The owners of Henri’s Cafe and Bakery announced plans Nov. 3 to sell the 61 Irby Street location of the Buckhead landmark to a developer that plans to build a mixed-use development on the site.
The bakery will remain open “for the foreseeable future,” the Nov. 3 announcement said. If construction goes forward, Henri’s would move to a temporary location nearby and then return to the new development, the statement said.
“Owner Madeline Leonard, along with her family members have made the decision to sell 61 Irby Avenue, and will continue to operate both it and the Sandy Springs bakery, 6289 Roswell Road,” the family’s statement said.
The property is currently under contract to developer Alliance Residential Company, which plans to incorporate Henri’s into a mixed-use project on
the site, the statement said.
Leonard has been running Henri’s since her grandfather, Henri Fiscus, died in 1974. She grew up in the Buckhead bakery with her sisters Suzette DiNardo, Mimi Veerkamp, Michelle Teihaber and brother Henri Ray Bell, all of whom constitute the current ownership, the family’s statement said.
“My grandfather was an unbelievable man and a wonderful chef and community business owner,” Leonard said. “We appreciate all of our customers. We love our staff and everyone who has enjoyed our cheese straws, cookies and sandwiches over the years. We are ensuring our grandfather’s legacy lives on in the same location.”
The Buckhead store is the bakery’s fifth location, the family said. Fiscus arrived in
Atlanta in 1922 as the pastry chef for the Biltmore Hotel. In 1929, he opened a
bakery on the corner of Peachtree and 10th streets.
Over the years, the bakery moved to Rhodes Center, Peachtree Palisades, and to the corner of Peachtree and Piedmont Avenue before settling in its current location on Irby Avenue in 1969, the family’s statement said.