[SHOCKER] Sad Simon Food Hall Replacing Second Stall

A little more than fifteen months after its splashy debut at Phipps Plaza, Citizens Market has yet to find its groove and is pivoting once again.   The 25,000 square foot "foodie’s playground" opened April 27, 2023, and brought a host of random restaurants few in Atlanta had heard of or, as it turns out, cared about.  

The biggest "miss," in our opinion, as we wrote in our June 2023 report, was the complete lack of "local flavor," i.e., ANY local concept, chef, or operator at Citizens.  

That flaw was finally addressed this past February when Cultivate, a locally owned coffee and breakfast spot, was introduced in place of EllaMia. 

Now, with traffic and sales still seemingly not meeting expectations, Simon is again heeding our advice (without credit, naturally), and introducing another local operator in place of one of their "established" brands.  

Gone is Cicci Di Carne which offered "A taste of Tuscany from the world's most legendary butcher, Dario Cecchini." In is Pizza Jeans.  

Pizza Jeans, a casual pizza joint birthed from former Ponce City Market spot Root Baking Co., is "coming soon" to "Phipp's Plaza" as official (and sponsored) posts to Phipps Plaza's  Facebook and Instagram pages promote.  But hey, when the devil's in the details, who needs spelling?  [Fact: Phipps Plaza gets its name from Ogden Phipps who opened the mall in 1969.] 

New Yorker Jeremy Gatto opened the original Pizza Jeans alongside and in partnership with Chris Wilkins and his Root Baking Co. on the second floor of Ponce City Market in 2020. Following the bakery's April 2022 closure, Pizza Jeans relocated to the market's first floor in December 2022, where it replaced Farm to Ladle.  

Although far more "hip" than traditional mall pizza shops, Pizza Jeans with its "New York-inspired" pizza offers a "Mall Slice" which may be the closest anyone in town gets to recreating a New York or Sbarro-like slice in Buckhead.  For what it's worth, before Lego Discovery Center's March 2012 opening on the third floor of Phipps Plaza, a Sbarro pizza counter was a popular spot in the food court for many years.  

Pizza Jeans also offers whole pies, salads, wings, calzones, and cannolis, among other menu items.  

In addition to Pizza Jeans, Citizens Market also recently added "Firebelly Wings," a virtual restaurant brand from Nextbite, a company that helps restaurant operators leverage their existing but underutilized kitchen capacity to offer new foods.  

Several of the food hall's recent reviews are one or two stars with patrons citing the same issues as months past, such as poor service, disappointing food, and overpriced food, with one succinctly saying, "Thoroughly disappointed." 

Counting Pizza Jeans as the "second domino," several more are likely to fall soon.  Following the closures of EllaMia and Cicci Di Carne, Citizens Market at Phipps Plaza is still home to six other concepts: Unami Burger, Krispy Rice, Sam’s Crispy Chicken, Sa’Moto, El Pollo Verde, and Soom Soom, described by one diner: "It felt like if Cava charged you more money for less options."

Simon and Ponce City Market owner Jamestown entered into a "strategic partnership" in December 2022 at which time Simon purchased a 50 percent stake in the business it called a "best-in-class, global real estate investment and asset management firm."  

That partnership could very well lead to other successful Ponce City Market concepts coming to Citizens Market too.  One of the most logical moves would be for Bibi Eatery, a Ponce food stall from Delbar Executive Chef Fares Kargar, to replace Soom Soom.  

What are your thoughts on the current state of and roster at Citizens Market at Phipps Plaza?  What other food stalls from Ponce City Market or elsewhere would you like to see added to Citizens Market at Phipps Plaza?  Can Citizens Market at Phipps Plaza be fixed or is it a lost cause?

Please share your thoughts below.