Amore Cucina in Town Brookhaven closed this past Sunday after 14 months in business. The pizza restaurant was an off-shoot of the Stamford, Connecticut-based restaurant by the same name. Full service Amore opened in place of PizzaFire, a quick-serve pizza restaurant that itself replaced Treza, another quick-serve pizza restaurant. The 3,000 square foot space is not yet listed as available on the property website, but surely will be soon.
"It is with a heavy heart that we have now closed. Thank you to all that have supported us through-out our time here in Town Brookhaven."
"Six-time World Pizza Champion" Bruno DiFabio opened the original Amore in Stamford with the Atlanta location reportedly operated in partnership by DiFabio and Daniyar Bekenov, former franchisee of PizzaFire.
ToNeTo Atlanta reader Morgan Maclellan commented previously that she and her husband considered opening an additional Your Pie pizza franchise in place of Treza, but decided not to due to the "expensive rent" and "poor parking." [The Maclellans currently operate Your Pie locations in Dunwoody and Grant Park.]
Amore is the second pizza restaurant to close in metro Atlanta in just the past five days following Monday's closure of Gino's East in Poncey-Highland.
TOWN Brookhaven, developed by Sembler, opened in late 2011 and is anchored by Publix, Marshalls, CMX CineBistro Costco and LA Fitness. Its anchors have remained unchanged and in place since inception. Small shop space - space occupied by restaurants, retailers and service providers - has seen some of the highest turnover of any center developed in metro Atlanta in the past ten plus years.
There have been nearly twenty closures in the center over the years, including restaurants like Stir Crazy, Olive Bistro and Boneheads, along with service providers like Fantastic Sams. Most recently, local boutique Sugarboo & Co. announced it plans to close what it refers to as its "flagship" store at TOWN Brookhaven, as of Friday May 31.
Despite its location in a high income area, TOWN Brookhaven has struggled to keep tenants. Multiple current and former tenants in the project blame high rent and parking challenges for the closures.
Germany-based GLL Real Estate Partners purchased 460,000 square foot TOWN Brookhaven in 2015 for a reported $162 million. The real estate firm later enlisted a local team at Colliers International to lease the project.
Current tenants also indicate that both ownership and onsite property management are less than helpful or accommodating when it comes to rent relief or concessions which, if given, might stave off closures.
One bright spot in the development in terms of restaurants has been Red Pepper Taqueria, which last March opened in place of Jefe's, which itself replaced Noche. While all three restaurants serve similar Mexican fare, Red Pepper Brookhaven was the third location to open - joining existing locations near Toco Hills and in Buckhead - and has an awareness and attraction that other chain restaurants do not have.
It's anyone's guess what will replace Amore, but we are fairly confident it won't be Uncle Maddio's Pizza.
What would you like to see open in place of Amore at TOWN Brookhaven? Are you surprised that Amore closed in TOWN Brookhaven? Do you think more should be done to assist tenants to stay in business there?
Please share your thoughts below.