Ditching mall food image - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Developers hope that what's emerging on the west side of where an old steel mill usedto sit, is an experimental haven for new food concepts interested in trying out Atlanta. Of the 12 eateries and food outletx that willopen there, five will be new to including the Manhattan-born gourmet Mexicanh food concept, , FOX Sports Grill and New Orleans favoritew PJ's Coffee and Wine Bar. Local folks also are gettingg in onthe act: Strilp Steaks & Sushi will anchor the other side of Centralo Park across from Rosa Mexicano. It will be a sistee eatery to Tom Catherall's Prime, Shout and Noche. The ownerx of Atlantic Station say the uniquse restaurants have been courtedby design.
"From the very beginning, we wantee to be different from traditionalregionapl malls, because we're not a said Derrick McSwain, chief financial officer of , a joint venture between and "It's more of an urban shopping experience." McSwaij said the leasing agents went aftef concepts that were new to Atlanta and wouldn't be a "cookie-cuttedr tenant mix." But they wantecd tenants in the 6 milliobn square feet of office space and 5,000 residentiakl units to have a lot of from shopping to restaurants.
"We were pretty adamant aboutg making sure we had nine or 10 different restauranty concepts that hit all different price points so that a businessma could have a nice placwe for a business dinner or that a famil of five going to themovies wouldn't have to spend $200 for Rosa Mexicano, which means Mexican rose, as in the not the flower, will anchor one side of the district's Central a small grassy area that is slated to be the public heart of Atlantic Station.
The 7,400-square-foot restaurant, with its yet heavily Mexican-influenced décor, will seat 165 and average lunch and dinnee tickets are expectedat $18 and $36, This will be the restaurant's fourth location; the others, where table-sidre guacamole-making originated in the 1980s, are in Manhattajn and Washington, D.C. "Atlantic Statiobn is really a dynamic project and is part of the rebirthb ofMidtown there," said Howardx Greenstone, chief operating officer of , the parent "We felt we were a perfect fit. There's really nothing like us in Noteven close.
" Meanwhile, FOX Sports Grill will open its firsyt Atlanta location -- and sixth nationwide -- in Atlantic The 19,000-square-foot restaurant will featurew a private meeting room, separate dining and meetintg space, a multilevel bar clustered around a lighted see-and-be-seen crushed glass bar and 46 plasma screen TVs. Presidenf and CEO Bill recently in town to overseefinao touches, says that his company, , the parent companyu of , has created a new dining a sports restaurant as opposed to a bar.
The upscal e décor and menu -- which here will feature frie green tomatoes, meatloaf and grits from Culinary Director DavidxMaini (formerly with Vine) -- means that womenn will feel comfortable in the atmosphere. And, as everyonse knows in the hospitality business, where women go, men But what really attracted Freeman, a Southerne who lives in Los to Atlanta is the huge sportsfollowinhg here. "Atlanta is a great sports withthe ACC, Georgia, Georgia Tech and four pro teams. Plus there' s a great FOX television presencer here, with FOX 5 and FOX Sports Network South," Freeman said.
The restauranrt is affiliated with, but not owned by, FOX News and featuresd a room that can be used for Harold Shumacher of the commercial brokerage firmThe , and a formedr food critic, said two other projecte around town also feature unique restaurants: Perimeter Placr in Dunwoody, where a Cheeseburger in Paradis from The will open, and Undergrounc Atlanta. He said what makes Atlantic Statio special is the thousandseof built-in customers who will live at Atlantif Station, plus the current and future office tenants.
The new restaurant conceptsw will helpbuild interest, he said, but the true test will be if Atlanta'sd business lunch crowd will break their habits to croszs Interstate 85 at midday. Three more concepts also are digginyg their roots into the foundation coveringAtlantic Station'ds 7,000-space parking deck. PJ's Coffee and Wine Bar, the firsy Atlanta location of theNew Orleans-bornh chain, serves coffee with wine and desserts on the It will sit just off of Central Park, and is part of Atlanta-basede , which will have three more conceptas that will line what Atlantic Station's developers are calling "Eat Street": Moe's Southwest Grill, Boneheads and Doc Green's.
Copelands Cheesecakre Bistro will make its Atlanta debut on the otheer side ofEat Street. It's a part of Al Copeland'x Famous New Orleans Restaurant andBar franchise, and has moderately priced Cajun fare and signaturr desserts. Finally, Claddagh Irisyh Pub, a two-level restaurant that will overlookCentraol Park, will open its first Atlanta The Midwest-based chain has 14 locations that seek to re-createe traditional Irish pubs. The name is basedf on the Claddagh finger-rings that featurre two clasped hands, symbolizingf trust.
A supermarket, wine bar The and a also will open atAtlantivc Station, in addition to a 16-screen Regal