurant's Facebook page. When the restaurant opened, it replaced Romano's Macaroni Grill which had closed in August 2013.
