The owners of both Watershed on Peachtree and Saltyard have put their respective restaurants up for sale. Both restaurants are located in the street level retail of The Brookwood, a luxury condo high-rise at 1820 Peachtree Street in Brookwood Hills. Each restaurant changed hands in 2018 when chef Matt Marcus purchased Watershed from original owners Emily Saliers (of the Grammy award-winning folk rock group Indigo Girls) and Ross Jones, and Lee Schulman of the Old Vinings Inn purchased Saltyard from its original owner, chef Nick Leahy. Leahy opened Saltyard in 2013 with business partners Christian and Kristy Favalli. Leahy became sole owner of Saltyard in 2017.
The Shumacher Group, an Atlanta-based real estate brokerage, is representing both restaurateurs in their efforts to sell their respective restaurants. The sales listing from broker Steve Josovitz describes the opportunity to "keep or convert" the Saltyard restaurant, whereas any new owner of Watershed would need to convert, it as the restaurant's name, menu, books and records are not included in the sale.
Schulman, who already owned the Old Vinings Inn in Vinings, did not make any drastic changes at Saltyard. Chris Lee, the executive chef at Old Vinings Inn, acted as corporate chef, and provided kitchen guidance for the two restaurants, with the menu similar to Leahy’s.
Unlike Saltyard, Watershed was an existing restaurant before opening at The Brookwood. The original Watershed opened along West Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur in 1999, but moved to Brookwood Hills in 2012. [The original Watershed reopened as Indian eatery Chai Pani in 2013.]
When Marcus, formerly of Portofino and Woodfire Grill, purchased Watershed, then chef Zeb Stevenson departed. [Stevenson along with Ross Jones opened Redbird at Westside Provisions District last month.] Marcus took the restaurant in a different direction, introducing several new menu items, the most eye-catching of which was the $350 plate of house-cut French fries with sea salt, served with a bottle of Krug Brut Rosé.
5,200 square foot Watershed features inside seating for 150, bar seating for 35, and an outdoor patio that can seat as many as 65, for a total restaurant capacity of 250. The restaurant is locked into a long-term lease with options to renew. The listing indicates that "all in" rent on the Watershed space is $17,500.
Watershed is priced at $250,000.
Saltyard and its 3,500 square feet feature an exhibition kitchen, full bar, interior seating for 100, plus an outdoor patio courtyard that seats an additional 24. Nine years remain on the restaurant's existing lease with options to renew. Currently, the restaurant pays approximately $13,500 monthly for rent, CAM, tax and insurance.