The Stork Club Fails to Deliver in Buckhead

Exclusive club pulls plug before ever opening.

Taco Diner Stillborn in Midtown?

Irving, Texas-based M Crowd Restaurant Group has reportedly (temporarily?) pulled the plug on its planned Taco Diner restaurant at 77 12th Street in midtown.  The restaurant is the sibling of existing M Crowd concept Mi Cocina, which opened at the nearby 1010 Midtown property in November 2012.

Athleta Bows out of Buckhead. Namaste

Athleta, the yoga wear retailer from Gap Inc., is no longer planning to open at the Shops Around Lenox.

Atlantic Station Apparently Not Ripe for Pinkberry

Another local blog reported in August that L.A.-based Pinkberry would open in Atlantic Station, I have now confirmed that is not the case. Instead of national chain Pinkberry, Atlantic Station has a lease in place for Atlanta-based Yogli Mogli to open in the former Cold Stone Creamery on 19th street across from City Sports.

In a six month progress report published in August, Atlantic Station states they "selected Pinkberry from numerous yogurt options via social media." Why now the change of heart? According to Mark Toro,

ToNeTo Atlanta Retail + Restaurant + Hotel DeathWatch Q1 2011

With over 50 comments on DeathWatch 4.0 in October, it's clear this portion of the blog is popular! Be it morbid fascination or some other reason, y'all really like this stuff, and the comments show it. As we start 2011, please recall my correct predictions of 2010 : Aquaknox, Pizza Fusion, Urban Flats, Martin + Osa , Rowdy, Merino, Ixtlan Ultra Lounge, EVOS Midtown and Yoreka @ the Prado and L5P, Yoeshi and One Cafe Blanc all came to fruition. In addition, restaurants such as Shaun's , Zaya, Fox & Hounds and LOLA, and retailers such as Calvin Klein and Lexie + Jane have all closed this past year. While I'm not happy to see this happen, there's no denying the accuracy of my predictions. Don't for a minute think that I arbitrarily add businesses to the Deathwatch. I examine the business and appraise the likelihood of them remaining viable and if not, for how long they will last.

Additionally, this edition brings the return of the "Stillborns". These are concepts that never really did what they said they were gonna do. To all the get rich quick entrepreneurs out there, restaurants are not the way, and especially those that are relatively new and announce ridiculous growth plans. To go from a handful of locations, or even fewer in the case of Mama Fu's, to agreements for many hundred is not only insane its downright sad to think about. Please find DeathWatch 2011 Q1 after the jump.