Redevelopment of the former Belk is well underway at Buckhead's Phipps Plaza and in addition to the previously announced fitness, office and hotel components, a bowling venue will also be part of the project. Michelle Smart, Vice President of Leasing at Simon Property Group, shared the news Tuesday evening at Davio's at Phipps Plaza, where she was the guest speaker for a YARA (Young Atlanta Retail Alliance) meeting.
Smart, who joined Simon Property Group in 2011 and is responsible for leasing at both Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, told the crowd of about 40 that a lease was "imminent" with "an approximately 30,000 square foot, two-story entertainment concept" that she described as offering bowling, bocce and "wood-burning pizza." Though Smart did not divulge the concept's name, the context clues she provided gave a pretty clear picture as to what was coming.
Pinstripes, a bowling venue and restaurant based in Northbrook, Illinois, describes itself as offering "Bistro Bowling and Bocce" and according to its menu, their pizzas and flatbreads are "baked in our wood-burning pizza oven."
Multiple real estate sources confirmed to ToNeTo Atlanta that Pinstripes is the bowling concept coming to Phipps Plaza.
Launched in 2006, Pinstripes currently has ten centers open with another two listed as coming soon to San Mateo, California and Houston, Texas. The Atlanta outpost would be the chain's first in the south.
In Atlanta, Pinstripes would compete with locally owned The Painted Pin, which opened in 2014 on Miami Circle near the Lindbergh MARTA Station, as well as their sibling concept, The Painted Duck, which debuted early last year off Howell Mill Road in West Midtown. National operator Punch Bowl Social also entered the Atlanta market early last year with a multi-level venue at The Battery Atlanta adjacent to SunTrust Park, and there are rumors of Lucky Strike, another national operator, also looking to enter the Atlanta market in the coming years.
In detailing the updates and additions to the mall, the one glaring omission in Smart's talk was the previously announced 30,000 square foot two story food hall. Although not explicitly mentioned as being eliminated, its size matches up with that of the new "entertainment concept," and the One Phipps Plaza website does not mention it either, but does reference "a unique, curated dining experience."
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| Interior of a typical Pinstripes |
Multiple sources with knowledge of the deal indicate that the food hall is, in fact, "dead."
Simon was reportedly unable to come to terms with their targeted food hall operator but its elimination could also be due to the realization that food halls are fast becoming ubiquitous, with dubious long-term financial returns.
Simon was reportedly unable to come to terms with their targeted food hall operator but its elimination could also be due to the realization that food halls are fast becoming ubiquitous, with dubious long-term financial returns.
Smart also shared with the group that Phipps will be adding to and improving the streetscape, hardscape and landscape features surrounding the mall and existing tenants like Nordstrom.
For anyone coming to the event wondering "Do people still shop at Phipps?" Smart was ready for that, too, sharing that annual sales at anchor Saks Fifth Avenue are $100 million.
First announced in November 2017, and now known as One Phipps Plaza, the redevelopment of the former Belk (Parisian) at Phipps Plaza will bring to the luxury center a 150 room Nobu Hotel, 10,000 square foot Nobu restaurant, Life Time Athletic's "Diamond Club," and 300,000 square feet of Class A office space. New green space for concerts and movie series was also mentioned Tuesday as an element of the redevelopment.
Surprisingly, no one questioned Smart on the potential impact that Jamestown could have on their recently acquired The Shops Buckhead Atlanta development, and also surprisingly, Smart was coy in not naming Tom Ford as an upcoming tenant of the mall, something ToNeTo Atlanta reported in January was "stolen" by Simon from the troubled mixed-use project.
According to Smart, the redevelopment at Phipps Plaza is "on schedule" and is currently expected to deliver in phases from late 2020 through 2021.
Are you excited for the addition of a bowling concept to the redevelopment at Phipps Plaza? What part of the Phipps Plaza project are you most excited about? What is your favorite bowling venue in metro Atlanta?
Please share your thoughts below.