[ALERT] Pizza Shop Nina + Rafi Sold, Eclipse di Luna Replacing It

After hitting the market last year, trendy pizza shop Nina+Rafi has been sold.  The upscale restaurant, located in SPX Alley (661 Auburn Avenue, Suite 220), first opened in November 2018.  Owners Anthony Spina and Billy Streck named the restaurant after their grandmothers Nina and Rafi, respectively.

Spina, famous for his "grandma pie" at O4W Pizza (now in Duluth), was "forced out of the creative process in the kitchen" at Nina+Rafi in late 2020 although he maintained a minority stake in the business.  Streck, a serial restaurateur, has stakes in several concepts around metro Atlanta, including Cypress Street Pint & Plate, Atwoods Pizza Cafe and Lyla Lila in Midtown, and Pielands in Virginia Highland.  Streck, along with wife Jenn, previously owned Hampton+Hudson in Inman Park, but it closed in early 2024, after which its furniture, fixtures, and equipment were ultimately auctioned off.  

In recent months, Nina+Rafi had reduced its hours to only being open Thursday through Sunday.  Given this fact, and confirmation late Tuesday that the deal, brokered by Steve Josovitz of The Shumacher Group, had closed, it's likely that the restaurant has served its last pizza.  (The adjacent Pour Taproom, which shared a "window" with Nina+Rafi, is owned separately and is not part of this transaction.) 

Although the restaurant was offered as a "keep or convert" opportunity, new owner Damian Ortero plans to open a new location of popular tapas eatery Eclipse di Luna in its place.  Ortero, co-owner of Rreal Tacos (currently with eight locations and more coming soon), has reportedly "partnered" with the owners of Eclipse di Luna to open the new location.  

It's unclear what the exact arrangement is, but this will mark the fourth overall location for Eclipse di Luna.  The restaurant, originally opened in 1997 by chef Paul Luna, features a tapas menu centered on Latin and Spanish fare.  The group's current locations include Miami Circle in Buckhead, Park Place in Dunwoody, and their newest, which opened in October 2022, at Halcyon in Alpharetta.    

According to the sales offering, the SPX Alley space is 3,800 square feet and provides seating for 100, plus another 16 at the bar and 60 on the BeltLine-facing patio.  The listing also suggested that Streck and Spina spent $2.5 million building out the restaurant, including a "state of the art kitchen," so hopefully there won't be a ton to do.  

Are you sad to see Nina + Rafi close?  What is your favorite BeltLine adjacent restaurant?  Are you excited about the upcoming opening of Eclipse di Luna?

Please share your thoughts below.