Friday, December 9, 2022

[EXCLUSIVE] Previously Announced Delbar in Buckhead Not Happening

If you were looking forward to enjoying the Buckhead outpost of popular Middle Eastern restaurant Delbar, we have bad news: it ain't happening.  First announced in August 2021, the restaurant was to have opened in the fall of 2022.  While delays in construction, permitting and hiring are pretty normal these days, things were moving even slower than glacially at the would-be Buckhead site.  

Multiple real estate sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that mechanical, logistical and structural issues with the space prevent it from becoming a restaurant and that as a result, Delbar will not be opening.  

Delbar Buckhead was to be located in the one retail space in the street level of the 290 unit, 20 story, Gentry apartment tower at 3172 Roswell Road.  Construction of the tower at the corner of Irby Avenue and Roswell Road started in 2018 and it opened in 2020.  Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN), a publicly traded, Miami-based developer with a market capitalization of nearly $25 billion, developed Gentry via its multifamily division, LMC.  (The multifamily division was rebranded as Quarterra Multifamily this past July ahead of its planned spin-off from Lennar.)  One would think a company of Lennar's size would have experience in building such mixed-use developments.  

Delbar owner Fares Kargar opened the original Delbar just off North Highland Avenue in Inman Park in 2020.  This past November, Kargar opened Bibi, a quick serve, scaled down version of his popular restaurant, in Ponce City Market.  In July ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report that Kargar had purchased a former restaurant on Old Milton Parkway in Alpharetta where he intends to open a new Delbar.  

Kargar, a native of Iran, worked at Rumi's Kitchen's original Sandy Springs location for nearly seven years - working his way up from server to general manager - before he left in early 2020 to open Delbar. 

For those in Buckhead looking to satisfy their craving for Medterranean food, our favorite is Cafe Agora on East Paces Ferry Road, which has been a neighborhood mainstay for more than fifteen years.  Zakia, a new "Modern Lebanese" restaurant from Chef Ian Winslade and Jonathan and Tony Akly, recently opened at the Prominence Apartments at the corner of Piedmont and Lenox Roads in Buckhead. "Zakia features both classic and modern sharable mezze and chargrilled meat and seafood influenced by the Mediterranean and centered around modern Lebanese cuisine."  

Are you disappointed to learn that Delbar will not be opening at Gentry in Buckhead?  What is your favorite Mediterranean restaurant in metro Atlanta?  What kind of restaurant would you most like to see open in Atlanta?

Please share your thoughts below. 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not surprising they cut their losses. Unfortunately Buckhead is known more for crime and shootings now than great shopping and restaurants. Sad to watch a once nice area go down the toilet in just a few years.

Anonymous said...

It is now opening soon on Old Milton.

Anonymous said...

Should have opened in Buckhead, so many people would have loved it🥲

Anonymous said...

Only among people who couldn’t find Buckhead on a map.

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