Postino WineCafé, will officially open to the public in Buckhead on Monday, September 12. The new restaurant is located in Tuxedo Festival and replaces the former Flip Burger Boutique that shuttered in late 2017 after seven years in business. That the space was once a Blockbuster Video is not lost on its new occupant who created a wall honoring its former VHS-heavy home. A second Postino is slated to join the growing roster at the Brickworks project in West Midtown in 2023.
Storico Fresco update: We reported August 28 that Storico Fresco had eliminated the majority of their prepared foods from their market offerings. We were subsequently provided with more details and clarity surrounding their decision to discontinue the popular offerings. The specialty store made-to-go items were discontinued as of Wednesday, August 17. "We have worked very hard to attempt to fight the current labor scarcity, the difficulty in obtaining many packaging in a reliable and timely manner due to supply-chain issues, and as the economy is suffering its worst inflation in recent history, it has become unsustainable. The advent of Covid-19 has changed many of our habits, whether it be when families vacation, working from home, the cost of third-party delivery companies, and, most of all, the unpredictability of sales which is causing us to waste more than ever. The restaurant is keeping "a select offering of dried retail goods" and will remain open for lunch and dinner every day of the week except for Sunday.
Buckhead Business Association (BBA) will host the 17th annual Taste of Buckhead October 6 at The Stave Room in Atlanta. The event, which offers foodies unlimited samples of Buckhead’s best food and beverages, will raise funds for the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. Participating restaurants include Postino, Zunzi's, Five Church, Irby's Tavern, DaVinci's Donuts and Southern Baked Pie Company, among others. 'Early bird" standard and VIP tickets are on sale now and are priced at $50 and $100 plus fees, respectively, and are available until September 17, after which the ticket prices increase by $25.
Taste Around Town Chamblee presented by Taste of Atlanta is coming to Chamblee this fall. Joining fellow festivals in Alpharetta and Sandy Springs, the Chamblee event was to have taken place September 23 and 24, but due to construction delays at Chamblee's new City Hall has been moved to November 4 and 5th. The two-day festival will be spread over three sessions - one Friday and two Saturday - and will offer attendees the opportunity to try food and drinks from Chamblee area restaurants as well as beverage brands. Tickets for the festival are available now and are priced at $70 (excluding taxes & fees).
Grub Burger Bar will close its restaurant at Brighten Park in Brookhaven as of September 24 to complete its conversion to Hopdoddy, another burger concept that acquired Grub this past January. The new Hopdoddy at Brighten Park is slated to make its debut October 4. Grub also operates locations in Sandy Springs, Akers Mill and Cumming, all of which will be converted to the Hopdoddy brand in the months to come.
Mr. Veg'n permanently closed Wednesday August 31 at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody. The restaurant, owned by Kevin Brown, first opened this past January but had been closed for more than a month following a reported incident between Brown and a security officer with the mall. The restaurant, even when open, operated with odd hours, making it difficult for anyone to reliably patronize the business. Brown previously closed a separate restaurant, Vulgar Vegan, in Stockbridge. Online postings suggest that Brown opened a second Mr. Veg'n at The Galleria, an upscale mall in Houston, Texas, in May
The Johnson family announced Thursday that they have sold their Peachtree Corners restaurant Grace 1720. The restaurant, located in The Forum on Peachtree Parkway, is in its 18th year and was sold to "Saltie Butter LLC" a local restaurant group that also owns Stäge Kitchen & Bar which debuted this past fall in place of Noble Fin in Peachtree Corners, as well as La Belle Vie Kitchen in Suwanee. According to an announcement from the Johnsons, Grace 1720 will, after a short renovation, reopen as "a new restaurant concept with new ownership." There is no word yet on how soon the new restaurant will open, what food it will offer or what it will be called.