Tuesday, June 14, 2022

[EXCLUSIVE] New Restaurant to Replace Former Sandy Springs Salad Bar

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.  

Locally based real estate brokerage The Shopping Center Group (TSCG) had marketed the 9,338 square foot restaurant building for both single users and three-tenant lease options.  The building, completed in 1998, sits on about one and half acres at 6340 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in a highly visibly elevated position within an outparcel of existing Costco and Home Depot stores.  

Online listings indicate that this will be the first location for TOP Korean BBQ & Hot Pot.  Similarly named K Pot Korean BBQ & Hot Pot revealed plans last year to open four locations in the greater metro Atlanta area including those planned for 3333 Buford Drive - Buford (former Fuego Cantina & Grill), 1715 Howell Mill Road - Atlanta (former Newk's Eatery), 3983 LaVista Road - Tucker (onetime Blockbuster Video), and 2967 Cobb Parkway - Akers Mill (former Chuy's).  

Elsewhere in metro Atlanta, the former Kennesaw Sweet Tomatoes was demolished last year to make way for several new tenants including upcoming locations of Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Maple Street Biscuits and Viva Chicken, among other tenants.  Far less visible (read: desirable) former Sweet Tomatoes in Alpharetta (950 North Point Drive) and Gwinnett (3505 Mall Boulevard) remain vacant, according to local sources.  

Are you pleased to hear that a new Korean BBQ and hot pot eatery is coming soon to Sandy Springs?  Are you still bitter about the closure of Sweet Tomatoes?  What kind of restaurant would you most like to see open in Sandy Springs?

Please share your thoughts below.  

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the Korean people but not so much Korean food. There are so many Korean eateries that have popped up it’s hard to imagine where their large following comes from given their menu’s are not something that would attract or sustain locals on the everyday basis. I do not believe their “regular” draw is anything greater than a infrequent “destination” eatery. I do not think it has enough commercial appeal to attract and sustain everyday diners except perhaps in an area with a high population of Koreans such as Gwinnett County. Peachtree Dunwoody does not strike me as a destination for Korean cuisine so much as to justify the cost of real estate in such a large and visible and prominent location on Peachtree Dunwoody. Another phenomenon is the advent of so many Pho related concepts. It is hard to believe so many Pho concepts can co-exist and survive in non- asian areas such as Sandy Springs. I just don’t like to see these small businesses lose their shirt, and also do not like to see a further wasteland of shuttered properties. Until a recent bounce back the empty storefront wasteland in the Perimeter area was starting to compound which reminded me of how Gwinnett Place evolved or rather devolved in the last decade.

Anonymous said...

it's going to fail

Anonymous said...

I am an ATL native, and I was pretty happy to see this space (and the others mentioned) being occupied by KBBQ, but now that I have read the comments from the anonymous poster who "Loves Koreans but not Korean food", I am absolutely THRILLED, and hope that the growing presence of Asian cuisine across the suburbs continues to make them more and more upset until they leave.

Anonymous said...

Will be interesting to see if the K Pot Korean opens in Tucker in the former Blockbuster. We don't get many new restaurants in the Tucker/Northlake area.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure there will still be plenty of other places in the area for you to enjoy your hamburgers and hotdogs!

JBDun said...

Wow. I have no idea if this restaurant will thrive or not, since so much goes into running a successful business. But rest assured that there are many of us (non-Asians) who welcome and enjoy Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, and many other Asian and other world cuisines. In fact, many of us regularly seek out (and continue to frequent) these food experiences. My family and I will be sure to try out this restaurant, and if we enjoy it will certainly continue to visit.

Anonymous said...

Next time you can just say “flavorful food scares me” and save time on your weird, low key racist ranting

Anonymous said...

"Highly visible position"? You're kidding, right?

That's probably the second worst location in that area in terms of visibility from the street (the worst being the former Tilted Kilt/Max & Erma's buried below ground at Abernathy and Mt. Vernon).

Even with Costco and Home Depot traffic it's still a tough spot. I wish them well but I foresee struggles unless the place gets crazy good worth of mouth buzz.

Anonymous said...

I could not be more excited. Korean BBQ has great following among non Koreans and hot pot is really a Korean adaptation of Asian hot pot. It is great.

Anonymous said...

I didn't see anything wrong in the OP's post. I concur with "June 15, 2022 at 3:45 PM"--this is a hidden spot, in an area dense with offices but not so much residential. Sweet Tomatoes had a very unique offering, serve yourself ayce. So I wish the new place well, but I think it's a tough spot.

dal787 said...

As with most things Trump says, that a LIE.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2020/11/09/no-trump-didnt-win-the-largest-share-of-non-white-voters-of-any-republican-in-60-years/?sh=44da4b814a09

Alex said...

LOL, someone posts their opinion about Korean food on here and its lack of popularity, and the mentally unhinged and unstable lose it. Hilarious!

Also, when is ToNeTo going to rid itself of Blogger in favor of a platform and commenting system designed in this century?

Anonymous said...

tHe mEnTaLLy uNhINgED....you're a dork. And why should ToneTo pay for your wishes? You want a new platform? Chip in cheapskate.

Atlantan99 said...

All: Please refrain from political commentary on this site. There are blogs, sites and many other outlets for politics, this aint one of them. Thank you for your understanding and readership.

Anonymous said...

To the first comment, take your racist thoughts elsewhere. There's a reason why Korean restaurants, especially Korean BBQ is thriving all over the country - Korean food is delicious, one of the best foods in the world. You look at the food YouTubers? The videos with the most views are usually when they're visiting South Korea.

Anonymous said...

@Alex Korean food is very popular what are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

That is such a stupid comment…”I love Korean people but not Korean food” just say you don’t like Korean food…just like I don’t like Mexican food. I don’t have to explain myself!

Unknown said...

I look forward to trying this new restaurant and await the opening. I"m just concerned that the prices will be too high. Most of the Korean bbq in the area are usually $20+ and dinner even higher.
Please keep prices reasonable as there are so many competitive restaurant options.

Anonymous said...

Looking forward to seeing the menu. When is the scheduled opening? I hope the restaurant does well.

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