The plaza formerly known as FRIDAY'S Plaza will soon welcome two new restaurants.
Front Row Seafood & Sports Bar and The Crab Boil will both open soon in the largely vacant center located off Tilly Mill Road near Peachtree (Industrial) Boulevard.
Front Row Seafood & Sports Bar will replace Barnacles Seafood Oysters & Sports. Barnacles had been a landmark eatery in the center for years before closing suddenly. The restaurant was auctioned this past January by its then owner, the FDIC. The 9,500 square foot restaurant has plenty of parking and visibility from PIB. Its neighbor is adult entertainment establishment Oasis.
Front Row has its signage up and appears to be within a few weeks of opening.
The Crab Boil (originally named The Boiling Crab) will open in the space where T.G.I. FRIDAY'S operated for many years. The over 9,300 square foot restaurant was leased a few months ago to Greek Island Taverna whose owners spent tens of thousands to renovate, paint and update the space but apparently ran out of money and never actually opened for business.
An industry source told me that the owners of Barley's on Peachtree Street are the ones opening The Crab Boil. Interestingly, Barley's, which had been on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta for a number of years, seems to have closed. The restaurant tweeted on February 14th
"Barley's Sports Bar and Lounge will be temporarily closed for renovations.. We look forward to seeing each of you after our small changes."
Strangely though, the restaurant seems closed for good as its phone number has been disconnected, its website is no longer up and appears for sale by GoDaddy. For what its worth, Google still shows the restaurant as open and displays their hours as if you could dine tonight 'til midnight.
As far as The Crab Boil goes, they will serve Louisiana seafood and according to its signage, have a musical component as well.
The restaurant is described on its twitter as :
"Not just any Seafood Boil, but the kind that will keep you awake at night thinking about when you can get some more. NOTHING LIKE THE CRAB BOIL IN ATL!!!!"
According to an events page on The Crab Boil website, the restaurant may open as soon as next week.
Among other previous tenants in Friday's Plaza was a six-screen Cineplex Odeon movie theater that opened in 1987 and closed in 1998 and another restaurant called The Pool House.
In the early 2000s there was talk that the center would be redeveloped as "The Village at Tilly Mill Crossing" but those plans never materialized. Perhaps these two new restaurants will lead to a renaissance of the center?
What makes sense for this aging, yet well located center? What would you support / like to see opened in one or many of its vacant spaces? Will one of these new restaurants fare better than the other? Please share your thoughts below.