Tommy Bahama has closed at Phipps Plaza in Buckhead. The tropically themed men's and women's clothing retailer opened its first floor space in the mall's Nordstrom wing in 2016 after operating a larger space on the mall's second floor for many years. Tommy Bahama continues to operate a storefront at Avalon in Alpharetta. Also at Avalon are Lilly Pulitzer, which closed its outpost at Phipps Plaza in 2022 and Johnny Was, which closed its Phipps Plaza boutique earlier this month and reopened at The Shops Around Lenox May 12. All three brands are owned by Atlanta-based Oxford Industries.
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Troubled off-price retailer Tuesday Morning announced May 1 that it's winding down operations and will close all of its remaining stores. All stores are currently offering up to 30 per cent off in stock merchandise. After multiple previous rounds of store closures, the chain today operates just six locations in Georgia: Alpharetta, Peachtree City, Augusta, Woodstock, Macon and Brunswick.
A new restaurant plans to open later this summer in place of the former Ted’s Montana Grill at 201 West Ponce de Leon Avenue in Decatur. Atlanta-based Ted's Montana Grill closed both its Decatur and Cumberland Mall restaurants in 2020. Signage in the window announced the new restaurant as “Casa Balam Cocina Mexicana” and added, “We Can’t Wait to Serve You, Decatur.” Our friends at Decaturish tracked down the owner and got the scoop on the new eatery. A Decaturish reporter spoke with one of the owners, Jay Patel, who says Casa Balam is co-owned by chef Luis Damian. Patel is reportedly also involved with Habitat restaurant in Buckhead and El Valle in Midtown. "Casa Balam will serve Mexican and Latin fare in a family-friendly atmosphere." Damian is “very passionate about food,” Patel said. The restaurant is being completely renovated. “We wanted to change the entire design so when you walk in, you take the first bite, you feel you’re not in America, you’re somewhere in Mexico having a meal and a cocktail,” Patel said. He said the restaurant will cater to families and have a kids menu. He said that costs will be more akin to what someone would find in a “regular family restaurant,” as opposed to fine dining. “It’s not going to be super expensive,” Patel said. The owners hope to be open in early August.
A new Buffalo Wild Wings GO is coming to Pinetree Plaza (5289 Buford Highway) in Doraville. The new restaurant will occupy a roughly 2,300 square foot endcap space beside Y-Z USA. The new outpost is at least the sixth such unit in metro Atlanta for the Atlanta-based chain. The company, owned by Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, has existing locations of their "GO" concept in Tucker, Sandy Springs, Lawrenceville, Midtown, Cumming and near Emory University, among others.
Diamonds Direct plans to open in the soon to be vacated former Brown & Company in Buckhead (3225 Peachtree Road). With locally owned Brown & Company relocating to a new space in Buckhead Village District, Diamonds Direct, based in Charlotte, plans to enter the market. Established in 1995, Diamonds Direct has today spread to 26 locations including those in Birmingham, Charlotte, Raleigh, Charleston, Jacksonville, and Virginia Beach, among others.
A new location of Okiboru is planned for Mall of Georgia in Buford. The restaurant specializes in ramen, specifically tsukemen, which translates to “dip noodles" and is the only Michelin Bib Gourmand awarded Tsukemen. The Buford outpost replaces Marlow's Tavern which closed their Buford restaurant in 2020. Okiboru Buford joins existing outposts of the restaurant in Sandy Springs, Duluth and Buckhead, which debuted this past October as well as a location in Lower Manhattan in New York.
Nancy's Pizzeria has closed its location at Camp Creek Marketplace (3360 Shelby Lane) in East Point. The Chicago-style pizza restaurant opened in February 2016 and closed in recent days, according to a reader in the area. The East Point closure follows previous Atlanta area closures in Buckhead, Lindbergh and Dunwoody, among others. According to the Nancy's website, several Atlanta area restaurants remain open including those on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Midtown, Mansell Road in Roswell, Old Peachtree Road in Lawrenceville, Dogwood Drive in Conyers, Chapel Hill Road in Douglasville, as well as one on Whittlesey Boulevard in Columbus.
A new Guthrie's finally opened Tuesday May 9 at 3685 Browns Bridge Road in Cumming. The new restaurant, which had been in the works for more than a year, marked the tenth in Georgia for the Alabama-based franchise which is widely considered the grandfather of the chicken tender. The founders of both Raising Cane's and Zaxby's both trace the origins of their concepts to time spent either working or eating at Guthrie's.
A new "flagship" location of Chi Chi Vegan opened April 29 at the Village at Druid Hills (2566 Briarcliff Road). The new eatery opened in the roughly 3,600 square foot corner space where Newk's Eatery previously closed. The original Chi Chi Vegan opened about six miles away at 1 Moreland Avenue in 2020.
In other vegan restaurant news, Envegan at Modera Reynoldstown (780 Memorial Drive) has been listed for sale. The restaurant, which opened in the street level of the apartment community in 2021, is listed as "keep or convert" by Steve Josovitz of The Shumacher Group, a local brokerage specializing in restaurant sales. Elsewhere in metro Atlanta, locally-based Envegan has outposts at Atlantic Station, Camp Creek Marketplace in East Point and Morrow. The listing indicates $400,000 was spent opening the 2,400 square foot restaurant. "All in" monthly rent is listed as nearly $10,000 with eight years remaining on the lease. The business is priced at $225,000.
First Watch announced this week it will close its original Dunwoody restaurant (1317 Dunwoody Village Parkway) by the end of May. The closure, while no doubt disappointing for some, is not altogether surprising when you consider the Bradenton, Florida-based chain opened another Dunwoody location last May less than two miles away in the new Publix-anchored Perimeter Marketplace shopping center along Ashford Dunwoody Road.