Tomorrow's News Today

North Carolina-based Cook Out, which specializes in "Char-Grilled" hamburgers and features over 40 different flavors of milkshakes, has reportedly purchased the former Pollo Tropical in McDonough with plans to open a new restaurant in its place.

The Pollo Tropical opened in a newly constructed outparcel during the summer of 2016 in the busy South Point shopping center along GA Highway 20 in Henry County. This past December, the McDonough location, along with eight others in metro Atlanta, were abruptly closed by the restaurant's parent's company Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc. (FRGI), as part of a "Strategic Renewal Plan" that took the group out of the state entirely.

Because We Care Henry County South, a local website dedicated to coverage of Stockbridge, Hapeville, Morrow and other south Atlanta communities, first reported on the sale Wednesday. The post did not indicate a purchase price or timeline but did indicate that Cook Out plans to convert the existing building, a wise move considering how new it is.

After entering Georgia in mid 2013, Cook Out has grown to thirty seven locations in the state with at least two more coming soon to an outparcel of Peachtree Mall in Columbus at 3131 Manchester Expressway and in place of a former restaurant at 609 Slappey Boulevard in Albany.

Over the past few years Pollo Tropical built and later vacated a total of seventeen restaurants in metro Atlanta.

A former Pollo Tropical restaurant in East Cobb was later demolished and rebuilt and reopened as a Regions Bank late last year. Former locations in Hiram and Gainesville were converted and reopened as Del Taco restaurants, while a location in Alpharetta near North Point Mall was converted into a Chase Bank. Arby's, in growth mode once more, converted and reopened in a former Pollo Tropical in Johns Creek.

A site plan for the Marietta location on Cobb Parkway in the Marietta Trade Center shopping center indicates it is becoming a Pollo Campero.

Former Pollo Tropical restaurants remain available in Smyrna, Newnan, Tucker, Cumming, Snellville, Austell, Woodstock, Kennesaw and Buford, although real estate sources indicates deals are pending on a number of them.

What would you like to see open in place of your local former Pollo Tropical? Why do you think Pollo Tropical failed in Atlanta for a second time? Where would you like to see Cook Out open next?

Please share your thoughts below

A new restaurant called Pasha Mediterranean Restaurant & Lounge is coming soon to Buckhead Crossing shopping center near the Lindbergh MARTA station. Set to occupy a newly combined 5,150 square foot space on the lower level of the center along Miami Circle, the new restaurant will be located alongside existing tenants Salon Lofts and California Closets, in the Marshalls, Ross and HomeGoods anchored center.

The new restaurant is being opened by serial restaurateur Okan Ozyurteri, previously owner of Buckhead's Istanblue on Pharr Road and current owner of Mandolin Mediterranean Kitchen on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs. Pasha is the realization of the "Mandolin-like upscale Mediterranean eatery" that we reported on in advance of Mandolin's opening in 2017.

Pasha will feature a wide array of Mediterranean and European fare in an upscale but casual atmosphere. The menu will feature pasta, pizza and assorted tapas as well as select classic Mediterranean favorites. Pasha will also feature hookah, joining nearby establishments like Divan and Istanblue in offering the popular flavored tobacco.

Permits indicate that Ozyurteri is spending at least $250,000 to convert the former acquisitions home decor and furniture store into a restaurant, including building out a kitchen and adding a patio.

In Buckhead Crossing, Pasha joins Nancy's Chicago Pizza, which opened near Marshalls at the end of 2017 and marked the pizzeria's return to Buckhead after closing on Peachtree Road in 2015.

Pasha's location, along Miami Circle, on the side of the center, could make it an attractive destination for those leaving popular bowling bar the Painted Pin, located nearby down Miami Circle.

Ozyurteri hopes to have Pasha open in late April or early May.

Are you excited for the addition of another Mediterranean dining and lounge option in Buckhead? What is your favorite new restaurant that has opened in Buckhead in the past couple of years? What type of restaurant would you like to see open in metro Atlanta next?

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Wet Willie's has closed in Buckhead. The popular daiquiri bar, located in the Lindbergh City Center development along Piedmont Road near the Lindbergh MARTA station, reportedly closed shortly after hosting events during Super Bowl weekend. Former NFL player Carlos Emmons opened the Atlanta franchise of the Savannah-based business March 5, 2010.

In the coming weeks, potentially before the end of the month, Emmons plans to reopen the business as B 51, short for Bar 51, a new bar that will be largely similar to its predecessor, but with the addition of new mixed drinks and other beverages. The 51 in the name is an ode to Emmons' number when he played professional football and likely a way for him to continue a similar business without the costs associated with a franchise agreement.

Another Wet Willie's location in Beaufort, South Carolina, that only opened in December 2017, closed in late 2018, and is reportedly looking to make a similar transition to that of Emmons.

Although Atlanta and Beaufort are the first instances we are aware of where Wet Willie's closed and later reopened as similar, but un-franchised concepts, the practice is not uncommon. A number of Atlanta area Mellow Mushroom and Taco Mac restaurants have closed over the years, later reopening similar but independent concepts serving similar food and drink options.

Fourteen other Wet Willie's remain in business including two locations in Savannah and one on Tybee Island.

Are you a fan of Wet Willie's? Would you like to see another Wet Willie's opened in metro Atlanta? What is your favorite bar in Atlanta?

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It was this past November when ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported that Whole Foods Market planned to close their popular Briarcliff store in 2019. We are now able to confirm that the store will close in late March or early April and will "move" to Midtown. The "move" you see is not a move at all, but merely the grocer attempting to save face by not calling it a closure, which it is.

The new Whole Foods in Midtown - opening in the street level of the new ICON Midtown apartment high-rise - has been pushed multiple times from an originally announced summer 2017 opening. Sources within Whole Foods now indicate that the store will open during the first week in April with the Briarcliff store expected to close a few days before. The Midtown store, referred to as a "flagship" location, will be more than 70,000 square feet over two levels, far larger than the roughly 27,000 square foot Briarcliff Road store.

A similar series of events played out in 2017 when Whole Foods-owned Harry's Farmers Market closed in Marietta near the Big Chicken ahead of its "move" about six miles north to the new Whole Foods Market near Kennesaw Mountain in Kennesaw.

The Briarcliff Whole Foods, like the Harry's, is about six miles from the store where it will "move." That said, the idea that neighbors accustomed to the convenience of a surface parking lot and small format store that is literally "around the corner" will make the "move" to the giant new store in a far more congested area where parking will be via a deck and travel may include highway driving, is preposterous.

Whole Foods surely hopes that existing customers of the Briarcliff store will patronize the new 365 by Whole Foods Market near Decatur.

However, ToNeTo Atlanta readers have blasted the grocer, now owned by Amazon, for the decision to close the Briarcliff store and made clear their feelings on the closure and their (un)willingness to travel to either of the new stores.

"What a strange, dumb choice by Whole Foods / Amazon. One wonders if they researched Atlanta traffic at all. This store is always busy and there's no way people are going to drive from here to 14th or N. Decatur -- those customers will all be lost."

"I'm NEVER going to drive from Druid Hills to Decatur for anything Whole Foods."

Other readers said of the closure, "Lame""This blows!" and "Bad move, Whole Foods."

As for the store itself, sources close to the grocer indicate it has been sold and that the future of the property is not yet certain. Local real estate sources suspect that the property will be redeveloped as some sort of residential development, likely multifamily.

The Briarcliff Whole Foods, by far the smallest of all the grocer's Atlanta area locations, was also the first in the state to open when it debuted in April 1999. The store, which measures 27,362 square feet, sits on just over three acres and is owned by Whole Foods Market Group, according to DeKalb County property records. The county values the site (land + building) at about $6.5 million.

Are you a Toco Hills area resident who will travel to the new Whole Foods in Midtown? Do you think Whole Foods is foolish to close their Briarcliff store? What would you like to see open in place of the Briarcliff Whole Foods?

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The Westside location of The Local Pizzaiolo has closed and been sold. In place of the pizza restaurant, Amy Wong and Howie Ewe, co-owners of Food Terminal, plan to open a second location of their popular Malaysian restaurant. The original Food Terminal debuted March 2017 along Buford Highway in Chamblee.

The Local Pizzaiolo Westside, originally intended to be the first of a multi-unit chain, opened in January of 2018 and like its sibling location in Toco Hills - which opened in May 2018 - was put up for sale this past November. [Two additional locations planned for Sandy Springs and Reynoldstown were called off entirely.] The 2,700 square foot restaurant has been a number of things over the past few years including Bellwoods Social House before the pizza shop, and Swit Bakery & Cafe before that.

Food Terminal, the latest concept from the team that launched both Top Spice and Sweet Hut, seems best suited to find success in the space. The current Food Terminal on Buford Highway has been very well received by nearby residents and foodies alike and its cuisine -,Malaysian,- is not something readily found on the Westside. The new Food Terminal will be slightly smaller than the current Buford Highway outpost.

The restaurant's Malaysian fare which is a mix of Chinese, Indian, Singaporean, and Thai flavors, features such items as "Cheese N' Cheese": tomato-braised rice, egg, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, smoked bacon, grilled spam, fresh corn, red onion, fried shallots, spring onions, and bell peppers over hot cast iron and "Kari Chicken Noodle Soup" with "curry noodle base, infused with coconut milk, served in a bed of Food Terminal’s signature thin noodle, chicken thigh, fish cake, fried shallot, and hard-boiled egg."

Located at 1000 Marietta Street in The Brickworks development, Food Terminal stands to benefit, at least in the short run, from the upcoming closure of 5 Seasons Brewery, given the two restaurants share the development's patio and parking.

According to the offering for the business, the restaurant features "two $38,000 Marra rotator gas pizza ovens that will be removed by seller if requested." Given Food Terminal would have no use for the oven and The Local Pizzaiolo is pursing an expansion in the Washington D.C., perhaps they will be transported to our nation's capitol.

Steve Josovitz and Irving Jacobson of The Shumacher Group, Inc. represented both the buyer and the seller in the Westside transaction and continue to market the Toco Hills location for lease, now reduced from $325,000 to $285,000, with some owner financing.

Food Terminal Westside is expected to open later this summer.

Are you excited for the addition of Food Terminal to the Westside? Are you surprised that The Local Pizzaiolo did not make thrive in Atlanta? What would you like to see open in The Local Pizzaiolo in Toco Hills?

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Hoots, "a Hooters Joint," will be opening its second overall location later this year in Atlanta. The eatery, a quick-serve version of Hooters, will open in Madison Yards at 935 Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown. The new restaurant will occupy suite 310, an approximately 2,000 square foot space in the new AMC Theatres/Publix anchored project.

The first and currently only other hoots eatery, which opened in February 2017, is located in Cicero, a suburb of Chicago and is owned by a franchisee. The Madison Yards location will be corporately owned.

Hooters Chief Strategy Officer Sal Melilli said Cicero was chosen for the first hoots because of the strong carry-out business in the Chicago area.

The menu at hoots is condensed significantly from a typical Hooters, offering only Hooters'"top takeout sellers" such as various wings and chicken sandwiches and sides like fried pickles and loaded tots. Customers order at a counter, get a number, pick a table and retrieve their food from the counter when it's ready.

Employees, which include both male and female staff, wear either V-neck or polo hoots shirts with khaki pants, instead of the traditional "Hooters girl" look of tight T-shirts and short-shorts. Overall, the restaurant is far more family-friendly than its older, sexier sister.

Feedback on Yelp.com for hoots has been mixed with 51 reviews and an overall rating of three stars.

The existing hoots location offers third-party delivery via both DoorDash and Uber Eats, and it's likely that the Atlanta location will provide similar delivery options.

The opening of hoots in Reyoldstown - an intown neighborhood known for local restaurants and a growing millennial population - is a bit of an odd choice for a brand primarily known for suburban locations.

Adding to the puzzling choice is the fact that The Brass Tap, a Tampa-based casual restaurant similar to Taco Mac, closed at nearby Glenwood Place last August after little more than a year in business.

It's also worth noting that like its parent company, hoots will serve the Pepsi family of non-alcoholic beverages rather than Coke products.

Founded in Clearwater, Florida in 1983, Hooters is today based in Atlanta and operates more than 430 restaurants globally.

The Madison Yards location could be just the beginning of growth of the brand. A representative from the company's Atlanta area headquarters at 1815 The Exchange registered "Hoots Franchising, LLC" with the Georgia Secretary of State's office on July 16, 2018.

Hoots at Madison Yards should open later this summer.

Do you think the idea of a mini Hooters minus the boobs and babes will resonate with an intown market? What is your favorite chain restaurant in town? What Madison Yards restaurant opening are you most exited about?

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A new Chicken Salad Chick restaurant is being planned for Rome in northwest Georgia. The new restaurant, which will also feature a drive-thru, will open at 800 Martha Berry Boulevard, not far from Floyd Medical Center. Chicken Salad Chick will construct a new building on the roughly .7 acre parcel to accommodate their restaurant where Auto Link Motors Detail Shop was previously located.

A rendering of the upcoming Stacy's Chicken Salad Chick in Rome

Based in Auburn, Alabama, Chicken Salad Chick was launched by Stacy Brown and her late husband Kevin Brown on January 7, 2008. The couple began franchising in 2012. Today, the privately held chain has grown to 109 locations in 12 states, with more than 20 in Georgia.

Collectively only about a third of the company's restaurants feature a drive-thru and less than 10% are freestanding, making the Rome restaurant special.

Brown, who spoke exclusively with ToNeTo Atlanta about her upcoming plans, has been out of the day-to-day operations of restaurants since about 2014, but with "hospitality in her blood" and a "passion for serving," she felt the urge to get back in. Since 2014, Brown had assumed a less restaurant-based role and more of brand ambassador position, while also guiding the business from a directional standpoint.

To understand why this restaurant is so special to Brown you must first know that Brown is a native of Rome and also a 1992 graduate of Rome's prestigious Darlington School.

Over the years, Brown says, the company received a number of inquiries from individuals interested in opening a Chicken Salad Chick franchise in Rome. Both because the company originally targeted larger markets and because Brown feared no one would do Rome justice like she would, the company resisted granting anyone a Rome franchise.

"Rome is such a special place for me, it was hard to imagine a Rome store being run by anyone else."

Chicken Salad Chick describes its purpose as "Spread joy, enrich lives, and serve others," Brown plans to take this mantra to the next level with her Rome restaurant.

The Rome location is being opened by Brown along with Auburn businessman King Braswell through his company, KQC, LLC. Brown will operate the restaurant not as a corporate store, but as an independent franchise.

While Brown has no plans to relocate back to Rome on a permanent basis, she does plan to spend a good deal of time in the area in advance of and after the restaurant's opening. "It's only about two and half hours and an easy day trip," Brown said of the proximity of Rome to her current home and family in Auburn, Alabama.

The Rome restaurant - officially "Stacy's Chicken Salad Chick" - will be known as "the founder's restaurant," and will be unlike any other Chicken Salad Chick location.

Jared Bussey, the Birmingham-based architect designing the restaurant, seems primarily to design homes which could explain the residential-inspired restaurant design.

Brown hopes that a visit to any Chicken Salad Chick - with their homey fixtures and residential elements - creates a sense of warmth and hospitality. A visit to Stacy's Chicken Salad Chick, with its courtyard and natural canopy of trees that come together to form a roof, will provide a space where guests will be "overwhelmed with warmth."

Among the 2,863 square foot restaurant's unique features are a 40' by 40' outdoor courtyard with seating, a fireplace, throw pillows and other elements foreign in basically all other quick-serve restaurants.

There will be many other plantings around the property including creeping fig and jasmine that will help to create the sense of being in a botanical garden.

The interior of the restaurant will provide the history of the "roots of of the restaurant," and will honor Stacy's late husband and restaurant co-founder Kevin who passed away in late 2015 after fighting stage 4 colon cancer. His passing gave direction to the "Chicken Salad Chick Foundation," which has made multiple sizable donations to various cancer centers as well as the American Cancer Society.

Stacy Brown with her late husband Kevin and their four children

Chicken Salad Chick's menu features more than a dozen Southern-style, made from scratch, chicken salads as well as side salads, soups, sandwiches and assorted desserts. Brown says she has no immediate plans for the Rome restaurant to offer any special menu items, but did say "I'm always up for testing new things."

It's worth noting, too, that Rome is home to a number of people behind some of the restaurant's popular sandwiches. "Sassy Scotty" is named for Stacy's best friend since kindergarten, "Cranberry Kelli" is named for Stacy's sister-in-law, and "Nutty Nanna" is named for Stacy's mother Cheryl Melton, all of whom are current Rome residents. The "Fruity Fran" was named for Stacy's aunt who recently passed but who also lived in Rome.

Brown indicated that she plans to provide jobs for between 35 to 40 people at the new restaurant and hopes to be open by late summer.

Chicken Salad Chick joins a popular corridor along Martha Berry where in recent years new locations of Wendy's and Cook Out have opened, as well as a new Publix-anchored shopping center. Martha Berry is also home to renovated locations of both Arby's and Bojangles' as well as a Honey Baked Ham.

Atlanta-based private equity firm Eagle Merchant Partners, led by former FOCUS Brands CEO Russ Umphenour, made a strategic investment in Chicken Salad Chick in 2015 and their ongoing capital has allowed for the restaurant to continue to expand.

This past December, Chicken Salad Chick purchased 11 Atlanta area franchised units from Atlanta-based Origin Development Group, bringing the total of company-owned locations to 32.

At the time of the purchase, Chicken Salad Chick indicated that they intend to open 40 additional locations in 2019, which will be a mix of company and franchisee-owned. According to Brown, the company is currently opening between one and two restaurants per week.

Are you excited for the opening of Chicken Salad Chick in Rome? What is your favorite Chicken Salad Chick flavor? Where would you like to see Chicken Salad Chick open next?

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On the heels of our exclusive news that Hooters plans to open their second ever "hoots" restaurant in the new Fuqua Development project Madison Yards on Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown, comes news that a host of other new eateries are coming to the project, too!

Taqueria Tsunami, a Marietta-based chain from Fork U Concepts, currently with seven OTP locations, will return ITP with a roughly 3,400 square foot space in the new development. The restaurant, which describes itself as a "Latin-Asian Kitchen," will occupy a space previously leased to failed pizzeria The Local Pizzaiolo, which recently closed and sold its Westside location and is marketing its Toco Hills restaurant for sale. The first Taqueria Tsunami opened off Peachtree Road near Peachtree Battle in mid 2011 and closed in late 2012. Its former space is today home to neighborhood favorite 1Kept. The chain has found greater success OTP, and over the past year or so opened a pair of new locations in East Cobb and Sandy Springs. A ninth location is expected to open in the coming months at Peachtree Corners Town Center, another Fuqua Development project, off Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners.

Marlow's Tavern will also open in the project, marking the Atlanta-based chain's nineteenth location in Georgia and 25th overall. The casual American restaurant serves a wide variety of classic American fare and has proved popular both intown with a location in Midtown, and OTP, with locations in places like Alpharetta, Duluth and East Cobb, among others.

Steel City Pops, a Birmingham-based purveyor of gourmet popsicles, plans to open a small shop in the center as well. The new shop will be the first satellite store to the company's "kitchen store," which opened in September 2017 just off the square in Downtown Decatur. Steel City Pops is similar in some ways to Atlanta's King of Pops, but offers far more customization and different seasonal flavors, too, like their Horchata and Avocado, personal favorites of ToNeTo Atlanta.

Curry Up Now, a quick-serve Indian restaurant, will also open in the project and is one of three that Atlanta franchisee and former Midtown Tavern owner Hemant Suri plans to open in the area in the coming years. The other two planned locations are slated for The Interlock on Howell Mill at 14 Street, and at North Decatur Square near Decatur.

Salata, a self described "salad kitchen," will also open a new outpost in the project. The new Salata marks the Texas-based chain's eighth location in metro Atlanta, following the recent debut at Peachtree Corners Town Center. The quick-serve restaurant is essentially a downsized Sweet Tomatoes, and is perhaps over-anticipating the demand for their fare in the market.

Chef Richard Tang of Char Korean Bar & Grill in Inman Park, along with former Ba Bellies chef Mike Yang, plan to open a new restaurant described only an "Asian seafood house" in the development as well. Sources close to the project indicate it will be a "seafood boil" of sorts and that it should open in late summer. The as yet unnamed restaurant would be the second in the "Tang Hospitality Group," an LLC Tang created last year which seems to indicate there may be more concepts (or additional locations) to come.

Breakfast and lunch eatery First Watch also plans to open a new roughly 4,200 square foot space in Madison Yards and will debut their new concept to the Atlanta market. (A lease is reportedly close but not yet final.) Modeled after a location the company opened last fall in the Nashville area, the new First Watch will be larger than their typical locations and will offer a bar/beverage counter serving specialty coffee drinks like cappuccinos, lattes and espressos. The bar will also offer brunch cocktails like a vodka and kale tonic – a variation of the restaurant’s popular kale tonic drink featuring Stoli vodka, as well as classic brunch cocktails like Mimosas and Bloody Marys. Wine is also available, as are kombucha and draft beer.

Publix will likely be among the first openings in the project and is currently slated to make their debut in early May, but possibly later, depending on whether the weather behaves. Other tenants like the AMC Theatres, the restaurants and other businesses, are slated to open starting in late spring.

Are you excited for the restaurant planned for Madison Yards? What other eateries would you like it see open in the project? What Atlanta area developer do you think does the most to cater to the wants and needs of the community?

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The Rooms To Go furniture store at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont Roads in Buckhead has closed. The store, located at 3256 Peachtree Road, occupies one of the most attractive redevelopment corners in metro Atlanta. It will not be replaced with anything anytime soon, however, as permits filed by the Florida-based retailer indicate that they intend to undergo a nearly $2 million renovation.

Rooms To Go, by way of two separate entities, "RTG FURNITURE CORP OF GEORGIA," and "LOGAN GEORGIA ASSOCIATES L P" owns the property, which according to Fulton County tax records, is actually three parcels totaling nearly 1.5 acres. The significant capital investment being made to the building suggests the company's long term commitment to the property.

Property records indicate that the company paid about $1.5 million for the combined three parcel site in late 1995 and that today the properties are valued by Fulton County at about $3.6 million.

It's unclear exactly how long the renovation will take, but the permits on file with the City of Atlanta indicate that work will include both interior and exterior renovations, including MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing.)

In recent years, a number of other furniture retailers have joined (or rejoined) the Buckhead market. Catty corner from Rooms to Go, Atlanta's Haverty's Furniture opened a "Style Studio" at Buckhead Square replacing The Container Store which relocated to a portion of the former Borders, north on Peachtree at Buckhead Triangle. The opening of Haverty's marked their return to the market and their return, in fact, to the exact center they had once occupied. Modani opened in the former Ethan Allen space in nearby Buckhead Pavilion in 2013 while Ethan Allen later returned to Buckhead in July 2017 at Lenox Marketplace.

Not far away, close to the Lindbergh MARTA station, The Dump opened in 2010 while Ashley (Furniture) HomeStore opened later that same year in Lindbergh Plaza.

There was one notable Buckhead furniture closure last year when HUFF Furniture shuttered their Peachtree Road showroom after more than 60 years in business.

Rooms To Go, which has regional offices in Dunwoody, operates about a dozen stores in Georgia in addition to outlet stores in Norcross and Forest Park and an "express" store in Gainesville.

The company closed their Rooms To Go and Rooms to Go Kids stores on Cobb Parkway not far from SunTrust Park a few years ago, and also relocated their Alpharetta store from North Point Parkway to Haynes Bridge Road where the more contemporary store now occupies a prominent corner. The former Alpharetta store, now a Party City, looked like the Buckhead store and its replacement store is reportedly what the Buckhead store will be modeled after.

Rooms To Go on Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta

Morton "Morty" Seaman and his son Jeffrey Seaman opened the first Rooms To Go in Orlando, Florida in 1991. The company entered the Atlanta market in 1995 and also opened a distribution center in Suwanee the following year. Today, the company operates more than 130 stores and Georgia is the company's third largest market by store count, behind Florida and Texas.

The new and improved Buckhead Rooms To Go is expected to open later this fall.

Where did you buy the furniture for your home? What is your favorite brand of furniture? Are you surprised that Rooms To Go is renovating their store rather than selling the property?

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In a move that should surprise few, Whole Foods plans to convert all of its existing 365 stores into regular Whole Foods stores by the end of the year, according to a report by Yahoo Finance. The move follows the company's decision, made public in January, to stop expanding the smaller format stores. According to a Whole Foods spokesperson, all twelve current Whole Foods Market 365 stores will remain open after the conversion.

In Atlanta, the company opened two, ultimately the final two 365 stores ever, simultaneously, on December 12, 2018. The stores, in Buckhead and near Decatur, anchor their respective centers. In Buckhead, Regency Centers demolished a portion of Paces Ferry Plaza and a former Taco Bell restaurant to make way for the new approximately 30,0000 square foot grocer. Near Decatur, S.J. Collins Enterprises, a frequent Whole Foods development partner, redeveloped two former car lots to create North Decatur Square, where the the 365 store occupies a 35,000 square foot space, making it the largest 365 store in the nation.

The company has already scrapped the 365 specific website, moving store listings to the main Whole Foods page, and is not actively updating the 365 facebook and Twitter pages.

Typically, 365 stores are 25,000 to 30,000 square feet, smaller than conventional Whole Foods supermarkets, which average around 40,000 square feet.

Whole Foods once seemed to indicate that the 365 format was the future, and the answer to the grocer's struggles in the marketplace. However, since Amazon's $13.7 billion acquisition of the grocer in August 2017, those plans have changed dramatically. One month prior to announcing the deal, Whole Foods co-founder and CEO John Mackey told investors there were twenty-two 365 stores under development. Only nine opened since then. Some of the previously announced Whole Foods 365 stores have already been turned into full-fledged Whole Foods stores, while others were scrapped entirely.

Last May, at Butler Town Center in Gainesville, Florida, Whole Foods opened a namesake 40,000 square foot store instead of a 365 store, as had been originally announced.

This past November, Whole Foods finally filed for permits for a store at Kenwood Collection in Cincinnati, Ohio, more than three years after it was originally announced. Local sources indicate that the company does intend to open the store, but likely not until later this summer/fall, when it will open as a full-line Whole Foods.

In Evergreen Park, Illinois, a long delayed 365 store at Evergreen Plaza is slated to open March 6 as a Whole Foods Market.

One store in Indiana and at least two stores in California were abandoned entirely.

In October 2017, Whole Foods closed one of the original 365 stores in Bellevue, a suburb of Seattle, citing "weak performance," only one year after opening. A judge initially ordered the store reopened finding the grocer's lease with its landlord was enforceable for at least the first 10 years of the grocer's 20 year lease. For over a year, a legal battle ensued and only this past December did an appeals court rule in favor of Whole Foods in not enforcing the lease and allowing them to remain closed.

Mackey said the main reason to move away from the smaller, value-based store concept is the price drop at regular Whole Foods stores. That said, a number of identical products are cheaper at 365 vs. regular Whole Foods stores and industry observers indicate that prices overall at the main line stores are once again on the rise following a few months of declines.

GT's Kombucha, for instance, is priced at $3.49 per bottle at the Buckhead Whole Foods but only $3.29 at the Buckhead 365 store. Identical frozen meals were also cheaper at the 365 store with those from brands like Saffron Road, Amy's and evol, among others, all an average 50 cents cheaper at 365 than at the main line store.

The conversion of the Buckhead store was something that Regency was reportedly prepared for, knowing at the time of the construction that there was a real possibility that the store might not remain a 365 store. The full line Whole Foods nearby is one of the most productive in the region and the additional store will surely help alleviate some of the stress it's under by drawing would-be customers from the neighborhoods closer to the current 365 store.

The conversion of the Decatur area store is likely to be be met with tepid enthusiasm from the collective intown community given the grocer's imminent planned closure of their Briarcliff store, the company's original Atlanta area outpost. Many neighbors have voiced their concern and frustration with the planned closure given its convenience and size, both ideal for intown dwellers.

Both the Decatur and Buckhead locations were to get outposts of Los Angeles based Loteria Grill but after at least two delays, both restaurant sit idle. Recently installed signage at both locations indicates an April opening but the conversions could further alter the restaurant's plans.

Whole Foods plans to close the Briarcliff store in late March or early April, after which it will open its new multi-level, 70,000+ square foot "flagship" store at the corner of 14th and Spring Streets in Midtown, potentially as soon as April 5. Team members at the Briarcliff store have been instructed to tell patrons that the store is "moving" to Midtown, a joke considering the roughly five miles between them. It's a closure and an opening, calling it anything else is a false narrative.

Are you a current Whole Foods 365 shopper? Do you think Whole Foods prices have gone up after coming down previously? Where do you do the majority of your grocery shopping?

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A forty acre site in southeast Atlanta is being marketed as a "rare infill opportunity" with the potential to reshape a blighted area. The property, located at 315 McDonough Boulevard in Chosewood Park in Fulton County, is being marketed as "The Sawtell" by JLL’s Land & Development Services team. The property, formerly home to a General Motors (GM) assembly plant (aka Lakewood Plant), bound by McDonough Boulevard and Sawtell Avenue, has in recent years been used as a location for filming the hit Netflix series Stranger Things, among other projects.

According to the city of Atlanta: "Opened in 1927, the plant grew in size from 30 acres to almost 78 acres spread across the railroad tracks into the surrounding neighborhood of South Atlanta. At its height of production, the plant employed nearly 5,000 workers. Consistent with many urban auto plants, the plant began to downsize as newer larger facilities were built in the surrounding region and in 1990 it ceased operation. Since then the site has operated in various other industrial uses, most recently as a recycling center and tractor trailer holding yard."

The offering indicates there are entitlements that allow for development of dense commercial and a variety of residential products, as well as two existing buildings totaling 166,000 sf of rentable space.

The property also has current income from TV & film production leases allowing for carrying out a phased redevelopment while still generating revenue.

Also noted in the listing is that the property sits within a Federal Opportunity Zone (Census Tract 64), offering would-be equity investors significant tax benefits.

The site is walking distance to The Atlanta BeltLine's Boulevard Crossing Park, a five acre park created in 2011 featuring two multi-purpose activity fields.

The property is currently zoned MRC-3-C (Mixed Residential Commercial - Conditional) with all utilities available, with excess capacity.

The listing also mentions "significant development activity in the immediate area" but it's unclear to what exactly that refers.

The property is less than ten miles from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport but is also less than one mile from the United States Penitentiary.

The property's size could interest developers like Fuqua Development and North American Properties, both known for large scale mixed use developments.

For reference, Fuqua Development's upcoming Madison Yards project in Reynoldstown, a redevelopment of the former Leggett & Platt mattress factory, is 17 acres.

Assembly Yards, the name of the Doraville project on the site of another former General Motors assembly plant, is located adjacent to the Doraville MARTA station and along I-285, both factors in making it attractive to developers. In all, the 130 acre, 10 million square foot redevelopment will include some 240,000 square feet of restaurants, retail & entertainment space, as well as office, mercantile, loft housing, hotel space, as well as 8 acres of park/green space. The property is already home of Third Rail Studios - Film & Television Production Studio.

The offering indicates that all offers are due by March 28th, 2019

What would you like to see happen to this huge property? What developer would you like to see take on this project? Are you excited for Assembly Yards?

Please share your thoughts below?

In an effort to remain "financially stable," electric automaker Tesla announced plans Thursday to close "most" of their retail stores over "the next few months." The announcement, which coincided with the release of updated information and pricing of the Model 3, sent shock-waves throughout many industries, among them, mall operators, many of whom have Tesla stores and galleries in their "A" malls.

Tesla announced that it will offer a $35,000 version of the Model 3, which will have a 220 mile range and reach a top speed of 130 miles per hour. The cost savings of reducing both their retail footprint and retail staff reportedly allowed the company to achieve the necessary savings to bring down the price of the Model 3.

Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, didn't comment on when exactly the store closures would be announced.

The Tesla store in Atlanta opened in the first floor of the Luxury Wing at Simon Property Group's Lenox Square in late 2014. The store, about 3,200 square feet, is located just outside Neiman Marcus and has a presence both from in the mall and from the outside, where the company has a number of chargers. At about the same time as the Buckhead store debut, the company also opened an 18,000 square foot service center and showroom in an old Isuzu/Subaru dealership on Church Street near Decatur.

The Buckhead store and Decatur service centers followed the first Tesla presence in the area, a service center on South Marietta Parkway in Marietta, which had opened earlier in 2014.

The company subsequently added two other outposts in metro Atlanta, a third service center and showroom in Roswell, in a former Kia dealership, and a second store/gallery, in the second phase of Avalon in Alpharetta.

There are currently about 100 Tesla stores and galleries in the U.S. plus other stores in about 30 foreign countries

Tesla indicated that only a small number of stores in “high-traffic locations” will remain open as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centers where customers can learn about the company and buy merchandise. Given the company was rather selective in where they opened stores in the first place --- no Tesla store ever opened in Northlake Mall, for example --- one has to wonder how the company will determine which stores to keep open. Metro Atlanta is reportedly one of the automaker's top markets but is still behind larger markets like California, New York and Florida, among others, in overall sales.

While the company has yet to lay off employees, industry website Electrek reported that Tesla has eliminated all bonuses for its retail staff. "According to some Tesla employees talking to Electrek, those bonuses represented the majority of the overall compensation of many retail workers." With Tesla transitioning to online only sales, the company's removal of all commissions for retail employees is a bit odd as they are seemingly still going to handle sales throughout the transition period. Some employees told Electrek that they believe Tesla is slashing their compensation in an attempt to force them out [during the transition] before layoffs to avoid having to pay severance.

If Tesla at Lenox Square does close, it would open a prized first level space in the Luxury Wing that could be appealing to retailers already in the market but in inferior locations [The Shops Buckhead Atlanta] or those not yet there but looking to enter [Chanel?]. Hermes, which opened in the mall in 1998 and left in early 2009 for what would become a six year odyssey, could return to its former home, but it's unlikely. When Hermes left the mall in 2009, it was to be part of The Streets of Buckhead. The financial crisis and other delays led Hermes to operate from a converted space next to Fado Irish Pub for over five years before they finally opened in 2014 at what was by then known as Buckhead Atlanta, later The Shops Buckhead Atlanta.

Real estate sources close to the luxury retailer indicate that they are currently receiving significant rent concessions at The Shops and therefore it is unlikely they would elect to return to Lenox Square, even if they wanted to. That said, Tom Ford, which reportedly received a significant TIA (tenant improvement allowance) from The Shops Buckhead Atlanta for their boutique, is leaving the development for a new space in Simon's Phipps Plaza. ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reportedly this relocation in January.

Are you surprised to see Tesla close its retail stores? Do you now or do you plan in the future to purchase a Tesla? If Tesla does close at Lenox Square, what would you like to see open in its place?

Please share your thoughts below

A new HomeGoods is finally under construction on the Westside, over two years after ToNeTo Atlanta first reported it was coming. Slated to occupy much of the former ROSS Dress For Less in The District at Howell Mill, the new HomeGoods will join fellow TJX Co. brand T.J. Maxx in the mixed-use development.

The new HomeGoods marks the second new store in Fulton County in just the past year. HomeGoods opened in Powers Ferry Square on Roswell Road in North Buckhead this past August. HomeGoods occupies a 21,296 square foot space once home to both CVS and Fox's and one that was previously earmarked for Southern Seasons. Following the premium grocer's cancellation and bankruptcy, their space was back-filled by HomeGoods and Burn, a local fitness facility.

According to the site plan for the Selig Enterprises-owned center, the HomeGoods on Howell Mill will be 22,004 square feet. Overall, the former ROSS space was 29,643 square feet leaving a 7,600 square feet space for what sources indicate will be a new Rack Room Shoes store.

Given work is underway and the building shell is staying largely the same, there is hope that the new HomeGoods could open later this fall.

The first Buckhead area HomeGoods is located in Buckhead Crossing on Piedmont Road where it occupies a 24,000 square foot former Drug Emporium store. The store, which has been in business nearly 20 years, is joined in the center by fellow TJX Co. concept Marshalls.

Another HomeGoods is coming to Chamblee where it and T.J. Maxx will help anchor the rebirth of Chamblee Plaza. Rack Room Shoes is also opening in the center with plans for stores to open in phases beginning later this fall.

HomeSense, a store TJX operates abroad, was introduced to the U.S. market in 2017 but is different than its presence elsewhere. Where in Canada and Europe HomeSense is basically their take on HomeGoods, much like the company's TK Maxx in Europe, HomeSense in the U.S. has a larger selection of furniture, art, and lighting, all in a "showroom" like store.

HomeSense opened the first U.S. location in the company's headquarters city, Framingham, Massachusetts, in August 2017. There are currently 18 HomeSense stores open in America with another four slated to open in the next 45 days.

On an earnings call early last year, TJX CEO Ernie Hermann said the response to the first four U.S. stores had been “terrific” and announced plans to open 400 more. “We see an enormous opportunity for growth,” Hermann said. “We believe we are still underpenetrated in home, and we see lots of white space we can move into.”

There are currently no known plans for a HomeSense store in metro Atlanta but that undoubtedly will change in the not so distant future in the company plans to open 400 stores nationally. TJX currently has about twenty HomeGoods goods in the greater metro Atlanta area.

Are you happy to see HomeGoods finally make progress towards opening in Howell Mill Road? Have you ever been to a HomeSense store? If HomeSense did come to metro Atlanta, where would you like to see them open?

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Landmark Diner Jr. has closed its location on Cheshire Bridge Road. The restaurant, an offshoot of Buckhead's Landmark Diner, opened in 2005 and reportedly closed quietly earlier this week. The restaurant, which was open 24/7, featured a huge menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner options ranging from traditional egg plates to steaks, shrimp entrees and gyros.

Photo courtesy of Russell Youngblood

When the Landmark Diner Jr. opened in 2005, it replaced longtime Cheshire Bridge "landmark" Dunk 'n Dine, a popular neighborhood restaurant that operated for more than four decades. The Landmark Diner building was originally built in 1960 according to Fulton County property records.

It's unclear what precipitated the sudden closure but the Cheshire Bridge Landmark as well as its larger sibling restaurants downtown and in Buckhead, all have bad reputations for failing health inspections. Despite the poor heath scores, the restaurant seemed to do well and its closure could be due to a pending redevelopment.

JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) is currently marketing not only the Landmark Diner property (2277 Cheshire Bridge Road) but the adjacent European Dry Cleaners (2297) and the former Happy Herman's (2299) too. Collectively, the three parcels are reportedly .76 acres are being marketed for lease, ground lease or build to suit.

According to the listing, the Landmark building is 2,300 square feet, European Dry Cleaners is 1,442 sf with 600 square foot basement and the former Happy Herman's is 6,096 square feet.

The marketing materials further describe the opportunity as "incredible" given its location "in highly desirable intown Atlanta location" with "dense population with high incomes and surrounded by some of Atlanta’s best in-town neighborhoods including Morningside-Lenox Park, Piedmont Heights, Lavista Park and Peachtree-Hills."

It's a known fact that RaceTrac and QuikTrip would LOVE to be in the area but given the subject assemblage is not even .8 of an acre, it's likely too small for even the most compact of modern c-stores either company would want to open.

Cheshire Bridge Road, once a beacon of independent businesses, especially restaurants, has witnessed its fair share of casualties over the years. The aforementioned Happy Herman's closed in 2008 after more than three decades in business.

Just off Cheshire Bridge, on Lindbergh Drive, Varsity Jr. closed in 2010 and was later replaced by an uber boring self-storage facility.

Alfredo's, a popular Italian restaurant on Cheshire Bridge Road for more than 40 years, closed in early 2016 and is now home to a mid-rise apartment community.

Cowtipper's, on nearby Piedmont Avenue, closed this past December after 25 years in business and is slated to be replaced by a Chase Bank. Before life as Cowtipper's, the restaurant building was home to an outpost of the Old Hickory House chain.

Longtime Atlantans likely still yearn for the return of Katz's Deli, a once popular eatery where today Southern Nights, an adult toy and video store is currently located.

Fortunately, some restaurants have survived the test of time and continuous redevelopment like The Colonnade, Nino's and Hong Kong Harbour, among others.

We here at ToNeTo Atlanta hope the three properties, especially the dry cleaners and the Landmark building can be renovated and re-purposed rather than demolished.

What would you like to see happen to these three parcels? What is your fondest memory of a dining experience on Cheshire Bridge Road? If someone were to reopen a former Cheshire Bridge area restaurant, which one would you most like to see reborn?

Please share your thoughts below

The owners of Rose & Crown Tavern on Powers Ferry Road are planning to open a second restaurant next month. The new restaurant, Mojave, will open in place of the short-lived Ray's Rio Bravo on Powers Ferry Road near the Chattahoochee River. Rio Bravo closed in early 2017 after than two years in business. ToNeTo Atlanta previously reported that Ray Schoenbaum, who opened the restaurant and purchased the restaurant and its property, had put it up for sale or lease.

Owner Miguel Ayoub, who opened Rose & Crown in 2010 in place of a shuttered La Madeleine, plans to close his pub and restaurant May 10. The restaurant, along with a number of other former restaurants adjacent to it, will be redeveloped as part of a $110 million mixed-use development that is to include new retail, restaurant and multifamily developments.

Rose & Crown is slated to reopen in the new project. Currently in a roughly 4,000 square foot building, the next Rose & Crown would be a bout 50% bigger, occupying a roughly 6,000 square foot space in the new development.

Current plans call for the southwest restaurant to debut in mid-April. The new mixed-use development and replacement Rose & Crown likely won't open until sometime in 2020/2021.

Does the idea of a southwest restaurant in place of the former Ray's Rio Bravo excite you? Will you miss Rose & Crown when it begins its hiatus next month? What are your thoughts on the mixed-use development along Powers Ferry Road?

Please share your thoughts below

Just over two years after its Cumberland area debut, Chuy's, a Tex-Mex eatery, has closed its location in Akers Mill Square. The roughly 6,500 square foot restaurant opened in late February 2017 and closed this past Friday March 1. There was reportedly no advance warning to customers of the closure.

All exterior signage has been removed from the restaurant and a sign posted to the restaurant's front door reads: "We regrettably have permanently closed this location. We apologize for any inconvenience. We are grateful for your support and hope to serve you soon at our other restaurants Thank you."

The first Atlanta area Chuy's opened on Perimeter Center West near Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody in 2011. A second location was added on Ernest Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw in 2014.

The Akers Mill Chuy's was the third location in the Atlanta market for the Austin, Texas-based chain. A fourth location opened in Alpharetta's Liberty Village, across from Avalon, in late 2017. A fifth location was to open as part of Fuqua Development's Peachtree Corners Town Center development, but plans for that location were reportedly abandoned.

Chuy's is now the third restaurant to close in Akers Mill Square in the past few months following the closures of Subway and Pollo Tropical. Subway's closure was reportedly related to "a rent issue," while the Pollo Tropical closure was part of the company's overall withdrawal from the Atlanta market and was one of nine Atlanta area locations the chain closed this past December.

The Akers Mill Pollo Tropical is likely seen as the crown jewel of their former Atlanta area locations given its location along Cobb Parkway with tremendous visibility and recent construction.

Sources close to Chuy's indicate that the restaurant's location in the interior portion of the center, with basically zero visibility from Cobb Parkway, played a large role in the decision to close. The restaurant reportedly never turned a profit in its two years of operation and the company, now publicly traded, NASDAQ: CHUY, decided enough was enough.

Chuy's was one of three restaurants to occupy portions of the former Circuit City, with Grub Burger Bar and LongHorn Steakhouse being the other two, but the others each had better visibility than the Tex-Mex eatery.

Despite the recent restaurant closures, Akers Mill remains a popular center with a pair of recent and upcoming openings, each backfilling vacant space. Total Wine opened this past November in the former Sports Authority while Hobby Lobby is slated to open April 15 in the former Toys R Us.

Are you surprised that Chuy's closed at Akers Mill Square? What would you like to see open in place of Chuy's or Pollo Tropical at Akers Mill Square? What is your favorite Cumberland area restaurant?

Please share your thoughts below

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), with North American headquarters in Dunwoody, plans to bring its new avid hotels brand to Georgia next year. The new avid hotel is planned for 200 Outlet Parkway in Pooler, a suburb of Savannah. Specifically, the hotel will open adjacent to the Tanger Outlets.

A rendering of a typical avid hotels property

Avid was introduced in 2017 by IHG with its debut property opening in 2018 in Quail Springs, a suburb of Oklahoma City.

Avid Hotels, officially a "midscale brand," targets travelers at a slightly lower price point than IHG's popular Holiday Inn Express brand, a demographic it considers vastly underserved. Guestrooms are priced about $10 to $15 less than comparable rooms at Holiday Inn Express.

The first avid hotel has 87 rooms and is owned by Champion Hotels. Planning documents indicate the new Pooler hotel will be four stories, with 95 guest rooms, and will be operated by Savannah-based Image Hotels.

According to the Image website, Avid marks Image's first IHG branded hotel in their portfolio.

Image currently operates six hotels, two in Mobile, Alabama, and four in the Savannah area. Those are:

Springhill Suites and Hilton Garden Inn in Mobile, Alabama

Fairfield Inn & Suites, Courtyard Pooler/Savannah Airport, DoubleTree Savannah Aviation Village and Comfort Suites Historic Savannah in Savannah

The avid hotels website indicates there are at least four other properties in the works with planned openings in 2019. Those are:

Oklahoma City Airport and Tulsa, Oklahoma (spring 2019) and Fort Wayne, Indiana and Monona, Wisconsin (fall 2019).

IHG announced last fall a Multiple Development Agreement (MDA) with existing partner GS Star GmbH (GS Star) to bring 15 avid hotels to the German market.

EVEN Hotels, another new IHG brand, is also coming to the Georgia market with a new hotel under construction just off Old Milton Parkway in Alpharetta, near Avalon.

In total, IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,600 hotels and approximately 837,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with more than 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline.

IHG hotel brands include Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, voco Hotels, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, Holiday Inn Resort, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. Last month, IHG acquired Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, adding 16 hotels to its system and 18 hotels to its development pipeline.

Have you ever stayed at an avid hotels property? What is your favorite hotel brand? What hotel brand would you like to see enter the Atlanta market?

Please share your thoughts below

ToNeTo Atlanta first reported in December that Pollo Campero was likely replacing the former Pollo Tropical in Marietta Trade Center. We can now confirm that is true. That said, as we now enter March, zero noticeable work has been done to the restaurant itself and the only indication of anything is the sign attached to the restaurant's exterior indicating that Pollo Campero is "coming soon."

Dallas, Texas-based Pollo Campero currently operates just two restaurants in Georgia, half the number it once did. Current Atlanta area Pollo Campero restaurants include those on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross (former Don Taco) and on Buford Highway in Chamblee (former Popeyes). Previous locations of Pollo Campero locally include those on Queen City Parkway in Gainesville (now a Dunkin' Donuts) and on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell (currently vacant).

Given Pollo Campero's mixed success in metro Atlanta, it will be interesting to see how they fare on Cobb Parkway, especially in a space that recently housed another chicken chain that seemingly overbuilt in the market.

Pollo Campero, essentially a Latin version of KFC, offers fried and grilled chicken meals and individual pieces as well as assorted sides like plaintains, yuca fries and french fries, as well as desserts like dulce de leche, empanada, and flan.

Just north of the Pollo Campero, Checkers recently closed their newly renovated restaurant after a fire damaged the restaurant. Across the street from the upcoming chicken joint, Krystal demolished and rebuilt their restaurant, reopening it after a "remodeling," in April 2017.

In Marietta Trade Center, Pollo Campero would join recently opened locations of Moe's Southwest Grill, 1000 Degrees Pizza and Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery & Grill. It's also worth mentioning that there is a Chick-fil-A restaurant also located in an out-parcel of the center, not far from Pollo Campero.

Are you excited for the opening of Pollo Campero in Marietta? Do you think Pollo Campero will have greater success than Pollo Tropical? What is your favorite fast food chicken chain?

Please share your thoughts below

The Burger King restaurant at 4057 Holcomb Bridge Road in Norcross has closed. The restaurant, located at the corner of Spalding Drive and Holcomb Bridge Road, had been in business more than 30 years before abruptly closing this past Saturday. Signs posted to the shuttered restaurant's doors directed would-be patrons to the Burger King at 3215 Peachtree Corners Circle, about two miles away.

Both locations are owned by Atlanta-based GPS Hospitality, a large franchisee of both Burger King and Popeyes restaurant chains. Burger King and Popeyes are themselves both owned by Restaurant Brands International (RBI)

The closure of the Norcross Burger King comes just over a year after GPS closed their Dunwoody restaurant, about five miles away, at 5468 Chamblee Dunwoody Road. The Dunwoody location, and the nearby Dunwoody area alternative to which it directed patrons [4537 Chamblee Dunwoody Road] were also owned by GPS. Despite interest in the Dunwoody restaurant space, the former Burger King remains vacant at present.

There are reportedly no immediate plans for the shuttered Norcross restaurant. Gwinnett County property records indicate the roughly 3,100 square foot restaurant was built in 194 and sits on .75 acres. Gwinnett County values the land at $457,400 and the building at $337,700 for a total of $795,100.

Metro Atlanta is littered with former Burger King restaurants, most of which have found new life as other restaurants. Those include:

3625 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard in Duluth (now Bojangles')

4111 Stone Mountain Highway in Lilburn (now J. Buffalo Wings)

2839 North Druid Hills Road at Toco Hills (demolished and rebuilt as Steak 'n Shake)

1841 Piedmont Avenue in Piedmont Heights (now Dunkin' Donuts)

10350 Alpharetta Street in Roswell (vacant)

2425 Peachtree Road in south Buckhead (demolished and awaiting residential development)

The now former Burger King in Norcross, with its location at the corner of Spalding Drive and Holcomb Bridge Road, should make it appealing not only for other restaurants but perhaps banks, too.

Are you surprised that the Burger King in Norcross closed? What would you like to see open in place of the Burger King? What is your favorite fast food burger joint?

Please share your thoughts below.

Fast fashion retailer Zara plans to more than triple the size of its current store at Lenox Square in Buckhead. The existing store, located on the second floor of the Neiman Marcus "Luxury Wing," is due to increase is size from just over 10,000 to over 30,000 square feet. To accomplish this, the retailer is taking over a total of six adjacent spaces, including the vacant second floor of the Ralph Lauren store. ToNeTo Atlanta first reported that Zara was eyeing the Ralph Lauren space upon their closure last January.

The current Zara at Lenox Square

Zara will also assume the spaces currently occupied by The Walking Company, Diesel, Adidas and Tumi. The True Religion space is also being taken over, but the premium denim company has already relocated to its new space across the hall where Penguin recently closed. (A "sale" Pure boutique has occupying the former True Religion space for the time being.) A new larger Adidas space is currently under construction with the company planning to reopen in May in their space near Nike on the first floor.

Discussions are reportedly still ongoing as it relates to if and where the affected tenants will relocate within the mall. One possible landing spot for some of the displaced stores could be the current Apple store, not far from the Zara expansion.

ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported this past September that Apple was looking to relocate and expand their current store to a multi-level "flagship-like" storefront at the front of the mall along Peachtree Road. Anthropologie's December closure [to both renovate and reconfigure their Lenox store] is reportedly related to the planned Apple expansion.

One store that may not reopen is Diesel. Diesel USA Inc., the U.S. division of the Italian denim and accessory brand known for its jeans, filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, blaming, among others things, mounting losses, a sales plunge and expensive leases. In a court filing, "Chief Restructuring Officer" Mark Samson said Diesel USA has no plans to close entirely, but intends to shutter some of its 28 stores, where landlords’ refusal to offer lease concessions has reportedly led to heavy losses.

The current Diesel store at Lenox Square

The existing Zara, which opened in what was then the new second floor of the Luxury Wing, debuted in late 2007 as part of the mall's $12 million expansion. Permits filed with the City of Atlanta indicate that the new store will be 32,800 square feet and that construction will cost at least $2.64 million.

Among the new offerings expected at the expanded Zara are a wider variety of options for both men and women as well as the addition of kids' clothing and accessories and the Atlanta debut of Zara Home, with fragrances, decor, kitchen, bathroom, and other home furnishings.

Zara's new size will make it the mall's largest non-anchor store. Fellow fast fashion retailers in the mall XXI Forever and Topshop both operate large format stores, but Zara will be the biggest. XXI entered the mall in late 2011 with a 27,400 square foot store above the food court (Fashion Cafe) and was later followed by Topshop, who in early 2015 debuted their first and only Atlanta outpost, a 16,000 square foot store over two levels.

Inditex, Zara's Spanish owner, reportedly plans to focus on fewer, larger stores as well as ramping up their online efforts.

Are you a fan of Zara and their clothing offerings? Have you ever seen or purchased Zara home items? What other retailer would you like to see open in Lenox Square?

Please share your thoughts below

[UPDATE] Cook Out Snags McDonough Pollo Tropical, Others Up For Grabs

[UPDATE] Pasha Mediterranean Restaurant & Lounge Coming to Buckhead

[INTERCEPTION] Wet Willie's Winds Down In Buckhead, New Bar Debuting Soon

[UPDATE] Whole Foods Briarcliff to Close Within 60 Days

[EXCLUSIVE] The Local Pizzaiolo Westside Shutters, Food Terminal to Arrive Soon

[EXCLUSIVE] Junior Hooters Concept "hoots" to Debut in Atlanta

[ALERT] Chicken Salad Chick to Open "Founder's Restaurant" in Rome

[UPDATE] Madison Yards to Include Steel City Pops, Taqueria Tsunami and Marlow's Tavern

[UPDATE] Rooms To Go Buckhead Not Going Anywhere: Will Spend Nearly $2 Million on Renovation

[REPORT] All "365" Stores to be Converted to Traditional Whole Foods by End of Year

[OPPORTUNITY] 40 Acre Site in Southeast Atlanta Being Marketed as "The Sawtell"

[UPDATE] Tesla to Close "Most" of its Retail Stores

[UPDATE] HomeGoods Finally Under Construction on the Westside

[UPDATE] Landmark Diner Jr. Has Closed on Cheshire Bridge Road

[UPDATE] Owners of Rose & Crown Tavern Opening Mojave

[UPDATE] Two Years After Opening, Chuy's in Akers Mill Square Near Cumberland Mall Has Closed

[EARLY CHECK IN] IHG Bringing New Avid Hotels Brand to Georgia

[UPDATE] Pollo Campero Coming to Former Pollo Tropical in Marietta

[CLOSURE ALERT] Burger King No Longer Open in Norcross

[ALERT] Retailer Zara to Triple Size of Lenox Square Store