New restaurant asks, "whats's your gusto?"
Former NFL quarterback Nate Hybl is getting into the restaurant business with his first location of Gusto Wood Fire Grill. The new restaurant will open at 1935 Peachtree Road, in the Brookwood Village shopping center across from Piedmont Hospital. Most recently, the space Gusto will occupy was home to a location of Saigon Cafe and before that, it was Mama Fu's Asian House.
While Gusto's space offers great Peachtree visibility and patio seating and would seem to be a goldmine for restaurants, it's had its issues. Neighboring restaurants Fresh 4 U and Black Bear Tavern seem to have pretty good local followings and the CVS in the center is reportedly the highest sales volume CVS Pharmacy in the state.
35 year old Hybl is a one time UGA bulldog who later played for The University of Oklahoma and was named MVP of the 2003 Rose Bowl Game. A native of Hazlehurst, Georgia, Hybl resides locally in metro Atlanta.
While Hybl was part of the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars organizations, most of his time was spent with each team's practice squads. Could Hybl experience similar success with Gusto as Junior Bridgeman did with Wendy's?
Interestingly, Gusto Wood Fire Grill, LLC has been registered with the state of Georgia since late 2012. Although I was unable to confirm it with my contact at Maki Fresh, it appears Hybl was at least for a time employed by Maki Fresh in a managerial capacity.
Gusto does not yet have a menu posted, but does have a presence online via its own website as well as profiles on facebook, twitter, Instagram and google+.
According to signage at the restaurant, Gusto should be open "late summer 2014."