Osteria del FIGO, a longtime tenant of the Westside Urban Market, will close in September and following a "seamless transition" where "no one will miss any work," will reopen at its new home, less than a mile away. Jamestown plans to redevelop the corner where Osteria del FIGO has resided for its roughly ten year life. Sources say the redevelopment will include additional retailers, but likely no new restaurants.
I first heard of FIGO's relocation last year but only recently have I been able to determine their new home.
FIGO's new home will be 907 Marietta Street, adjacent to the 935M apartments. 907 Marietta is a freestanding brick building at the corner of Hampton Street, with plenty of parking in the rear.
The building totals 6,100 square feet including a second floor. Sources say that FIGO will take only the lower level, leaving the second floor for an office tenant.
The Westide FIGO was, I believe, the second overall location to open. The first location is still open on Collier Road and is likely the smallest for the now seven unit chain. The fast casual Italian eatery has slowed growth lately, after a growth spurt a few years ago. The only other location I've known them to close was in Virginia Highland on Virginia Avenue where they closed after what seemed like only a year or so in business. Today that space operates as Goin' Coastal, a restaurant I'm kind of amazed is still in business.
Chef Mirko Di Giacomantonio, former partner and co-founder at FIGO, went on to start his own, similar restaurant, Mirko Pasta, which has been making inroads to intown markets, where FIGO has thrived. Five of FIGO's current seven location are inside the perimeter, with its lone outliers located in Dunwoody Sandy Springs near Perimeter Mall and in Alpharetta near North Point Mall.
Mirko operates nine locations in Georgia, and all but two are OTP. Intown locations are limited to Toco Hills and North Buckhead while the chain operates two locations alone in Athens in addition to eateries in Watkinsville and Macon, among others.
Mirko has also expanded via franchising while FIGO has stayed independent and local. Mirko, through franchising, has locations in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia.
To me, Mirko seems like the Mama Fu's to FIGO's Doc Chey's. Many readers will recall that Martin Sprock, who later went on to found Mama Fu's Noodle House, first attempted to purchase Doc Chey's before being spurned and starting his own imitation: Mama Fu's. Mama Fu's went on to become larger than Doc Chey's, spreading out nationwide. Today Mama Fu's is gone entirely from Atlanta, a market where it once had nearly ten locations open or coming soon.
Near where FIGO will open are plenty of exciting restaurants either already in the area, or in the works. Yum Bunz, the new dim sum eatery from Mike Blum and Guy Wong, is slated to open next Monday in 935M. Delia Champion and Molly Gunn's second Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand will also open nearby, at 881 Marietta Street, at the corner of Marietta Street and Northside Drive.
Do you think that FIGO will do well in this new location? What dining options are missing on the westside? Mirko or Figo, who do prefer? Why?