Neighborhood favorite "swiftly" shutters.
4th & Swift, the local restaurant opened by chef and restaurateur Jay Swift, has closed.
The following message was posted to the restaurant's official facebook page a few minutes ago:
"After much consideration, 4th & Swift has closed as of Sunday, July 24. We are beyond grateful for our loyal guests and the Old Fourth Ward community for their support which made us a success for more than eight years. This was a difficult decision and we thank you for your patronage over the years."
Strangely, a separate message on the restaurant's website hints at the closure having happened perhaps earlier than planned.
"4th & Swift will be closed Sunday, July 3rd and Monday, July 4th in observation of the holiday. We will also be closed the first week of August (Monday, Aug. 1st-Sunday, Aug.7th) due to restaurant maintenance."
The stated first week in August closure "for maintenance" seems to me to suggest the closure was intended to take place ahead of that week but seemingly not as soon as it did.
Swift opened 4th & Swift in 2008, long before Ponce City Market was even a public concept. In the years since, the neighborhood has flourished and Ponce City Market has become a magnet for locals and tourists. The rise in popularity of the neighborhood has surely had an affect on rent for Swift, and other businesses around him. The closure of 4th & Swift is surely to sting even more to area residents who still miss Repast, a restaurant on nearby Glen Iris, that abruptly closed in 2010.
Swift and his son Jeb Aldrich will now focus their talents and efforts on growing Noble Fin, their new Peachtree Corners restaurant. Delayed for months, the new "steak and seafood house" opened in late May in an outparcel of an Earth Fare-anchored center on Peachtree Parkway near The Forum. In the suburbs of Peachtree Corners (or Norcross, as some might call it,) Noble Fin faces far less competition and if it's as good as 4th & Swift, it should perform well.
Will you miss 4th & Swift? Do you think Noble Fin is as good as 4th & Swift? What would you like to see open in place of 4th & Swift?
Please share your thoughts below.
