Tomorrow's News Today

The upcoming Rize in Sandy Springs (Image courtesy of Rize)

Rize Artisan Pizza + Salads plans to open its second Atlanta area location this coming Monday, March 6th. The new restaurant is located in the street level portion of the new Square One apartment project. The first Rize opened this past November at the new 675 N. Highland apartment project in Poncey-Highland. This are the first two locations for what the Atlanta based chain hopes will be many more in the future.

Tex-Mex eatery Chuy'sopened this past Tuesday at AkersMill Square near Cumberland Mall. This marks the third metro Atlanta location for the Texas chain.

Sprouts Farmers Market opened its newest Atlanta area location this past Wednesday in Decatur. The grocery store anchors the new Decatur Crossing development across from Suburban Plaza. The Decatur store is the 14th in metro Atlanta for the Phoenix based chain. Sprouts plans to open another new store at the new Tucker Meridian shopping center near Northlake Mall on April 26th. Another Sprouts is planned to open later this year in Woodstock at the Shops at Towne Lake shopping center, in place of a former Publix.

Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to open its newest Atlanta area location at Peachtree Station March 30th. Peachtree Station is the new Whole Foods Market anchored development on Peachtree Boulevard in Chamblee. A Denver area representative for Chipotle indicated that "barring any delays, the restaurant will open at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, March 30." In addition, the representative indicated that "the first 100 customers at the new restaurant will receive a BOGO [buy one, get one free] to use on their next Chipotle visit!" Chipotle may be the first tenant to open in the center with Whole Foods reportedly targeting a "summer 2017" opening and other restaurants and retailers still with weeks of work to complete.

The first Georgia location of Potato Corner, home of "World's Best Flavored French Fries," is planned for Alpharetta. The new kiosk is slated to open "any day now" and is located on the upper level of North Point Mall in the food court. The Los Angeles based chain started in 1992 and has recently expanded its footprint from its home base of California to other new markets such as Mobile, AL.

The Shoppes at Webb Gin on Scenic Highway in Snellville will soon welcome a number of new tenants.

Apparel and accessories retailer H&M plans plans to open what will be its 16th Georgia store at the complex later this spring. H&M will occupy a 19,000 square foot space and will offer clothing options for the entire family, featuring collections for ladies and men, a separate section for accessories, as well as the H&M Kids collection, for newborns to 14 year olds. This will be the third H&M in Gwinnett county following locations in at Mall of Georgia in Buford and the recently opened store at Sugarloaf Mills in Duluth.

Hollywood Feed, a "natural & holistic" pet food store will open later this summer in a 4,399 square foot space near Sleep Number. The Memphis based retailer sells only dog and cat food and recently opened their first Atlanta area location in Roswell Corners shopping center in Roswell. Other Hollywood Feed locations are planned for Peachtree Station in Chamblee, North Decatur Square in Decatur and Tucker Meridian in Tucker.

Smallcakes Cupcakery, a St. Louis cupcake franchise, will open in 1,452 square foot store next to The Children’s Place. The Snellville Smallcakes Cupcakery, which should open in the summer, will be the chain's 23rd in Georgia.

Empower Yoga plans to open what will be its second studio next week at Emory Point. Pending inspections, management hopes to open Monday March 6th. The new yoga studio will open in the second phase of the project in suite D1-130, not far from BoruBoru Sushi. The original empower yoga is located on Johnson Ferry Road in East Cobb.

Struggling footwear retailer Crocs announced yesterday it plans to close 160 stores, 28% of its current store count. The company did not reveal the locations of the planned closures but anticipates the closures to occur "in the coming months." The shoe maker posted net losses of $44.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, with its stock (NASDAQ: CROX) now trading at about $7, far from its October 2007 high of nearly $70. The Denver based company had 558 stores at the end of 2016. As I reported last year, Crocs quietly closed their Buckhead store at Lenox Square this past December.

Abercrombie & Fitch, the once hugely popular teen-oriented mall-based retailer announced yesterday it plans to shutter 60 of its namesake stores later this year. The company indicated this past fall that roughly 50% of its 745 U.S. leases are up for renewal over the next 18 months. This window gives the company ample time to trim its store count without being penalized for exiting space early. This news comes on the heels of the company's disappointing earnings report for its most recently completed quarter. The one bright spot was Abercrombie's sibling brand Hollister, which reported a comparable sales gain, its first in a year. Hollister, which Abercrombie launched in 2000, now accounts for 57% of Abercrombie's net sales. Metro Atlanta has seemingly been a good market for the company in general with Mall of Georgia getting one of the first ever Hollister stores and the Lenox and Mall of Georgia stores recently having undergone serious renovations to present the chain's less beach-y, more modern look. As I reported last month, the Abercrombie & Fitch at Lenox Square will be one of just seven stores nationwide that the chain will renovate to reflect the brand's new identity.

New-to-market pizza joint destined for Decatur.

MOD Pizza, an industry leader in the "create your own pizza" segment, has signed its second Atlanta area lease.

MOD Pizza will open in Decatur at Decatur Crossing, at the corner of Scott Boulevard and North Decatur Road. The pizza joint will occupy an inline space near Zoës Kitchen on the Scott Boulevard side of the Sprouts Farmers Market anchored project. (Sprouts celebrated its Grand Opening this past Wednesday, March 1st.)

In addition to Sprouts, MOD joins a number of restaurants with confirmed locations in Decatur Crossing. Among the eateries expected to open in the coming months are First Watch, a breakfast and lunch eatery, Zoës Kitchen, Dunkin' Donuts, Tiff's Treats, a cookie shop, and City Barbecue, an Ohi0 based BBQ franchise.

(A second phase of the project on Scott Boulevard will reportedly include an Aldi and a Chick-fil-A, among other tenants.)

MOD, which stands for "made on demand," was founded in Seattle in 2008 by husband and wife Scott & Ally Svenson* and today includes about 200 locations across 20 states and a few in the United Kingdom.

In January, MOD Pizza announced it had signed its ninth franchisee: Southern Pie, LLC. The franchise group, led by Robbie Hill and his daughter Kimberly Hill Hayden, will develop MOD stores in Georgia and Alabama. Established entrepreneurs, the Hills currently operate a number of Bojangles’ franchises in the southeast.

Sources say that Southern Pie may open as many as three MOD Pizza restaurants in the coming months. The previously announced location at Kennesaw Marketplace in Kennesaw will likely be the first to open.

An 11 inch pie is the standard and most commonly ordered size of pizza at MOD. While the exact price differs slightly by location, the standard pie is often about eight bucks and comes with unlimited toppings.

MOD's Decatur location will be a short distance from where competitor Blaze Pizza has secured space. The first Atlanta area Blaze Pizza will open in the Publix anchored Emory Commons shopping center at the corner of North Decatur and Clairmont Roads.

MOD and Pasadena, California based Blaze are the two largest players in the "create your own" quick serve pizza industry, each with about 200 locations.

MOD and Pasadena, California based Blaze are the two largest players in the "create your own" quick serve pizza industry, each with about 200 locations. Rancho Santa Margarita, California based Pieology is a close third with over 130 locations. Last summer Pieology acquired Carlsbad, California based Project Pie, a competing concept started by James Markham. Markham has played a major role in the entire industry, having co-founded MOD (2008)* and later co-founded Pieology (2011), before starting Project Pie (2012.)

I previously reported that Pieology would open in Decatur Crossing but the chain has since closed its only Atlanta area location and "hit the pause button" on further area expansion.

Are you excited for the opening of MOD Pizza in Kennesaw? Have you been to MOD Pizza before? Where else would you like to see MOD Pizza open?

Please share your thoughts below.

Toco Hills changes continue

The Georgia Department of Labor has confirmed it will be leaving its current home in Toco Hills shopping center later this month. A sign posted to the center's front door indicates that it will close at the end of business on March 16th and reopen in their "temporary facility" in Decatur. The DOL's move to Decatur will pair it with the DeKalb Workforce Development office. Both departments will share space at 744 Jordan Lane, Building 4, just off DeKalb Industrial Way. The old and new DOL offices are about 3.5 miles apart.

According to its website, the Georgia DOL operates 44 offices. The Toco Hills office is known as the "North Metro" location and is meant to service DeKalb, Fulton and Rockdale counties. The "Metro South" office on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, just off I-20, is meant to serve Fulton and Douglas counties. Given these designated service areas, it's likely the new permanent "North Metro" location would be near one of its service areas, but its unclear where or when that move will happen.

Edens, the Columbia, SC based developer that signed a 35 year ground lease on the center in 2015, is in the midst of a multi-million dollar renovation of the center that it hopes will attract new tenants. At the same time, the developer is not offering lease renewals to a number of longstanding tenants. These moves have led to a number of closures, with more likely.

As I previously reported, The Nearly New Shop, a service of the Junior League of Atlanta, is also closing at Toco Hills. According to JLA president Deanna Anderson, the decision to close the store was not due to the center's change in direction, but was instead due to the store no longer being a "sustainable fundraising model." The store is currently offering at least 50% off all merchandise with plans to close for good April 30th. Toco Hills Coin Laundry will also be closing at the center.

The Shoe Center was the first to close at Toco Hills after the Edens purchase. The popular footwear retailer operated out of Toco Hills for 14 years before closing last summer. Famous Pub, which opened at Toco Hills in 1986, closed this past December. In January, I confirmed that Hudson Grille had leased the former Famous Pub space with plans to open later this fall. Petite Auberge, a Toco Hills mainstay since 1974, closed at Toco Hills at the end of last year, and "merged" with Violette on Clairmont Road. Young Chefs Academy, a popular children's cooking class franchise, "moved" its popular Toco Hills location to Buckhead's Howell Mill Village. According to the business' facebook page which strangely refers to the location as "Atlanta Midtown," the new Young Chefs Academy is slated to celebrate its Grand Opening tomorrow, Saturday, March 4th.

The current DOL occupies a prized 20,000 square foot junior anchor space in the historic intown center. The space was originally a Colonial Stores grocery and later a Big Star, another grocer. Ace Hardware later occupied the space before downsizing and relocating to its current location near Publix in the 90s.

Given the presence of Publix Super Markets and Kroger to the left and right of the DOL space, another grocer is highly unlikely.

Edens has reportedly floated a number of ideas to fill the space with but a HomeGoods type store makes the most sense to me.

What would you like to see open in place of the Department of Labor space at Toco Hills? Do you like the changes Edens is making at Toco Hills? What one restaurant or retailer would you like to see open in Toco Hills?

Bonus question: Do you call the center Toco Hills or Toco Hill?

Please share your thoughts below

The former JoS. A. Bank store at Emory Point this week

Men's clothing retailer quietly shutters.

The JoS. A. Bank Clothiers at Emory Point quietly closed early last month, according to a source at the property. I was made aware of the closure via a comment on my post from the recent closure of BurgerFi at Emory Point. The reader summed it up well saying "Looks like Emory Point no longer suits Jos. A. Bank."

The JoS. A. Bank store occupied a 4,512 square foot space in phase one of the project and was located beside LOFT, a women's clothing retailer by Ann Taylor, and across from The General Muir, the traditional "Jewish style" deli, easily the most popular tenant in the complex.

JoS. A. Bank seems to have closed without any warning or signage explaining either its closure or directing would-be customers to other locations. For those interested, the next closest Jos. A. Bank stores are in Buckhead at Buckhead Triangle near Phipps Plaza, and at Atlantic Station.

The JoS. A. Bank store at Emory Point when it was open

I'm honestly shocked JoS. A. Bank stayed open as long as it did at Emory Point as the demographics of the area (tons of well financed Emory students live right above) seem better suited (pun intended) for a younger, more "hip" retailer.

As a company, Jos. A. Bank dates back to 1905. Over the years, the company has had a variety of owners and also been a publicly traded company. Shocking to me was the revelation that for a short time (1981-86) Jos. A. Bank, along with Brookstone, were owned by the Quaker Oats Company. Quaker divested its retail holdings to focus on its core U.S. grocery and Fisher-Price businesses. (Quaker spun off Fisher-Price in 1991, after which it was purchased by Mattel in 1993). Quaker itself was purchased by PepsiCo in 2001.

In March 2014, JoS. A. Bank and Men's Wearhouse announced that they had agree to merge, with Men's Wearhouse acquiring Jos. A. Bank for $1.8 billion.

That same month, Saturday Night Live (SNL) parodied Jos. A. Bank and their signature promotions (buy one, get three free) in using Jos. A. Bank suits to clean up a family's spills and messes, because they're more absorbent and effectively cheaper than paper towels.

Jos. A. Bank terminated its signature sales in October 2015, but the move backfired. "Our transition away from unsustainable promotions has proven significantly more difficult and expensive than we expected," said CEO Doug Ewert.

The combined company adopted the name "Tailored Brands" in January of 2016. In March of the same year, Tailored Brands announced that Jos. A. Bank net sales plunged 32% in the fourth quarter which ended January 30th. As a result of the poor performance, Tailored Brands said that it would close 250 stores, including 80 to 90 full-price Jos. A. Bank locations, all Jos. A. Bank and Men's Wearhouse outlets, and 100 to 110 MW Tux stores that fiscal year, which began February 1st.

Given the reportedly "early February" closure, the Emory Point closure could very well have been part of the planned "250 store" closures.

The former JoS. A. Bank occupied a prominent space in the complex, one that is not only highly visible, but is also currently featured on a variety of Emory Point leasing and related collateral materials.

In addition to JoS. A. Bank and BurgerFi, a number of other tenants have closed in the center where businesses started to open in late 2012. La Tagliatella, a full service Italian restaurant, closed in late 2014, replaced last year with Marcello's, which is currently for sale. Bonefish Grill also closed and was replaced last month by Papi's, a local Cuban restaurant. Sweet Monkey, a local frozen yogurt shop, also closed with its space now home to TGM Bread, the bakery expansion of The General Muir next door.

What would you like to see open in place of the former JoS. A Bank at Emory Point? What retailer should the development add to either phase one or phase two to make it a more compelling complex? When you go to Emory Point, where do you shop or eat?

Please leave your thoughts below.

Stores liquidating, but not closing?

The RadioShack store at Toco Hills shopping center started an "EVERYTHING MUST GO" sale Friday that looks a lot like a closing sale, but reportedly is not. The store, which also has a Sprint wireless store inside, is reportedly "clearing out in-stock merchandise from it and other stores in order to make room for new merchandise."

A store employee indicated to me that despite the appearance of the store, the store is not closing, only liquidating.

As the pictured signs indicate, all merchandise is being offered at between 20-30% off retail prices with the exception of Sprint merchandise and plans, which are not included in the sale.

The signage seems very much to indicate a "closing sale," and if corporate is feeding associates misleading information about "liquidating to restock," then that's just wrong.

In the 90s and early 2000s, the 2,145 square foot corner space was home to BackTracks, a used electronic media retailer. Adjacent to RadioShack, the once popular Gorin's operated from the 2,059 square foot space most recently occupied by Young Chefs Academy.

Founded in Boston in 1921, RadioShack has significantly trimmed its store count since its most recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in early 2015. At its peak, RadioShack had about 5,000 stores. Today the company operates about 1,500 locations.

General Wireless, an affiliate of Standard General, completed its purchase of RadioShack in May 2015. General Wireless entered into a partnership with Sprint that allowed the wireless carrier to operate "shop in shop" Sprint stores within existing RadioShack outlets. The goal was to re-brand the stores "around a streamlined array of necessities, to be sold alongside Sprint Corp. wireless products."

While a novel idea to team a struggling electronics retailer with a growing wireless carrier, the effort seems in vain with word coming this week that General Wireless is preparing to file for bankruptcy. Sources tell Bloomberg that "a filing could happen within the coming days and will probably result in liquidation."

According to the RadioShack website, the chain continues to operate about 20 locations in the greater metro Atlanta area including the Toco Hills and Chamblee Village stores inside the perimeter. RadioShack also operates stores in Carrollton, Newnan, Kennesaw, Woodstock, Norcross and Marietta, among other cities.

Visits to the Norcross and Chamblee locations revealed that their stores are both actively closing as RadioShack, with reported plans to reopen "soon" as stand-alone Sprint stores. Employees at both the Covington and Marietta stores indicate that like Toco Hills, they too are "clearing out all in-stock merchandise to get new stuff in." The Kennesaw location indicated that they are permanently closing as of this Wednesday, March 8th, with no plans to reopen as Sprint or anything else.

If RadioShack does in fact close, what would you like to see open in place of it and the adjacent former Young Chefs Academy at Toco Hills? What is the status of your local RadioShack? Is RadioShack a dead business or could they reinvent themselves to cater to today's consumer?

Please share your thoughts below.

Former gas station to be demolished

The Trilogy Group, a Atlanta based real estate firm, plans to demolish the former Exxon gas station convenience store and car wash at the corner of North Druid Hills and Clairmont Roads near Toco Hills. The structures on the roughly .64 acre parcel were built in 1989, and were associated with the Amoco and later BP petroleum brands before Exxon took over a few years ago. The Exxon gas station closed about two years ago with the property most recently home to Bubbles hand car wash and assorted "pop up" street vendors.

A leasing flyer for the property indicates that Trilogy plans to construct a new 5,318 square foot building in place of the 1,690 square foot convenience store. The new project would supply the new user(s) with 26 parking spaces, according to a Trilogy produced site plan. The new building is being marketed as a two suite property,intended for two separate tenants. While sources indicate no permits have been filed nor leases signed, the property could potentially house a single tenant should there be one that wishes to occupy the entire building.

DeKalb county property records indicate the property is owned by "Novak Development Corporation," a firm owned by Leon Novak, Founding Member and Managing Partner at Trilogy Group.

Trilogy describes the property as:

Excellent Visibility and Full Access from both roads

(Clairmont & North Druid Hills Roads)

Irreplaceable location on a heavily traveled corridor with over 60,000 cars per day

(40,370 vpd on North Druid Hills 24,670 vpd on Clairmont Rd)

Situated in the difficult to penetrate market of Toco Hills

Positioned close to Emory University and Atlanta VA Medical Center

The parcel is located nearly two miles from the intersection of North Decatur and Clairmont Roads where Mattress Firm operates a SuperCenter, but I have tohope something more exciting than Mattress Firm opens in the new center.

While I've heard rumors of a planned redevelopment of this corner for a few years now, it's unclear why Trilogy iselecting now to move forward with the redevelopment. One catalyst for this momentum could be the upcoming redevelopment of the massive Williamsburg Apartment Homes community nearby. The 416 unit complex, originally built in 1965, sits on 37 acres and was demolished to make way for hundreds of new upscale townhomes and single-family homes from Atlanta based homebuilder Pulte Homes.

Who would you like to see open in this new redevelopment? Have you lived in the area long enough to remember when Burger Chef operated adjacent to the current Exxon property? What is your favorite restaurant in the area?

Please share your thoughts below.

Tasty China is opening a second Smyrna area location. The popular Szechuan eatery started by respected chef Peter Chang will open a new location in Taylor Square in the 1800 block of Atlanta road in "about a month." The existing Tasty China is on Franklin Road in Marietta. Tasty China closed its Sandy Springs location on Powers Ferry Road in 2014. (It later became Ray's Rio Bravo, a reboot of the popular 90s Tex-Mex chain, but it, too, closed last month.)

Zoës Kitchen plans to open its newest Atlanta area location Thursday March 16th at Peachtree Station in Chamblee. The restaurant chain is promoting the location as being in Brookhaven but it's truly in the city of Chamblee. (Some people refer to the area as ChamHaven.) Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to open its location in the center on Thursday March 30th. Peachtree Station will also welcome a host of new restaurants and retailers, including a new Whole Foods Market which is expected to open "in 2017."

The new Sephora at Buckhead Exchange is expcted to open April 16th. The new store follows the chain's November 2016 opening at the Avenue East Cobb. Both stores are meant to test the popularity and traffic of non-mall based stores.

The Lovesac store at Lenox Square is closing this Sunday March 12th and is currently offering 60% off all in-stock merchandise. Lovesac Lenox is located at the front of the mall, on the upper level, near Anthropologie. The furniture retailer which specializes in "sactionals" operates a second Atlanta area store at Mall of Georgia in Buford which is expected to remain open.

The new Goodwill in Roswell is expected to open Thursday, April 13th at Alpharetta Highway and Mansell Road. The new Goodwill will occupy a former Office Depot space and will be relocating from its current store nearby.

Popular e-tailer ThinkGeek is coming to Kennesaw with a location at Town Center at Cobb. Slated to open in early April, the shop will be located on the mall’s upper level Sears Wing, next to Bath & Body Works. ThinkGeek will offer customers a wide selection of pop culture and collectible items including movies, games, books, toys, trading cards, music and more. At Town Center, ThinkGeek joins Box Lunch, a similar retail store, basically directly below its new store. ThinkGeek has existing Georgia locations in Mall of Georgia in Buford and Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah

A new Planet Smoothie/Auntie Anne's/Cinnabon tri-brand location is planned for Augusta Mall in Augusta. The three concepts will share a single nearly 1,400 square foot space near Sears and Dillard's in the General Growth Properties owned mall.

The long awaited and controversialQuikTrip is finally making progress on Howell Mill Road. Existing structures are being demolished this week with plans to start construction soon.

H&M will celebrate the Grand Opening of its new store at The Mall at Stonecrest Thursday, March 16th. The new store is the Swedish chain's 15th in Georgia and will be followed by a 16th later this summer at The Shoppes Webb Gin in Snellville.

A new restaurant called Parkside District A Meat & Seafood Co. expects to open in "late May" in Duluth. The new full service restaurant is located just off Duluth Highway in Lawrenceville and will occupy the former American Classic Tavern.

Stein Mart plans to open its newest Atlanta area location tomorrow March 9th, at Parkside West Cobb. The new shopping center on Dallas Highway recently welcomed a new Sprouts Farmers Market and a relocated Marshalls. A number of other new restaurants and retailers are expected to open soon including Mellow Mushroom and Zoës Kitchen.

Cracker Barrel plans to open Monday March 13th at Park Place in Snellville. The new restaurant joins Zaxby's and Freddy's in the newly developed center on Scenic Highway in Snellville.

U.K. based Agent Provacateur reportedly plans to close the "entire international side of the business" after being aquired by a consortium of investors. The super sexy lingerie company operates one store in Georgia at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead.

Well informed restaurant sources indicate that the planned Sage Social Kitchen & Bar Kitchen in Buckhead may be stalled. Sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that restaurant ownership is having financing issues that may cause the restaurant to be delayed or abandoned. Sage Buckhead was announced last fall to be replacing the long vacant Morton's Steakhouse, but the last permit that was filed with the city of Atlanta was in December, with no permits and limited work since.

In addition to the Nancy's Chicago Pizza planned for Buckhead I announced previously, another location is planned for Johns Creek. Nancy's Johns Creek will be located near the intersection of State Bridge and Medlock Bridge Roads in the Medlock Corners shopping center. Nancy's will occupy a 4,400 square foot space previously home to Stevi B's Pizza Buffet, which closed in late 2014. Michael Glover, a multi-year veteran of McDonald's, is spearheading the Atlanta expansion where his franchise group signed a "Multi unit master franchise agreement" to further develop the chain in the southeast.

Glover, whose group owns and recently expanded the Nancy's on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Midtown, does not own the Camp Creek location. Glover hopes to have both the Buckhead and Johns Creek locations open later this spring and plans to open as many as 20 locations over the next 10 years.

The Cost Plus World Market at Piedmont Peachtree Crossing has started its moving sale. Now through April 22nd, the store is clearing out in-stock merchandise ahead of its move to nearby Buckhead Station where they will occupy the remaining space left from the Toys r Us closure. (Saks OFF 5TH occupies the other portion.) A store representative indicated that all merchandise is up to 30% off and that the new store will open April 23rd. Both Piedmont Peachtree Crossing and Buckhead Station were previously Equity One properties but have been absorbed into the Regency Centers portfolio following Regency's acquision of Equity One which was announced last fall and completed earlier this month.

The Fellini's Pizza on Howell Mill Road is closed to complete some minor renovations including a new floor and new paint. A Fellini's representative indicated plans call for the restaurant to reopen for normal business on Monday March 20th.

Nate & Stephanie Smith of Smith Auto Spa dba Cactus Car Wash plan to open a number of new businesses in East Point. The Smiths operate an existing Cactus Carwash in Douglasville and plan to open another Cactus in East Point along with two restaurants. The nearly four acre property is located just off Camp Creek Parkway, along I-285, on North Desert Drive. Plans call for the constuction of the Cactus Car Wash along with a new Mexican restaurant called Sabroso Bar & Grill. The restaurant, previously known as El Bandido Cantina, will reportedly be about 7,500 square feet and is being designed by Sandy Springs based Restaurants Consulting Group. Plans indicate that Sabroso will have two levels with an outdoor patio and terrace. A site plan indicates the second restaurant could be as large as 6,500 square feet.

Metro Atlanta's first location of Sage Dental is expected to open March 20th in East Cobb. The dental office occupies the remaining portion of the former Blockbuster Video at the corner of

Lower Roswell and Johnson Ferry Roads. A Baskin-Robbins recently opened in another portion of the former video rental store, joining a Papa John's franchise and the White Tiger martial arts facility. Boca Raton based Sage Dental is appearing on a lot of property site plans these days as they work to penetrate the Atlanta market and compete not only with traditional private practice dental offices but also Irvine, CA based Pacific Dental Services, which is already rapidly expanding its Atlanta presence. Other Sage Dental offices are planned for Johns Creek, Marietta, Midtown and Decatur, among others.

Waffle House c0-founder Joe Rogers Sr. died this past Friday, March 3rd, at the age of 97. Rogers and Tom Forkner opened the first Waffle House in Avondale Estates in 1955. Today, Waffle House has over 2,000 location and covers half of the United States. Forkner is 99 years old. The late great S. Truett Cathy who founded in Chick-fil-A in 1946, died in late 2014 at the age of 93. So there you have it: the secret to living a long, prosperous life is plenty of Waffle House and Chick-fil-A.

Lastly, as I've received a number of questions, comments, requests etc. about the upcoming Whole Foods Market locations in Kennesaw and Chamblee, I contacted the company to get an update. According to a local Whole Foods Market representative, both locations are "still happening" and are expected to open "in 2017." As of last year, the Chamblee (Brookhaven) store was expected to open "spring 2017" followed by Kennesaw in "summer 2017."

Pizza joint joining suburban food court.

A new Sbarro pizza is expected to open later this spring in the first level food court of Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody. The casual pizza eatery, which specializes in pizza by the slice, replaces Villa Italian Kitchen, which closed a few months ago. Earlier plans were for Varasano's Pizzeria to open a quick serve pizza by the slice operation in the Villa space, but those plans were abandoned even before the full service Varasano's Pizza in the mall closed last summer after less than a year in business. Downtown Atlanta's Max's Coal Oven Pizzeria announced last month it plans to open in the former Varasano's space at Perimeter Mall later this summer.

Sbarro started in Brooklyn in 1956 and following a Chapter 11 bankrupcy filing in early 2014, moved its headquarters from New York City to Columbus, Ohio. After closing stores following its emergence from Chapter 11, the company operates about 800 stores.

In early 2015, Sbarro introduced a new company logo, departing from the original design resembling the Italian national flag, to an outline of a pizza slice in red and green, with the words “NYC.1956,” to remind patrons of its New York heritage.

Locally, Sbarro has locations in North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Southlake Mall in Morrow, Town Center at Cobb in Kennesaw and Mall of Georgia in Buford and Arbor Place Mall in Douglasville.

Sbarro previously closed in a number of metro Atlanta area malls and locations including Northlake Mall in Tucker, North DeKalb Mall in Decatur, Peachtree Center Downtown, Cumberland Mall near Smyrna, Sugarloaf Mills in Duluth, Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square in Buckhead, and at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

While Sbarro does a decent job at pizza by the slice, my favorite local spot for pizza by the slice is Rosa's Pizza on Broad Street downtown.

Will metro Atlanta see a resurgence of Sbarro in metro malls and shopping centers? If so, where would you like to see Sbarro open next? Where is your favorite place to get pizza by the slice?

Please share your thoughts below.

"World Famous" chicken chain planning new restaurant in Decatur

Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, the Memphis based chicken chain that entered the Atlanta market in 2015, is planning to open in Decatur later this fall. Sources at the restaurant confirmed to me this week that they plan to open in Belvedere Plaza at the corner of Memorial and Columbia Drives, across from the former Columbia [Avondale] Mall, which is today a Walmart Supercenter. Technically the restaurant is not in the City of Decatur but nonetheless the Belvedere Plaza eatery will be the group's "Decatur" location.

Gus's will reportedly occupy a 4,400 square foot portion of the former Blockbuster Video, next to Wingstop, on the Columbia Drive end of the center.

Gus's is expected to occupy a large portion of the former Blockbuster Video

Belvedere Plaza was built in 1955 and was previously home to a Rich's department store, Haverty's Furniture, Rhodes Furniture, Colonial Food Store, Kroger, Lane Rexall Drugs, F. W. Woolworth and W. T. Grant, among other tenants. [The folks at Next Stop Decatur put together a cool Belvedere Plaza historical blog here]

Today, Belvedere Plaza is anchored by a Kroger Citi Center grocery store and Value Village thrift store. The center is also home to Wingstop, Hibbett Sports and Dollar Tree, as well as freestanding Checkers and Sonic restaurants, among other tenants.

Belvedere Plaza sits at the corner of Memorial and Columbia Drives

A second Atlanta area Gus's opened earlier this week on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs to be followed by a third area location in Chamblee later this summer. The original Atlanta area Gus's is located in Peachtree Center downtown.

BCS Restaurant Ventures, LLC, the franchise group leading the restaurant's expansion in metro Atlanta, previously announced plans to open at least five locations in the Atlanta market in the coming years.

While BCS has been targeting "Decatur" for some time, their choice of Belvedere Plaza is a bit odd.

Both Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Zaxby's operate existing restaurants across the street from Belvedere Plaza, while a Bojangles' is expected to open next to the nearby Walmart Supercenter. All three of these fast food chicken operators offer affordable food that seems to be in line with what the community supports.

Plates (combos) at the Gus's in Sandy Springs start at about nine bucks and go up to almost $14. Similarly sized portions at the aforementioned fast food outlets would cost about half of that.

Gus's proudly promotes that "we only serve fresh, never frozen, natural, hormone-free chicken..." Their pricing reflects this commitment to quality, and while their prices are not outrageous by Atlanta standards, I tend to think they would be easier to digest closer to downtown Decatur.

Are you a fan of Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken? Do you think Gus's will do well at Belvedere Plaza? Where else would you like to see Gus's open in metro Atlanta?

Please share your thoughts below.

Gander Mountain promoting the opening of its Snellville store in late 2015

Struggling retailer announces restructuring plans and store closures.

Gander Mountain, the St. Paul, Minnesota based outdoors retailer, announced yesterday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to close 32 of its 162 stores. News of the privately held retailer's financial struggles first surfaced in mid February when industry observers first speculated a bankruptcy filing was near.

"Like many retailers, Gander Mountain experienced challenging traffic patterns and shifts in consumer demand resulting from increased direct-to-customer sales by key vendors and accelerated growth of e-commerce," the company said. "Despite aggressive actions to improve the efficiency of the company's retail operations and support functions, the underlying financial impact from underperforming stores and unproductive, excess inventory hampered efforts to create a sustainable path forward."

Gander Mountain competes in a crowded and competitive retail segment that also includes Dick's Sporting Goods, Field & Stream, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, as well as online retailers. (Bass Pro Shops agreed to pay $5.5 billion to purchase Cabela's this past fall, but as of last month, the deal was not complete and was in serious jeopardy but "salvageable" according to a recent BloombergGadflyarticle.

In Georgia, Gander Mountain will close half of their six stores.

The newest Atlanta area Gander Mountain just opened during the fall of 2015, and is one of the stores slated for closure. The store co-anchors the new Snellville Exchange shopping center on Scenic Highway just north of The Shoppes Webb Gin. The other anchors at Snellville Exchange include an Ovation Cinema Grill and Hobby Lobby. La-Z-Boy and Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q have opened in two of the center's five outparcels, with the remaining three likely now more difficult to lease in the wake of Gander Mountain's closure.

Gander Mountain also plans to close its store in McDonough which opened in the spring of 2014, and its store in Augusta which opened in the fall of 2014. Gander Mountain's Newnan store which also opened during the fall of 2014, is expected to stay open as are stores in Albany and Valdosta.

Alabama will see four store closures: Gadsden, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa.

Texas is the hardest hit market with ten closures planned. In Texas, Gander Mountain plans to close its stores in Houston, Killeen, Laredo, Lubbock, Round Rock, San Antonio, Sugar Land, Texarkana, Waco and West Houston.

Many of the stores Gander Mountain plans to close are quite new with many featured in time-lapse photos in these galleries.

Store employees with whom I spoke indicated that current plans call for affected stores to close by May 15th. The same employees indicated that there will be limited sales on in-stock merchandise with most merchandise being sent to stores remaining open.

Gander Mountain stores average 52,000 square feet, making them large, likely hard to fill boxes in a contracting retail landscape.

The news of Gander Mountain's planned closures comes on the heels of similar announcements from retailers such as JCPenney, Staples, Macy's, Sears, Kmart and hhgregg.

Sports Authority, another sporting goods retailer, also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, but ended up liquidating, closing all of its approximately 450 stores nationwide, including eleven in Georgia. Former Sports Authority stores in Sandy Springs and Cumberland are expected to reopen as Dick's Sporting Goods locations, while others in Tucker, Buckhead and elsewhere remain vacant.

Are you surprised Gander Mountain is closing so many recently opened stores? What would you like to open in place of the three Gander Mountain stores slated for closure locally? Where do you shop for sporting goods?

Please share your thoughts below

Photo from The Luminary's Facebook page

"French inspired Southern bistro" to shutter

The Luminary, the chic, upscale restaurant from chef Eli Kirshtein, confirmed earlier today it will close after dinner service on March 31st. The restaurant opened in early August 2014. The closure follows last year's closures of The Spotted Trotter, Frankly and Cockentrice and the reconcepting of the full service Craft Izakaya to the quick serve Makimono earlier this year.

Superica from Ford Fry is now the last remaining original full service restaurant from the property opened in 2014.

An Atlanta native, Kirshtein got his start in the culinary world with Buckhead Life Restaurant Group's Buckhead Diner where he was trained by Kevin Rathbun, eventually landing the gig of Executive Chef at the now shuttered ENO by Zaza in Midtown. Kirshtein was also a contestant in Top Chef season 6.

I first got word of The Luminary's planned closure earlier this month when I learned privately that the restaurant was actively for sale. At that time, I elected not to go public with this news out of respect for the restaurant, its investors and employees.

With the news now public that the restaurant is in fact closing, it's worth noting that the writing has been on the wall for weeks that things were not going well for the restaurant.

On February 25, Facebook member Julie J. left a review on the restaurant's Facebook page that started:

"Horrible. Honestly the worst restaurant I have been to in several years."

This review was one of many critical of the restaurant's poor service.

No restaurant management responses were left to the various comments on the restaurant's Facebook page, which was last updated February 18th.

Yelp.com user Kristin B. was one of the most recent to review the restaurant on March 6th when she left a 2 star review.

"I'll be shocked if they make it till the spring. Went with a Groupon, so the price was right, but a Thursday night dinner should not take 2.5 hours. The foie gras Dutch baby appetizer was fantastic, but by the time our entrees came an hour later, we were so hungry we would have eaten shoe leather. Dessert was dry, crumbly, and not at all sweet. Next!"

Kristin's previous review from late 2014 was a 4 star review.

I was provided the following statement from Chef Kirshtein regarding the restaurant's closure:

"I am so proud of the staff, purveyors, and partners of The Luminary, and all we have achieved together. The dedication, commitment, and effort everyone has put forth over the last two and half years has been truly humbling, and I couldn't be more appreciative of the community support we have received. It's becoming more and more difficult to run a successful restaurant in a city with such a high level of saturation. With costs increasing across the board, the challenges became too great for us. I always sincerely and deeply love the city of Atlanta and the people in it. Being born and raised here and having the ability to continue my career here is a dream come true. I look forward to cooking for Atlanta again - sometime soon!"

Are you surprised that The Luminary is closing? Do you think Groupon is the kiss of death in the restaurant world? What would you like to see open in place of The Luminary at Krog Street Market?

Please share your thoughts below.

The Walmart Neighborhood Market in Sandy Springs Village

Market to close after less than four years in business

The Walmart Neighborhood Market on Highway 92, just west of the Roswell city limits, is scheduled to close April 7th after less than four years in business. The market, which co-anchored the Sandy Plains Village shopping center, is located at the intersection of Highway 92 (Woodstock Road), Mabry Road and Sandy Plains Road in Cobb County. The approximately 60,000 square foot store opened in early November 2013 in place of a former Kroger store. A 12 screen Movie Tavern is the center's other co-anchor and opened in December 2013 in place of a former Stein Mart.

This marks the second Walmart Neighborhood Market store to close in the area in just the last 60 days. The Walmart Neighborhood Market in the Bellemeade shopping center on Powder Springs Road in Marietta closed in February. The store, which replaced what had most recently been a Food Depot grocery store, opened January 16, 2013. The Powder Springs Road store was about 41,400 square feet and more in line with the size of a typical Walmart Neighborhood Market store.

Less than two miles from the soon to close Neighborhood Market store, Target continues to operate a SuperTarget store with grocery offerings. Target closed their "Roswell East" SuperTarget store on Holcomb Bridge Road this past January.

Walmart continues to operate a number of other Neighborhood Market stores in the area including locations in the Olde Mill Shopping Center at Roswell and Old Canton Roads and also in the Blackwell Square Shopping Center at Canton and Blackwell Roads, both in East Cobb.

Last year, Walmart closed a total of 154 stores domestically including all 102 of its "Walmart Express" concept stores and 23 Walmart Neighborhood Market stores. The company has yet to make a formal announcement that I'm aware of about 2017 closures but in addition to the Marietta store, Walmart also closed locations in Charlotte, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Denver earlier this year. A second Denver area location is slated to close April 7th.

Are you surprised by the upcoming closing of this Walmart Neighborhood Market? What would you like to see open in place of this Walmart Neighborhood Market? Do you think Walmart could improve their Neighborhood Market concept or is it as good as it's gonna get?

Please share your thoughts below.

Learning Express, an educational kids' toy store, plans to shutter its Toco Hills Promenade location March 27th. The store is currently offering 30% off most in-stock merchandise in anticipation of its closure. No word on what may replace the 2,000 square foot space in the Publix-anchored center. Learning Express will continue to operate its Buckhead location in the Wieuca Roswell shopping center on Roswell Road anchored by The Fresh Market.

A new Bojangles' restaurant is planned for the 5000 block of Bill Gardner Parkway in Locust Grove in Henry County. The approximately 3,200 square foot restaurant will replace Bronco's, a long shuttered full service Mexican restaurant.

A new rolled ice cream shop called Where's The Scoop? plans to open later this spring in the Publix anchored Haynes Bridge Village shopping center in Johns Creek. The new shop will occupy a roughly 1,000 square foot space to the right of Publix. The shopping center is located at the corner of Haynes Bridge and Old Alabama Roads.

Vickery Village in Cumming will welcome a brick and mortar location of Happy Belly Curbside Kitchen early this summer. The restaurant Happy Belly Kitchen is expected to feature many of the popular dishes from the food truck as well as some new additions. This past January, Happy Belly Curbside Kitchen celebrated its sixth anniversary.

Following last years acquisition of LifeStorage by Sovran Self Storage dba Uncle Bob's Self Storage, all local Uncle Bob's Self Storage facilities have been rebranded as Life Storage. The combined company adopted the Life Storage brand and debuted a new logo to accompany the expanded footprint. The combined company operates about 650 self storage facilities in 29 states. In metro Atlanta, Life Storage operates over 20 facilities including locations near REI in Brookhaven, on 14th Street in West Midtown, on Roswell Road in Marietta, and on North Decatur Road not far from DeKalb Medical Center.

After releasing disappointing fourth quarter and overall 2016 performance, office supply store Staples announced last week it plans to close 70 stores this year. The company has yet to publicly disclose when and where it will close the 70 stores. In Atlanta, Staples has already closed locations in Buckhead, Sandy Springs and Roswell among others, while it has pared down its presence in Midtown at Midtown Place. Whole Foods Market, Staples neighbor in Midtown Place, leased the vacated space, and will soon debut a larger store and a fast casual Brazilian eatery: "Roast."

My friends at The Douglasville Menuare reporting that a Panera Bread has been approved to replace a former Joe's Crab Shack on Chapel Hill Road in Douglasville. Joe's abruptly closed its Douglasville Pavilion location this past fall after which there was early word that casual Mexican chain Huey Luey's was in talks to open in its place. Apparently those plans failed to materialize. The existing structure will reportedly be trimmed from 6,000 to 5,000 square feet to accommodate the Panera Bread and a drive-thru. The restaurant reportedly hopes to be open "before the Thanksgiving holiday."

Panda Express plans to open a new freestanding restaurant on Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road and Satellite Boulevard in Suwanee. The new 2,200 square foot restaurant will be built on a roughly 1.25 acre parcel in an outparcel of the existing Lowe's Home Improvement store. The collective property, known as the "Terraces at Suwanee Gateway" is also home to a Main Event entertainment facility among other tenants.

Crunch Fitness plans to open at least two new Atlanta locations in Chamblee and Snellville. In Chamblee, Crunch plans to open in an existing, roughly 22,500 square foot space in Chamblee Plaza on Peachtree Boulevard. Crunch is reportedly the first tenant to commit to the latest renovation plan of the dated intown center. In Snellville, Crunch plans to construct a new, roughly 22,000 square foot space on Scenic Highway across the street from the new Snellville Exchange shopping center. Snellville Exchange is anchored by Hobby Lobby, AMC Dine-In Webb Gin 11 (formerly Ovation Cinema Grill 11) and Gander Mountain which was recently announced to be closing. In metro Atlanta, Crunch Fitness already operates a location in Johns Creek and will soon open a new facility near Perimeter Mall. Another facility opened this past December in Athens in place of BodyPlex in Beechwood Promenade shopping center.

Neiman Marcus is said to be in "advanced talks" to sell itself to Hudson's Bay, the Canadian parent of Saks Fifth Avenue and other retailers, according to people familiar with the matter. Neiman Marcus recently delivered disappointing fourth quarter earnings and a bleak future outlook as more customers shop online. Hudson's Bay was also reportedly in talks to acquire Macy's under similar circumstances. Neiman Marcus is currently owned by private-equity firm Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Interestingly, Atlanta Hawks majority owner Tony Ressler is the co-founder of Ares Management. In metro Atlanta, Saks operates one full-line store at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead while Neiman Marcus operates one full-line store in Lenox Square. Both retailers operate a number of off-price outlet stores in metro Atlanta.

Work has begun on the new Extra Space Storage in Chamblee. The new facility is being constructed at the corner of Sexton Woods Drive and Peachtree Boulevard in place of a number of recently demolished properties. The project is slated to be a "mixed-use" building, 60 feet tall, with as many as 600 climate-controlled storage units. Plans call for about 3,600 square feet of retail/office space along Peachtree Boulevard. Extra Space is one of the largest self storage operators in the country with over 1,400 locations, including dozens in Georgia. One of the company's newest and most controversial locations is on Lindbergh Drive in Atlanta where it replaced the shuttered Varsity Jr. restaurant. The Lindbergh Drive location, which also offers 600 self-storage units, was paired with 10,000 square feet of street level retail which remains vacant in the several months since the building opened.

Lenox Square adding local shops and eateries.

Lenox Square, the posh Buckhead mall known to many for having the only Atlanta area locations of such stores as Salvatore Ferragamo, Cartier and Burberry is adding a number of local tenants to its roster.

In addition to the previously announced Sweet Hut, which is slated to open this summer in the Fashion Cafe, the mall will also welcome pop-up locations of Elk Head Clothing and The Merchant.

The Merchant, owned by entrepreneur Dan Collier and described as a "curator of giftwares, stationary, and vintage goods," will open on the second floor of Lenox Square in the space recently vacated by The Limited. The Merchant currently has two locations: on the Westside, which opened during fall 2013, and in Krog Street Market, which opened during fall 2015. Collier's other retail endeavors include Archer Paper Co., Read Shop, Collier Candy Company and later this year, Collier’s Department Store at the Atlanta Dairies project on Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown.

As described on its website, The Merchant is a curated assortment of goods unlike typical mall-based chain retailers. "Our collections range from greeting cards and stationery to books, bedding, candles, and truly one of a kind vintage finds. We source items from all over the US adding merchandise weekly to the shop."

Elk Head Clothing will also join Lenox Square in a 1,500 square foot portion of the former Prime restaurant space on the second floor at the front of the mall. Offering menswear and accessories, Elk Head's location adjacent to popular womenswear retailer Anthropologie should serve it well. Elk Head's flagship location opened last spring at Ponce City Market after the brand was originated as an ecommerce business in 2015.

"Elk Head Clothing is the new rugged, refined. We strive to give you an alternative to the classic style often found in big box stores."

Launched in 2015 by Michigan native Garrett Hilgendorf, "Elk Head Clothing blends expert tailoring with timeless fabrics in a well-edited collection of menswear essentials."

The Merchant and Elk Head join Crafted, a real life etsy of sorts, that opened adjacent to Bloomingdale's for a holiday pop-up last year and since extended its lease.

Crafted has two locations on the Westside, in The Brickworks and Westside Provisions District, and at The Forum in Norcross.

I spoke to Carol Cox, ‎Area Director of Marketing and Business Development for Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza about the upcoming openings at Lenox Square.

“We have been fortunate that in recent years, we have seen continued growth at both Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza. I think this goes to show what iconic properties they are in the Southeast. Our goal is always focused on making the overall shopping experience enjoyable for our guests, and our retailer mix is at the forefront of that experience. We listen to the requests of our guests and curate our retail roster so that there is a nice mix of national, luxury and local brands. I think we’ll continue to introduce local pop-ups, such as Elk Head, The Merchant and Crafted, and restaurants, including Bantam + Biddy and the forthcoming Sweet Hut, so that our guests get a local feel when they visit our properties.”

Local entrepreneur Farshad Arshid and his Standard retail shop joined the mall in 2008 while Babiators, an Atlanta based baby sunglasses retailer, tested its concept at the mall in 2014 via kiosk. Buckhead Life's Atlanta Fish Market actually originated at Lenox Square in 1981 before relocating to its current Pharr Road location in 1993.

Cox added, "Lenox Square has a long-standing tradition of evolving to attract the best retailers possible; the ability to continually bring new experiences to guests has cemented the mall’s reputation as the premiere shopping destination of the Southeast."

Cox anticipates that all of the upcoming openings at Lenox Square will occur by early summer.

Over at Phipps Plaza, however, the expected "mid 2017" opening of Fifth Group's Ecco restaurant has been pushed to "2018." Daniel Reed's Public Kitchen & Bar, from Savannah's Daniel Reed Hospitality, will occupy about half of the former Twist space, and should open before the end of the year.

Are you excited about the openings and upcoming openings at Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza? What local retailer or restaurant would you like to see open in either Lenox Square of Phipps Plaza? What is your favorite shopping destination in metro Atlanta? Why?

Please share your thoughts below.

Carlo's Bake Shop plans to open its first Atlanta area location at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody later this spring. The new kiosk is located on the mall's first floor, near the escalators, between H&M and the food court. Hoboken, New Jersey based Carlo's first opened in 1910 but gained international notoriety when owner Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro, Jr. starred in the TLC reality show "Cake Boss" which chronicled the bakery, its owners and family. This will mark the chain's second location in the south following the December 2015 opening of a location within the revamped Dining Pavilion at The Florida Mall in Orlando.

Bath & Body Works plans to team up with its sibling brand White Barn and move its existing Perimeter Mall location to a new space in May. Bath & Body Works is currently located on the mall's first floor near Macy's but will relocate to an upper level space near TUMI where it will add White Barn, which is not currently in the mall. A store employee indicated to me this week that the new store is expected to open May 5th. In recent years, Bath & Body Works has opened similar combined stores at Cumberland Mall and North Point Mall, both of which, like Perimeter Mall, are owned by General Growth Properties (GGP.)

Adjacent to the new Bath & Body Works/White Barn store, LUSH Cosmetics is expected to relocate to a new space across the hall. A store employee at LUSH was unsure when exactly the new store will open but it will likely debut later this summer.

Guitar Center plans to open its newest Atlanta area location this Thursday March 23rd at Kennesaw Marketplace in Kennesaw. The new store joins anchors Academy Sports + Outdoors and Hobby Lobby in the new mixed-use center. A new Whole Foods Market is also expected to open in the center "in 2017." Westlake Village, CA based Guitar Center operates a number of other Atlanta area locations includes stores in Gwinnett, Alpharetta. Atlanta Guitar Center will celebrate its Kennesaw opening with "a weekend of festivities and specials including gear giveaways, live music, free lessons, and more!" (While I was preparing this post and listening to music on YouTube, I heard an ad for the new location that incorrectly describes it as being in the Barrett Crossing shopping center, the center containing Bargain Hunt and Floor & Decor, which is across the street from where they are actually opening.)

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) posted signs on its Toco Hills office this week indicating that its planned move to Decatur has been postponed. An employee with whom I spoke at the Department of Labor indicated the move, previously scheduled for March 16th, was postponed due to "lease issues at the new location." The employee indicated that the delay should be minor, probably only a week or so. The sign encouraged GDOL customers to visit the GDOL website and to connect with them on social media to monitor updates on the move.

Toco Hills Coin Laundry closed this past Wednesday at Toco Hills shopping center. The business will be replaced by a new restaurant later this year.

Taco Bell plans to open a new freestanding restaurant in Brasleton near the entrance of the Park 85 office park. The 2,159 square foot restaurant is to be built at 6011 Highway 53, between existing Zaxby's and Dairy Queen locations.

Struggling electronics retailer RadioShack announced yesterday plans to close 552 stores, or 36% of its already trimmed store count. After first reporting on the planned closures March 5th and hinting at the possibility of a bankruptcy filing, RadioShack filed for bankruptcy for the second time in recent years last week. The stores slated for closure reportedly have the "lowest sales velocity and highest rent," according to the company's court filing. The company said it will "continue to evaluate" the fate of its remaining 1,000 stores. The closures are expected to occur in two waves, with 187 closing immediately, and another 365 closing as inventory is depleted, with all expected to close by the first week of April. In metro Atlanta, RadioShack will close its locations in the Barrett Crossing shopping center on Cobb Parkway in Kennesaw, Chamblee Village shopping center on Chamblee Tucker Road in Chamblee, Lawrenceville Commons shopping center at Lawrenceville Suwanee Road, and Lawrenceville Highway in Lawrenceville, and Peachtree Corners Marketplace on Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners. RadioShack will also shutter a store in West Town Square shopping center on Washington Road in Martinez, near Augusta.

Struggling department store JCPenney also announced a round of closures that will mean the loss of a number of Georgia stores but none in metro Atlanta. Plano, Texas based JCPenney plans to close 138 stores within the next couple of months. Collectively, the stores represent about 14% of the company's locations, but reportedly account for just 5% of its total sales. The Georgia JCPenney stores destined for closure are in Dublin Mall in Dublin, Macon Mall in Macon, Milledgeville Mall in Milledgeville, Gateway Plaza in Thomasville, and Tifton Mall in Tifton. JCPenney closed its Perimeter Mall store in 2002 where it was demolished and rebuilt as Dillard's which opened in 2005. JCPenney also closed its Cumberland Mall store in 2005, which was demolished and rebuilt as Costco the following year. JCPenney continues to operate a number of metro Atlanta atores including those at Northlake Mall in Tucker, North Point Mall in Alpharetta and Mall of Georgia in Buford. The JCPenney store at South Point shopping center in McDonough is one of the chain's newest, having opened in 2008. Local sources indicate the South Point store is one JCPenney's most productive chain wide.

Midtown’s newly renovated 715 Peachtree building has landed three new retail tenants. The 10 story office building about a block north of the Fox Theatre was purchased in 2015 and later underwent a multi-million dollar renovation. Originally constructed as a regional headquarters for J.C. Penney in 1972, the building was most recently occupied by Bank of America until 2012. It has been vacant since that time. 715 recently welcomed co-working concept Spaces, while Honeywell International Inc. confirmed this past December that it will put an 800 employee software development center on two floors of the building. Bareburger, a new to market "healthy" burger joint from New York, plans to open in a 3,754 square foot space in the building's street level. The restaurant offers "organic and all-natural" burgers and plans to open later this fall. Land of a Thousand Hills coffee company, which launched in Roswell in 2005, will join Bareburger in the building's street level retail space with a nearly 1,500 square foot coffee shop. Since its launch, Land of a Thousand Hills has expanded via franchising and today has locations in Atlantic Station and Cumming, and single locations in Virginia, Massachusetts, Texas and Florida. Plans call for the coffee shop to debut next month. Atlanta based Stone Summit, which opened its first rock climbing gym off I-85 in DeKalb county in 2010, and added a second location in Kennesaw at the end of 2014, will open a smaller facility at the 715 building. Stone Summit at 715 will offer bouldering only, meaning that it will not need tall ceilings and will be a fraction of the size of its larger siblings. At about 10,000 square feet, this may be a pilot for Stone Summit to test smaller format, bouldering only facilities for possible expansion to new markets. The new Stone Summit is expected to open late this year.

Muss & Turner's plans to debut its new East Cobb location this coming Monday March 20th. The new restaurant replaces Common Quarter in Woodlawn Square shopping center on Johnson Ferry Road. Both Common Quarter and Muss & Turner's are owned by Unsukay Concepts. Unsukay's other concepts include Local Three in Buckhead, the original Muss & Turner's in Smyrna and Eleanor's the speakeasy at the Smyrna Muss & Turner's.

The speakeasy inside Ponce City Market’s City Winery has rebranded itself ABV. ABV [Alcohol by Volume] by City Winery debuted earlier this month and describes itself as "A Modern Drinkery." The speakeasy, which first debuted last fall, has now dropped the password (previously required for entry), created new drinks, added happy hour, and scaled down pricing. The cozy space, open from 5pm til midnight daily, will feature a live DJ from 8 pm to midnight. ABV will also feature a "happy hour" every day from 5 to 7 pm with a complimentary slice of pizza with every cocktail purchase.

A new fast casual pizza player has chosen Atlanta to make its debut.

The Local Pizzaiolo, a new concept started by three experienced entrepreneurs, plans to open as many as five locations over the next two years in metro Atlanta. Three leases have already been signed, with a fourth unit under contract.

Allison Satter Hill will serve as the company's CEO and brings with her a solid resume including over six years in various marketing roles with The Coca-Cola Company and another six years in marketing roles with Sprint. Most recently, Hill was Vice President of Marketing for Miller's Ale House, an Orlando based chain of casual dining restaurants. Hill received her BS in Hotel Administration from Cornell University and her MBA from Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management.

Fiorenzo Bresolin is chairman of the company, and is heavily involved in site selection. Bresolin selected Steve Josovitz and Irving Jacobson of The Shumacher Group as the firm's representatives in Atlanta. Bresolin himself is a native of Canada, is a developer and attorney, and also received his MBA from Cornell’s Johnson Business School.

Italy native Giulio Adriani will serve as the restaurant's Master Pizzaiolo and will train "the local pizzaiolos" who will helm the individual restaurants. Adriani has operated a number of award winning pizzerias in New York, but left the Empire State for the Peach State to partner with Hill and Bresolin on the new concept. Adriani's accolades include the Gold Medal at the 2010 World Pizza Championship in Salsomaggiore, Italy and World's Best Pizza – America's Plate in New York, also in 2010.

Hill spoke exclusively to ToNeTo Atlanta about The Local Pizzaiolo which she envisions as a step above fast casual: "fast premium," serving sit-down quality pizza in a quick-serve setting. The restaurant will feature ordering from kiosks or from the counter, and will also feature a small marketplace where customers can purchase ingredients such as olive oil, tomatoes and truffle honey.

Hill further describes the concept as being at the "intersection of tradition and innovation." The Local Pizzaiolo will feature 11 inch Neopolitan pizza pies and assorted appetizers, salads, craft cocktails, wine, beer and desserts. A source familiar with the group's plans indicated it could easily be described as "quick serve Antico," referencing the popular, Neopolitan pizzeria that got its start near Atlanta's Home Park neighborhood.

At Toco Hills, The Local Pizzaiolo will open in place of Toco Hills Coin Laundry. As I reported last month, the laundromat, a neighborhood mainstay for many years, was closing. This past Wednesday was its last day in business. The pizza restaurant will completely reconfigure the space and will feature al fresco dining utilizing the center's recently widened sidewalks. The space is currently about 2,000 square feet but will reportedly be about 2,400 square feet after the renovation.

Although Adriani was the first pizza maker to open an authentic Neapolitan kosher pizzeria in New York in 2013, Hill tells me they do not plan to obtain kosher certification at Toco Hills, despite its large Jewish population.

Chris' Pizza, a Toco Hills mainstay since 1983, serves Greek style pizza in a casual setting and is reportedly remaining in the center. The Local Pizzaiolo will mark the return of a quick serve pizza option to the center following the 2015 closure of Uncle Maddio's Pizza.

The Local Pizzaiolo joins Hudson Grille and Spiller Park Coffee as new tenants in the center following the property's recent renovation.

The Toco Hills location is expected to open first, likely later this summer. It could be preceded in opening if the lease is executed on the fourth unit, which is a second generation restaurant space.

The Local Pizzaiolo will also open at Modera Sandy Springs, a new apartment complex currently under construction on Roswell Road. Modera is located at 6125 Roswell Road, just north of Hammond Drive and south of Mount Vernon Highway. The Modera project replaced Hilderbrand Court, an older center previously home to The Brickery and Fresh to Order, among other tenants. Modera Sandy Springs includes 340 apartments and about 25,000 square feet of ground floor retail space. According to the project's site plan, The Local Pizzaiolo is the only confirmed tenant but sources suggest that bartaco and Dancing Goats, among others, were being courted by the development. The Local Pizzaiola at Modera will be 2,400 square feet and is expected to open late this fall or early next year.

Rize Artisan Pizza & Salads, a similar concept, recently opened just south of Modera Sandy Springs in another new apartment complex, Square One, at the corner of Roswell Road and Hammond Drive. In addition, Hearth, a local one unit pizza joint in The Exchange at Hammond, is popular, as is the Mellow Mushroom on Roswell Road, close to Modera. The area is without a Neapolitan pizzeria following last summer's closure of Double Zero Napoletana.

Madison Yards, the upcoming Fuqua Development project on Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown, has also signed a lease with The Local Pizzaiolo. The 17 acre project, located at Memorial Drive at Bill Kennedy Way, represents the redevelopment of the Leggett & Platt manufacturing site. The Local Pizzaiolo will be one of many restaurants in the complex which is reportedly making serious headway in its leasing effort even before the existing structures have been demolished. Sources indicate that the project will be anchored by a Publix Super Market and an AMC Theaters dine-in movie theater. The project is also slated to include some 550 apartments and as many as 200 senior living units. The Local Pizzaiolo should open at Madison Yards in mid-to-late 2018, subject to the developer's demolition and construction timeline.

Pizzeria Locale, a Denver based quick-serve Neopolitan pizzeria, partnered with Chipotle Mexican Grill to expand their concept. Today, the concept has a total of seven units in four states. While others like Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza have confirmed locations in the works in Atlanta, Pizzeria Locale does not. Pizzeria Locale would likely be the closest competitor to The Local Pizzaiolo and their absence from the local market will give the Atlanta concept room to grow and gain recognition locally.

Are you excited about the changes coming to Toco Hills? Do you think The Local Pizzaiolo will be a welcome addition to the centers in which they plan to open? Where should The Local Pizzaiolo open next?

Please share your thoughts below.

Image posted to the official Copper Coin Facebook page

Coffee shop abruptly shuttered today.

Copper Coin, the beer, wine, coffee and more cafe that opened in TOWN Brookhaven in late 2015, confirmed today it has closed. The cafe posted the following statement to their official Facebook page earlier this afternoon:

"It's a sad moment for us to announce that we will no longer be open. It's been a fun run and we thank you all for your loyalty and business. We hope everyone will come visit us at our Woodstock location the next time you are in the area."

Copper Coin replaced Baci by Cafe at Pharr which was the latest iteration of a concept that was among the first wave of restaurants to open in the development in 2012.

The opening of Copper Coin at TOWN Brookhaven marked the return of a coffee shop to the center following the 2013 closure of The Cup, a cupcake and coffee shop. (Publix operates a Starbucks-esque coffee shop within its TOWN Brookhaven store.)

The phone at the Woodstock Copper Coin is disconnected, so I was unable to obtain any comment on why the shop closed so abruptly. Many TOWN Brookhaven residents were left scratching their heads with some indicating that even the landlord was unaware of the closure.

One clue is a GoFundMe campaign page that I first mentioned in 2015 which was created in 2014 by Copper Coin owner Mike Gullicksen. It is still active, but reflects that only $400 of a targeted $75,000 goal has been raised. The funds were to be used for "location 2 expansion."

The following message was posted to the Copper Coin Brookhaven page February 15th:

"Copper Coin Brookhaven is hiring Baristas. At Copper Coin we're all about community and providing top notch products and service to our guests. If you are a passionate, self-motivated, and team oriented individual seeking the opportunity to be involved with a 6 year old and growing company with opportunity for advancement, high level training with one of the top coffee roasters in the country, and the ability to work with a team that is more like a family, then we may be interested in you!"

If a business was planning to close in third week of March, why promote employment opportunities in mid-February?

Around the same time as Copper Coin opened in Brookhaven, they "took over operations" of another coffee shop, Cupbearer Coffee & Tea Outfitters in Vickery Village in Cumming. I have been unable to determine an exact date, but that location also closed, perhaps as recently as this past January, reopening a few weeks ago as Nido Cafe.

Back in TOWN Brookhaven, the center was finally seeing progress in leasing shuttered and vacant restaurant space.

Ohio based PizzaFire, a quick-serve build-your-own pizza concept, signed a lease to open in the space previously occupied by another quick-serve pizza restaurant, treza. Treza was the original occupant of the 3,000 square foot space and opened in late 2011, but was closed by early 2014.

Popular Midtown pub & eatery HOBNOB signed a lease to take over the former SMASH Kitchen & Bar space, while Jefe's Tacos & Tequilas opened last year in the former Noche Tequila & Tapas bar.

Other recent additions to the center include Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Tin Can Oyster Bar. The short-lived Bonehead's space remains vacant.

Are you surprised by the closure of Copper Coin at TOWN Brookhaven? What would you like to see open in place of Copper Coin in TOWN Brookhaven? Are you pleased with the recent and upcoming restaurant additions at TOWN Brookhaven?

Please share your thoughts below.

Petite Violette, the French restaurant created from the recent merging of Petite Auberge and Violette recently lost Stephanie Belcher, longtime manager and owner of Violette. Ms. Belcher was 67 and died suddenly on March 13th after recovering from an illness and showing signs of improving.

"In lieu of flowers, Stephanie's family requests donations be made to the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center's Scholarship Program, in Stephanie's name. Go to Callanwolde.org, click on "giving", then on "donate" and "donate here". Then, specify that this is for the scholarship program. Many thanks in advance for honoring Stephanie."

A new Bojangles'is planned for Franklin Gateway and Delk Road in Marietta. The new restaurant will be built on the site of a former gas station, adjacent to a former Waffle House. This restaurant will not feature a "Biscuit Theater," a new element of select Bojangles' restaurants, where customers can watch as fresh biscuits are prepared. The new Bojangles' is less than a mile from the soon-to-open Atlanta United FC practice facility. The restaurant will be owned and operated by Trickum Ops, LLC. an existing Bojangles' franchisee with seven Bojangles’ restaurants in the Atlanta area. A Bojangles' corporate representative indicated that plans call for the restaurant to open in May, although an exact date has not yet been set.

On the heels of my news last week that Carlo's Bake Shop will open its first Atlanta area location at Perimeter Mall comes news they have signed a lease for a second area location. The Perimeter Mall kiosk is slated to open April 6th and will be followed by a similarly sized location at "center court" of Cumberland Mall in Smyrna/Vinings. Carlo's Bake Shop is based in Hoboken, New Jersey and is owned by Bartolo "Buddy" Valastro, Jr., star of the popular TLC reality show "Cake Boss." Both Perimeter and Cumberland Malls are owned and operated by General Growth Properties (GGP).

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers opened its latest Atlanta area location last week at the new Parkside West Cobb shopping center on Dallas Highway near the Avenue West Cobb. The Wichita, Kansas based chain now has nine locations open in Georgia with a tenth coming soon to Dawsonville.

Sotolero Comida Mexicana has officially opened in the restaurant space previously known as T'kilas tacos & more in the Emory Walk shopping center.

Collage boutique closed its location in TOWN Brookhaven about a week ago. The original location in downtown Decatur remains open, as does a satellite location at Merchants Walk in East Cobb.

Onelife Atlanta Fitness plans to open a new, two level, 53,851 square foot facility at Perimeter Expo in Dunwoody. The new gym will open between between Newk's Eatery and T-Mobile in the Marshalls/Nordstrom Rack anchored center. Onelife currently has six gyms open in Georgia including two in Newnan, with the Dunwoody gym and another in Holly Springs coming soon.

Bacchanalia and Star Provisions are expected to open in their new home on Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard on Monday April 3rd. The restaurant and market are currently located in the Westside Provisions District on Howell Mill Road. Although there has been no official announcement, my idea of a mini-food hall concept to occupy the soon-to-be vacant spaces is reportedly gaining interest.

Darwin's Burgers & Blues has opened in its new home in Sandy Springs. The restaurant and entertainment venue was previously located on Roswell Road in Marietta but was forced to move and leased the former Steve's Live Music on Hilderbrand Drive just off Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, late last year. The first official show in the new space was yesterday, before then, Darwin's was hosting shows at 5 Seasons Brewing at The Prado shopping center nearby. As I noted in my original post, Darwin's owners created a GoFundMe account to help pay for renovations and new equipment for the new space. Today, the page seems to still be active with $11,195 raised of a $20,000 goal.

Women's apparel retailer Bebe is said to be considering plans to close all of its brick and mortar stores, most of which are in malls, to focus on online sales exclusively. The retailer is hoping to accomplish this without filing for bankruptcy. This report by Bloomberg sheds on light on the plan and the reasoning behind it. In metro Atlanta, Bebe operates five stores: Lenox Square in Buckhead, Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody, Cumberland Mall in Smyrna/Vinings, Town Center at Cobb in Kennesaw, and Mall of Georgia in Buford.

Payless ShoeSource is also said to be considering a reorganization, but reportedly does intend to file for bankruptcy. Bloombergreports that the company could file for bankruptcy as soon as next week with plans that could include the closure of 400-500 stores. Currently, Payless operates about 4,000 stores in 30 countries. Although Payless has previously closed a handful of Atlanta area locations such as one on Peachtree Street downtown and on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, the retailer continues to operate over 40 locations in metro Atlanta, according to its website. Among the current locations are Payless stores in Northlake Mall in Tucker, Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody, The Gallery at South DeKalb in Decatur, and Cobb Center in Smyrna.

The Atlanta area Cowboy Chickens will showcase the brand's latest logo

First two locations will be OTP.

A local franchisee has secured leases on his first two Atlanta area locations of Cowboy Chicken. Based in Dallas,Texas, Cowboy Chicken specializes in wood fire rotisserie chicken, along with sides such as fried okra and baked sweet potatoes.

Retired NFL cornerback Van Jakes’ company Jake Management 22 has signed a development deal to bring five Cowboy Chicken restaurants to the Atlanta area in the coming years.

Jakes previously owned 11 local McDonald’s franchises, but recently sold them all. He now owns three Jersey Mike’s Subs locations (Hiram, Jonesboro Rd. and Peachtree City), two Denny’s in Tennessee, and is planning to open a Dunkin’ Donuts in Birmingham, Alabama.

A separate Cowboy Chicken franchisee penetrated the Birmingham market in 2015 with plans to add additional stores in Huntsville and Tuscaloosa in the coming months.

The first two Cowboy Chicken restaurants in metro Atlanta will be in McDonough and Duluth.

In McDonough, Cowboy Chicken will open at the South Point shopping center. The restaurant will occupy an end cap space in a new outparcel in front of Academy Sports + Outdoors. The restaurant will be 3,500 square feet, slightly larger than a typical Cowboy Chicken location. Cowboy Chicken South Point is expected to open later this summer.

In Duluth, Cowboy Chicken will open near the intersection of Sugarloaf Parkway and Satellite Boulevard. The restaurant will be located in Sugarloaf Centre, a new center also home to Firehouse Subs, Marlow's Tavern, Fresh to Order and Fuzzy's Taco Shop, among other tenants. Cowboy Chicken Sugarloaf will be 2,650 square feet and is expected to open later this summer/early fall.

Have you ever been to Cowboy Chicken? If so how did you like it? Do you think Atlanta has too many chicken joints? Where would you like to see Cowboy Chicken open next?

Please share your thoughts below.

RaceTrac planning new location in East Cobb

Atlanta based RaceTracis planning a new gas station and convenience store at the corner of Old Canton and Roswell Roads in East Cobb. The new RaceTrac would replace California Car Wash, located in an outparcel of the Walmart Neighborhood Market anchored Olde Mill shopping center.

The .874 acre parcel was previously zoned for the development of a drugstore in 2010, and wasan Exxon gas station prior to its current use.

RaceTrac plans to construct a 10 pump gas station and a 4,425 square foot convenience store. Both the number of pumps and the square footage of the convenience store were reduced from typical new RaceTracs given the size of the parcel.

Although the parcel is small, the new RaceTrac will still offer enhanced offerings of free WiFi, Swirl World frozen yogurt and expanded coffee options.

As my friends at The Brookhaven Postreported last year, RaceTrac is also building a new gas station and convenience store in Brookhaven. The 5,500 square foot convenience store and 16 pump gas station is being built as the corner of Dresden Drive and Clairmont Road. The existing buildings on the property were demolished a few weeks ago with construction expected tostart "in the second quarter ofthis year,"with plans to open by the end of the year.

A RaceTrac representative who confirmed both the number of pumps and C-store plans for East Cobb indicated that plans are "still being finalized." RaceTrac "will likely not commence construction until the third quarter of next year, meaning an early 2019 opening."

The soon-to-open QuikTrip in the background

An existing QuikTrip gas station and convenience store across the street was demolished last year and is expected to reopen late next month as one of QT's "Gen Three" units. The new QT will feature an approximately 5,600 square foot convenience store, larger than its predecessor, with the number of pumps remaining the same at 16. The QT parcel was also enlarged to make room for the new convenience store. At 3.6 acres, the QT property is nearly four times as large asthe RaceTrac parcel across the street.

Are you excited for the additions of not only a new QuikTrip but a new RaceTrac too? Where do you purchase most of your gas? What "enhanced offering"of convenience stores has impressed you most?

Please share your thoughts below.

Bits & Bites

MOD Pizza Signs First ITP Lease in Decatur

Georgia Department of Labor Receives Pink Slip From Edens at Toco Hills

Emory Point No Longer Suits JoS. A. Bank

Out With the Old and In With the New at RadioShack?

Prime Intown Property to be Redeveloped

Bits & Bites

Sbarro Secures Slice of Perimeter Pizza Market

EXCLUSIVE: Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken Destined for Decatur

Gander Mountain Announces Avalanche of Store Closures Including Three in Georgia

The Luminary Fails to Inspire, Confirms Closure at Krog Street Market

Walmart Neighborhood Market to Shutter Sandy Plains Village Store

Bits & Bites

Lenox Square Livin' La Vida Local

Bonus Bits & Bites

EXCLUSIVE: The Local Pizzaiolo to Launch in Atlanta

Copper Coin Coffee Closed in TOWN Brookhaven

Bits & Bites

Cowboy Chicken Lassos First Two Georgia Locations

RaceTrac Planning to Join East Cobb Community