At this point, this just seems like piling it on. Another day passes, another story is released lamenting the woes of said industry. Yesterday, our beloved food industry, specifically the restaurants, took the predictable shot across the chin.
Summarized quite nicely by the gang over at Fast Company, the reports are troubling. The long of the short is that crowds sunk by 2.6% this past spring (relative to spring ‘08). Further to the point, this is the third quarter in a row where family dining took a dip.
The most troubling of all this is news from the fast food industry. Say what you will about the dietary impact of a QPC, the truth is that “instant food” is usually up in a recession. However, this recent report says that fast food is down 2%, the seventh decline in the past nine months. Bummer!
A little over a week ago, I was under the impression that The Nook was scheduled to open on the 23rd. I drove by today on my way to the office and saw a new vinyl sign hanging from the patio rafters. According to that sign, the Nook will open on Friday, March 20th at 5pm. It’s so close to me that I will definitely swing buy for a meal this weekend and let ya’ll know what is what. The restaurant is located at 1144 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 in the old Prince of Wales spot.
I talked with some people and am pleased to hear that the space has been revamped and now offers power outlets at most every table. I am told that the beer list will come in at just under 30 flavors. I know a few people who are going to be disappointed that it is not larger. Though I’m not a beer drinker, I think that sounds like an awful lot!
Just in case you are trekking over there for the first time … be aware that Piedmont is a north bound one way. You have to hook up with Piedmont at 13th or lower. The building does have a small parking adjacent to the restaurant.
Thanks to some dedicated readers and a little research on my own, I have ascertained the name for the restaurant going in the old Prince of Wales spot. The new joint will in fact be called the Nook and the address is 1144 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309. According to my research, they are tentatively scheduled to open on March 23rd. Consequently, I have added the joint to March Dirty List.
There can be serious repercussions if you select a a bad name for your business, regardless of your industry. When one selects a name for their restaurant, any name is pretty much fair game. That said, it would be nice to see a little more creativity from the restaurant industry as a whole. The omnipresence of “Ray’s Pizza” joints and the obsessive use of the owners name in the name of a business are just a few underwhelming examples.
I appreciate it when a restaurateur tries to change things up a bit and such is the case with Flip Burger Boutique here in Atlanta. In this day and age, it is pretty darn easy to do market research. Figure out what’s out there and try something different. Consequently, I have got to call FAIL for the newest burger spot to abuse the New York dining scene. The owners and/or PR people all decided that FLIP would be a good name for the place. Ughghg… details and pictures of the crap food are up on AHT.
While I have been unable to confirm the name, a new restaurant is scheduled to open in the upcoming weeks in the space formerly occupied by the Prince of Wales. Early reports are that the tavern will be named Lift. However, that is unconfirmed. In addition, I am still trying to get an idea for what the menu will look like.
In the meantime, it looks like the place will be open as soon as the 15th of February. A lot of work has been completed since POW went splitsville. Hopefully, I’ll get a little more info soon so I can add it to the February Dirty List. The address is 1144 Piedmont Ave Atlanta, GA 30309. I live in close proximity, so I’ll be sure to stay on top of this.
If you don’t know any better – take a clue from the fish tank that sits in the front entrance way – this place is the real deal. That’s not just for decoration people – they use those suckers! Last week, I returned to Tasty China (twice in fact) for my first meals there in approximately six-months. Not much has changed – and thank god! It’s in a dumpy little strip center in Marietta (across from what looks like a building that was fire bombed), but the restaurant has that very comfortable sort of feeling. The interior is washed in red and gold, very apropos. It’s a good sized spot – a bunch of booths and even more tables. In fact, you know this place will do you right if you bring a group – I think there are at least four tables with lazy susans (and maybe more than that).
