Sunday, May 14, 2023

Bits & Bites

Tommy Bahama has closed at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead.  The tropically themed men's and women's clothing retailer opened its first floor space in the mall's Nordstrom wing in 2016 after operating a larger space on the mall's second floor for many years.  Tommy Bahama continues to operate a storefront at Avalon in Alpharetta.  Also at Avalon are Lilly Pulitzer, which closed its outpost at Phipps Plaza in 2022 and Johnny Was, which closed its Phipps Plaza boutique earlier this month and reopened at The Shops Around Lenox May 12.  All three brands are owned by Atlanta-based Oxford Industries.     

Signage along Buford Highway in Buford suggests that a new Firehouse Subs is opening in place of former Krystal at 1595 Buford Highway in an outparcel of the At Home-anchored Buford Square shopping center.  Firehouse Subs previously had a location at 3350 Buford Drive, about three miles away, not far from the Mall of Georgia.  Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Firehouse Subs was in late 2021 acquired by Restaurant Brands International (rbi), a holding company that also owns Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes.  

Troubled off-price retailer Tuesday Morning announced May 1 that it's winding down operations and will close all of its remaining stores.  All stores are currently offering up to 30 per cent off in stock merchandise.  After multiple previous rounds of store closures, the chain today operates just six locations in Georgia: Alpharetta, Peachtree City, Augusta, Woodstock, Macon and Brunswick.  

A new restaurant plans to open later this summer in place of the former Ted’s Montana Grill at 201 West Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur.  Atlanta-based Ted's Montana Grill closed both its Decatur and Cumberland Mall restaurants in 2020.  Signage in the window announced the new restaurant as “Casa Balam Cocina Mexicana” and added, “We Can’t Wait to Serve You, Decatur.”  Our friends at Decaturish tracked down the owner and got the scoop on the new eatery.  A Decaturish reporter spoke with one of the owners, Jay Patel, who says Casa Balam is co-owned by chef Luis Damian. Patel is reportedly also involved with Habitat restaurant in Buckhead and El Valle in Midtown.   "Casa Balam will serve Mexican and Latin fare in a family-friendly atmosphere."  Damian is “very passionate about food,” Patel said.  The restaurant is being completely renovated.  “We wanted to change the entire design so when you walk in, you take the first bite, you feel you’re not in America, you’re somewhere in Mexico having a meal and a cocktail,” Patel said.   He said the restaurant will cater to families and have a kids menu. He said that costs will be more akin to what someone would find in a “regular family restaurant,” as opposed to fine dining.  “It’s not going to be super expensive,” Patel said.  The owners hope to be open in early August.  

A new Buffalo Wild Wings GO is coming to Pinetree Plaza (5289 Buford Highway) in Doraville.  The new restaurant will occupy a roughly 2,300 square foot endcap space beside Y-Z USA.  The new outpost is at least the sixth such unit in metro Atlanta for the Atlanta-based chain.  The company, owned by Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, has existing locations of their "GO" concept in Tucker, Sandy Springs, Lawrenceville, Midtown, Cumming and near Emory University, among others.  

Diamonds Direct plans to open in the soon to be vacated former Brown & Company in Buckhead (3225 Peachtree Road).  With locally owned Brown & Company relocating to a new space in Buckhead Village District, Diamonds Direct, based in Charlotte, plans to enter the market.  Established in 1995, Diamonds Direct has today spread to 26 locations including those in Birmingham, Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, Jacksonville, and Virginia Beach, among others.  

A new location of Okiboru is planned for Mall of Georgia in Buford.   The restaurant specializes in ramen, specifically tsukemen, which translates to “dip noodles" and is the only Michelin Bib Gourmand awarded Tsukemen.   The Buford outpost replaces Marlow's Tavern which closed their Buford restaurant in 2020.  Okiboru Buford joins existing outposts of the restaurant in Sandy Springs, Duluth and Buckhead, which debuted this past October as well as a location in Lower Manhattan in New York.  

Nancy's Pizzeria has closed its location at Camp Creek Marketplace (3360 Shelby Lane) in East Point.  The Chicago-style pizza restaurant opened in February 2016 and closed in recent days, according to a reader in the area.  The East Point closure follows previous Atlanta area closures in Buckhead, Lindbergh and Dunwoody, among others.  According to the Nancy's website, several Atlanta area restaurants remain open including those on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Midtown, Mansell Road in Roswell, Old Peachtree Road in Lawrenceville, Dogwood Drive in Conyers, Chapel Hill Road in Douglasville, as well as one on Whittlesey Boulevard in Columbus.  

A new Guthrie's finally opened Tuesday May 9 at 3685 Browns Bridge Road in Cumming.  The new restaurant, which had been in the works for more than a year, marked the tenth in Georgia for the Alabama-based franchise which is widely considered the grandfather of the chicken tender.  The founders of both Raising Cane's and Zaxby's both trace the origins of their concepts to time spent either working or eating at Guthrie's.  

A new "flagship" location of Chi Chi Vegan opened April 29 at the Village at Druid Hills (2566 Briarcliff Road).  The new eatery opened in the roughly 3,600 square foot corner space where Newk's Eatery previously closed.  The original Chi Chi Vegan opened about six miles away at 1 Moreland Avenue in 2020.  

In other vegan restaurant news, Envegan at Modera Reynoldstown (780 Memorial Drive) has been listed for sale.  The restaurant, which opened in the street level of the apartment community in 2021, is listed as "keep or convert" by Steve Josovitz of The Shumacher Group, a local brokerage specializing in restaurant sales.  Elsewhere in metro Atlanta, locally-based Envegan has outposts at Atlantic Station, Camp Creek Marketplace in East Point and Morrow.  The listing indicates $400,000 was spent opening the 2,400 square foot restaurant.  "All in" monthly rent is listed as nearly $10,000 with eight years remaining on the lease.  The business is priced at $225,000.       

First Watch announced this week it will close its original Dunwoody restaurant (1317 Dunwoody Village Parkway) by the end of May.  The closure, while no doubt disappointing for some, is not altogether surprising when you consider the Bradenton, Florida-based chain opened another Dunwoody location last May less than two miles away in the new Publix-anchored Perimeter Marketplace shopping center along Ashford Dunwoody Road.  

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not a lot of gang members wearing Tommy Bahama these days.

KLoATL said...

That's a bland insurrectionist label now.

Anonymous said...

More racist comments.

Anonymous said...

Until we all stop ignoring and start afdtessing the very real perp-race threat…things and quality of life will continue to erode!

Anonymous said...

Eli has said multiple times to keep political, racist, and discriminating comments off of the site. Can we respect his wishes on his platform and keep things respectful and courteous? I enjoy reading Tomorrows News Today but it really isn’t that joyful to read once you get to the comment section filled with hate in which he also stated he’d turn it off if the hate continued. If you want to make those comments, take them elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

unfortunately they don't see anything wrong with their comments.

Anonymous said...

It should concern people that two once-premiere Atlanta shopping destinations now require metal detectors. Something is very wrong with that picture.

Not too long ago, families would go to Lenox at night to watch 4th of July fireworks. Now people get shot on an Easter Sunday afternoon.

I'll continue to call it like I see it.

Anonymous said...

I wonder why it’s closing? phipps is such a safe place with a wonderful new client base in the past few years.

Anonymous said...

"Hateful" words are simply an opinion you don't agree with. That's the problem with today's society, people are conditioned and programmed to think a certain way. So when they hear a contrary opinion, they immediately label it as hateful and "racist."

Anonymous said...

Look, my guy, the point is not that there may be an increase in crime near Lenox and Phipps. The point is you are being an arrogant prick. You are not being funny or helpful, and I think you know the comment thread on a local restaurant blog is clearly not the place for any kind of meaningful discussion on clearly complex issues.

Anonymous said...

I would never, ever go to Phipps or Lenox alone, the gangster crime element in buckhead is still very real.

Anonymous said...

Dude, blacks commit 99% of the crime in and around Buckhead, Helen Keller can see that.

Anonymous said...

Anon said: "Look, my guy, the point is not that there may be an increase in crime near Lenox and Phipps. The point is you are being an arrogant prick. You are not being funny or helpful,"

So who's responsible for all the crime? We all know who it is. Even you know who it is. And it's actually relevant to this blog because it's one of the reasons for businesses leaving Atlanta and not considering moving here.

Anonymous said...

I travel extensively, the thug/crime element has infiltrated luxury shopping areas Rodeo Drive Beverly Hills, Union Square San Francisco, Michigan Avenue, Fifth Avenue New York, Bal Harbor Shops Miami, and of course Buckhead, the worst is Buckhead and Michigan Ave in Chicago with Union Square a close second.

Anonymous said...

So many dog whistles being blown. It's a shame to see most of the comments are people who are most likely afraid of their own shadows. Put down the Fox News and enjoy life instead of begging for someone to tell you what to be scared of.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ 5/16, 12:45 nailed it completely. And pretty much everyone else is calling it as it is as well.

Anonymous said...

Love the new graffiti all over the Westin by Lenox. Really classes up the place! Guess that's the latest crime for APD to ignore, adding to the list of shoplifting, panhandling, vagrancy, indecent exposure, drunk driving, street racing, illegal night clubs.

Really, aside from firing a gun and actually hitting someone, everything is legal in Buckhead "Beverly Hills of the South" now.

Anonymous said...

Shopping While Democrat is destroying brick and mortar retail.

Anonymous said...

I live off Cheshire Bridge near LaVista, lots of homeless, drugs, panhandling, prostitution, robbery, car breakins, fights, it has not improved.

Tres said...

To put a squash on all the drama in the comments, I just saw what's likely to be the real reason Tommy Bahama at Phipps closed: A Canada Goose (a high-end brand) store is taking over its space. So, their lease was up and another store wanted the space. That's all.

Anonymous said...

I think the point is that the only stores that can survive at Phipps anymore are ones that cater to drug dealers, scammers and wannabe rappers, like Canada Goose. Not good because that's the crowd responsible for all the crime and shootings in Buckhead.

Anonymous said...

Canada goose is opening in place of tommy Bahama

Anonymous said...

Dude, whites commit 99% of school shootings in and around America, Helen Keller can see that

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