Pano’s and Paul’s to move, change name
Pano Karatassos reportedly plans to relocate and rename Pano’s and Paul’s, the flagship of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, at a new, higher-profile Buckhead location — possibly the St. Regis Atlanta Hotel or The Streets of Buckhead.
Karatassos reportedly has announced he will not renew the restaurant’s lease in the strip shopping center at 1232 W. Paces Ferry Road when it expires in April. Instead, word is he plans to move the restaurant to the heart of Buckhead and likely rename it Pano’s.
Apparently no deal has been reached on a new site for the restaurant, but the man who helped define fine dining in Atlanta the past three decades believes Pano’s and Paul’s deserves a better location than a strip shopping center.
The restaurant will remain open in its present location until the lease ends, and the plan is for construction at a new location to be completed for a smooth transition from the old to the new.
The new Pano’s reportedly will be more upscale but will be comparable in size to the present 240-seat location.
Karatassos opened Pano’s and Paul’s in 1979 with former partner Paul Albrecht, who left the group in 1998 to start his own restaurants in Florida. In 2005, Albrecht opened Paul’s Restaurant in Peachtree Hills.
Buckhead Life has 12 other restaurants in Atlanta and next spring will open Pano’s Grand Cafe, a French concept, inside the Sovereign building at 3344 Peachtree Road.
— John Schaffner
Terminus lands 2 more restaurants
Two upscale Dallas-based restaurants have signed on for spaces in the Terminus 200, a 25-story office tower expected to open next August as part of the 10-acre Terminus development at the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont roads in Buckhead.
III Forks, a high-end steakhouse, and Cantina Loredo, a Mexican gourmet restaurant, have agreed to move into Terminus 200, the second major office tower in the Terminus development. Consolidated Restaurant Operations owns the two restaurants.
III Forks will occupy 8,200 square feet, while Cantina Loredo will have 7,700 square feet.
Terminus will have nine restaurants when III Forks and Cantina Loredo open. The development already is home to AquaKnox, BrickTop’s, MF Buckhead, Lola, Bellini Bar & Restaurant, Yogurberry and Flying Biscuit.
The development is anchored at Piedmont and Peachtree roads by Terminus 100, a 27-story office tower that opened last year, and 10 Terminus Place, a 32-story condo building that opens this month.
Landmark Diner owners getting offers
The owners of the Landmark Diner, at the corner of Roswell and Blackland roads, reportedly have received offers from developers interested in redeveloping the nearly 3-acre parcel for a hotel or a mix of residential and retail.
According to sources familiar with some of the discussions, the site is attracting offers in the range of $12 million to $15 million, or $100 to $115 per square foot.
The Landmark Diner sits at one of the busiest junctures of major roads in Buckhead, where Roswell Road intersects with Piedmont, Habersham, Blackland and Powers Ferry roads.
Office space absorption down in Buckhead
Buckhead has recorded only slightly more than 125,000 square feet of positive overall absorption of office space this year, after 567,266 square feet of positive absorption in 2007, according to Cushman & Wakefield of Georgia.
Most of the positive gains this year have been by Regent Partners’ 3344 Peachtree Road office tower.
Cousins Properties also recently signed Turner Construction for Terminus 200.
North Face retail store in space next to Whole Foods
The North Face, one of the largest suppliers of outdoor apparel and equipment, opened its Buckhead store Aug. 15 at 35A W. Paces Ferry Road, in the shopping center anchored by Whole Foods. The 5,915-square-foot store incorporates the company’s updated retail design, which features oversized graphics, concrete floors, wood and red accents.
Linton Hopkins opens H&F Bread Co. at the Aramore
Linton Hopkins, who opened the acclaimed Restaurant Eugene in 2004, has opened his third food business in the Aramore condominium building in the 2200 block of Peachtree Road. H&F Bread Co., 2255 Peachtree Road NE, is a wholesale bakery that also serves walk-in retail customers. The bakery already provides breads and other pastries to several area restaurants. H&F Bread is a partnership between baker Eli Kikov (in photo above) and the five founders of Holeman and Finch Public House: Linton and Gina Hopkins, Greg Best, Regan Smith, and Andy Minchow. Holeman and Finch Public House opened in the Aramore in April across from Restaurant Eugene.
Savor Specialty Foods moves to Peachtree Battle
Savor Specialty Foods, which was named Business of the Year in January by the Buckhead Business Association, has moved from 3187 Roswell Road in Buckhead to a 4,000-square-foot location at 2355 Peachtree Road NE, in the back part of the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center. The Bear Rock Cafe formerly was in the new Savor space. In addition to specialty cheeses and other gourmet food items, Savor offers sandwiches and salads for eating in or taking out and soon will sell dinner entrees.