In news that should surprise no one, the owners of Little Alley Steak will again not open their Buckhead restaurant at One Alliance Center when they said they would. ToNeTo Atlanta chose not to make a big deal about their recent opening announcement as we feared they would again push their opening, which they have quietly done. While other media announced in late March that Little Alley Steak Buckhead would open May 7, and later May 14, ToNeTo Atlanta has now confirmed that the restaurant is now not expected to open until "late May," according to an employee at the Roswell outpost. ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report on the restaurant's planned Buckhead debut in 2016 after which the restaurant announced a planned July 1, 2017 debut.
Little Alley Steak, part of Fikret Kovac and Hicham Azhari's F&H Food Trading Group, is the Buckhead edition of the group's downtown Roswell restaurant by the same name, which opened in 2012. Salt Factory Pub, like Little Alley Steak on Canton Street in downtown Roswell, was the group's first restaurant, opening in 2008. Later, the group added INC Street Food in 2010, Little Alley Steak in 2012, Opulent, later rebranded 1920 Tavern, in May 2013 (in place of INC), Salt Factory Alpharetta in 2013, The Real FIX Pizzeria in 2014 and Salt Factory Pub Woodstock in 2015. The partners sold both 1920 Tavern and The Real FIX Pizzeria (now Local on North) to separate owners in 2015.
The Roswell outpost occupies a former antique shop and has the charming character that only a small town could provide. At 9,000 square feet, the Buckhead restaurant is quite a bit larger than the original approximately 3,000 square foot restaurant, and lacks the character of the original location. The Buckhead location's patio, recently augmented and improved, measures 2,500 square feet, which is nearly as large as the Roswell restaurant!
Some have said that the owners let their ego get the best of them and should never have signed the lease in Buckhead. Their niche, their "special sauce," if you will, was opening Buckhead caliber restaurants in the 'burbs. To come to Buckhead, an uber competitive market with am abundance of steakhouse options, could prove to be their downfall. In other words, in Buckhead, they are a little fish in big pond, whereas in Roswell, they are the exact opposite.
Countless restaurants that have come to Buckhead failed, among them steakhouses craft, Ocean Prime and Morton's The Steakhouse, as well as Emeril's, from celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse, which was the original occupant of the Little Alley Buckhead space in One Alliance Center.
Bar Americano and Bar Crema, two concepts from 10 Apart Hospitality Group, were announced this past February (six months after we learned Little Alley was opening in Buckhead) to be opening in Buckhead. The two opened in late November at Andrews Square in Buckhead Village, but by late April, had closed.
It's worth mentioning, too, that unlike Roswell, where Little Alley is basically the only game in town, Buckhead is already home to ten steak-heavy restaurants, not to mention Arnette's Chop Shop from local restaurateur Michel Arnette, which is expected to open May 24th in Brookhaven.
Among the ten steak-heavy restaurants in Buckhead already are a variety of local eateries, as well as regional and national chains such as New York Prime, Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse, Hal's on Old Ivy, Sage Woodfire Tavern, The Palm, Del Frisco's Grille, Bone's, The Capital Grille, Chops Lobster Bar and American Cut.
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| The patio at Little Alley Steak Buckhead |
Some industry observers have said that the Little Alley Steak space, which is highly visible from Lenox Road, is actually not ideally located, and will face issues in attracting evening diners given its location amid offices and awful traffic. Aja, the most recent restaurant to occupy the One Alliance space, devolved into more of a lounge than a restaurant, relying increasingly on its bar to generate revenue.
Unlike McDonald's and Burger King, QuikTrip and RaceTrac, & Publix and Kroger, all of whom prefer to be close to their competition, Little Alley Steak electing to be so close to so many competitors is a far riskier move.
Perhaps the owners should take a page from the owners of Chamblee's Southbound restaurant who in 2013, when asked about their oft-delayed opening, eventually told us they "should be open Tuesday (exact Tuesday TBD.)" While it's bad to do so in other areas of business and life, over-promising and under-delivering in the hospitality industry is perhaps the worst of all.
The Little Alley Steak website currently indicates Buckhead is "Coming Soon..."
Do you think the owners of Little Alley Steak made a mistake in opting to expand to Buckhead? What is your favorite steakhouse in Buckhead? When do you think Little Alley Steak will open?
Please share your thoughts below.