Peridot Distinctive Gifts, a Buckhead and East Paces Ferry Road mainstay since 1989, is on the move. Having held court in a converted house at the corner of East Paces Ferry Road and Maple Drive in the heart of Buckhead since its inception, the gift boutique is moving to Roswell Road. The new store, located not far away at 3193 Roswell Road, is a freestanding building near the Buckhead fire station and Annie's Thai Castle.
According to the Peridot Facebook page, the store will be hosting a "quiet" opening at the new store on March 21st.
Barca Tapas & Bar, which only this past December replaced La Fourchette on Piedmont Road, has already closed and is being replaced by Red Pepper Taqueria. This will be Red Pepper's second location, their first opened at the corner of Briarcliff and LaVista Road in late 2011, in a failed Artuzzi's Italian Kitchen. According to the Red Pepper Facebook page, they plan to open in Buckhead in time for Cinco de Mayo (May 5th)
In related news, Mounir Barhoumi, owner of both Barca and neighboring Tartufo Pizzeria, has now sold Tartufo to the owner of Ray's New York Pizza. Tartufo opened in the third quarter of 2011, following the opening of La Fourchette. Sources say that while the branding will change to Ray's, Mounir included his pizza recipes in the transaction. Given that Tartufo was Italian style, artisan pizza, one has to wonder what kind of pie will soon be coming from the joint formerly known as Tartufo.
Buckhead residents will recall having played host to Ray's New York Pizza once before. Ray's was located at 3021 Peachtree Road,on land now part of OliverMcMillan's Buckhead Atlanta project. Currently, Ray's has locations in Alpharetta, Kennesaw and Sandy Springs and a combo Ray's / Cedars Mediterranean restaurant in midtown.