In a surprise move, a restaurant already successful OTP is coming ITP for its newest location. According to a source familiar with the restaurant's plans, Novo Cucina, a popular restaurant from chef Ricardo Ullio, has leased the prized two-story restaurant space at the corner of Clairmont and Briarcliff Roads, developed as part of the new Lumen Briarcliff (3070 Briarcliff Road) multifamily project.
In addition to Novo Cucina, Ullio and his "U Restaurants" group also includes Fritti and Sotto Sotto, both along North Highland Avenue in Inman Park.
Novo Cucina's menu focuses on Italian pizzas and pastas but the restaurant also offers assorted salads, seafood, and steaks as well as coffee options and a full bar. According to the restaurant's website, Novo "offers the Atlanta area’s only gelato artigianale – handcrafted gelati and sorbetti made from scratch daily with fresh, wholesome milk and cream." This claim may come as a surprise to some, Meridith Ford among them, as she was Novo's original gelataia before launching her own gelato shop, Cremalosa, in early 2020 in Decatur.
The opening of Novo in the Sagamore Hills/Oak Grove area will likely bring some friendly competition to EATaliano Kitchen, another upscale Italian restaurant that opened in late 2016 and is located less than two miles away in Brighten Park.
ToNeTo Atlanta readers will recall that the Lumen project is coming to an assemblage of land that had been previously pitched as a RaceTrac, Wendy's, and Express Oil Change that was panned by neighbors and later withdrawn.
In addition to Novo Cucinia, Sugar Polish Nail Bar is also opening in the center. A site plan from The Shopping Center Group (TCSG), the firm handling the retail leasing of the center, suggests that a 2,810 square foot inline restaurant space remains available.
The 264 unit Lumen Briarcliff apartment community is currently "pre-leasing" ahead of the complex's first move-ins this spring.
A source close to the project tells ToNeTo Atlanta that the owners of Novo Cucina currently plan to open the new restaurant later this fall.
Are you excited about the opening of Novo Cucina near Sagamore Hills? What other kind of restaurant would you like to see open in Lumen Briarcliff? What is your favorite Sagamore Hills area restaurant?
Please share your thoughts below.