Colicchio's Craft Atlanta to close (Buckhead, Gay: foreclosure, leasing, neighborhood)

[billl]

Well, this is a bummer. And what is especially frustrating is the reason they are closing has nothing to do with underperforming.

Craft Atlanta to close | Food and More with John Kessler


Of course, cwlawrence thinks it's too far for me to drive to go to these restaurants anyway.

[ecuresident]

Several people have commented about this in other threads. Most people think it is because it is underperforming and to not look bad that are saying it is something else. $60+ per meal plus alcohol is insane for this economy.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by ecuresident

Several people have commented about this in other threads. Most people think it is because it is underperforming and to not look bad that are saying it is something else. $60+ per meal plus alcohol is insane for this economy.

It's in Buckhead, right across from a building that has units listed in the millions of dollars! $60 might be expensive by your standards, but to many folks, that's mere peanuts.

[arjay57]

That's pricey for my tastes but there are plenty of restaurants around there that charge comparable prices and do fine. We had cocktails in there a couple of times and hors d'oeuvres once. Very nice. My guess is there was just too much leasing commotion going on with the Mansion going through foreclosure, the Peachtree Boulevard construction, etc. I never thought they had a strong street presence either. It can take a while for an upscale place to really hit its stride. That's a finicky business.

[MilkMachine]

Bummer! I just drove by there today and was thinking how I hoped that I would make it there one day. They had a Groupon-type deal a while back and I'm sorry I missed it.

[johnatl]

Eh, I'm sorry to see them close up, but there is more to this than just the lease issue.

We have a VERY healthy and very hot local restaurant scene here - all of these high profile out of town concepts really don't seem to last very long here unless they can step up. The demise of Il Mulino in the 191 Tower, Emeril's and Roy's are other recent examples.

Atlantans just don't flock more than once to an out of town, name-brand place if the rep and hype don't meet up with expectations. And this is a very good thing, imo.

[waronxmas]

Originally Posted by johnatl

Eh, I'm sorry to see them close up, but there is more to this than just the lease issue.

We have a VERY healthy and very hot local restaurant scene here - all of these high profile out of town concepts really don't seem to last very long here unless they can step up. The demise of Il Mulino in the 191 Tower, Emeril's and Roy's are other recent examples.

Atlantans just don't flock more than once to an out of town, name-brand place if the rep and hype don't meet up with expectations. And this is a very good thing, imo.

That's my take on it. For a foodie, a high priced restaurant chain ran by a celebrity chef is still a chain.

We have an actual legitimate burgeoning restaurant scene to support.

[johnatl]

Originally Posted by waronxmas

That's my take on it. For a foodie, a high priced restaurant chain ran by a celebrity chef is still a chain.

We have an actual legitimate burgeoning restaurant scene to support.

Absolutely. We have one of THE hottest scenes in the U.S. I hear this constantly from friends from all over the place, including Europeans.

Of course, I totally expect to be totally bashed for even stating this, but I really don't care. Sometimes the truth can really incite bitterness.

[billl]

Originally Posted by johnatl

Absolutely. We have one of THE hottest scenes in the U.S. I hear this constantly from friends from all over the place, including Europeans.

Of course, I totally expect to be totally bashed for even stating this, but I really don't care. Sometimes the truth can really incite bitterness.

No bashing here. I agree completely. We have enjoyed some tremendous food in and around Atlanta. And we've seen a few duds (anyone remember Trois?). Both my wife and I liked CraftBar (regardless of the owner) and we will be sad to see it go. It was probably a tad overpriced, and as others have said, in this market that won't work for long.

[waronxmas]

To whom ever left me this rep point message:

when people move to a city because the cost of living is so low and the only people spending money are rappers, don't expect restaurants of this caliber to EVER last in atlanta

Several points.

1. Thanks for the free rep.

2. Yes cost of living is low here, but that's not why Craft failed (it's not the only upscale all of Atlanta FYI)

3. So what if rappers spend a lot of money? They are far from the only ones doing so, but what if what you said is true? Is a rapper spending money less legitimate than someone else with money?

4. Restaurants of this caliber? What caliber would that be? Craft, lets face it, was just a fancy olive garden. Tom Colicchio (whom I've heard is a very smart and capable guy on top of being a great chef) basically used his fame as a drawing point for his restaurant. NOT the expectation that diners would be getting meal on the cutting edge of cuisine.

There are basically two rating systems that count when it comes to American restaurants (which I sure you are aware oh anonymous poster):

Michelin Guide - which only reviews restaurants in New York, San Francisco and Chicago (so not that important to us).

and

Gayot - reviews all cities.


So, using your logic, Mr Colicchio should have a restaurant on either list and Atlanta shouldn't have any aside from his, right? Wrong. Chef Colicchio has neither a Michelin star restaurant or a restaurant listed on Gayot's 2010 list. Guess who does.....
Top Restaurants - 40 of the Best Restaurants in the U.S. from Gayot

Atlanta - Restaurant Eugene

On top of that, there are whole host of other restaurants around the city and metro that get high praise from most in culinary circles (hat I won't waste my time on explaining to you if you thought Craft was the pinnacle of dining in Atlanta. Don't get me wrong though, it does sucks that Craft closed. Especially for the staff and the neighborhood.

However, even without Craft we are easily in the top 10 (and some where in the middle on that list) of restaurant cities in America. We will only go further from here.

5. Mods, is there any thing that can be done about these random rude messages left in rep points? Others have said they have been getting the same and I;'ve have had several over the last few weeks.