Courtesy of West Egg Cafe

The team behind West Egg Café will open The General Muir, a Jewish-style deli, in late-2012, the restaurant in a press release announced Friday.

The General Muir will open at the Emory Point development on Clifton Road next to the campus of Emory University.

The restaurant will be a partnership between Jennifer and Ben Johnson, who originally opened West Egg in 2004, and Shelley Sweet, current General Manager of West Egg and a veteran of Hugh Acheson’s Empire State South and multiple restaurants within the Concentrics Restaurants group, according to the release.

The General Muir will serve traditional deli classics, such as pastrami and corned beef, chopped liver, smoked fish, and hand-rolled kettle-boiled bagels, as well as innovative takes on traditional dishes.

Like West Egg, The General Muir will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, as well as offer a full bar. There will be both a full-service dining room and a separate counter-service area serving bagels, pastries, sweets, sandwiches, and a full range of coffee drinks.

The General Muir is named for the U.S. refugee transport ship that brought Jennifer’s mother and grandparents, Holocaust survivors, to New York following World War II.

Other restaurants coming to the the Emory Point development include Fresh to Order, La Tagliatella, Tin Lizzy’s, Marlow’s Tavern, and Which Wich Superior Sandwiches.

Rendering courtesy of Lululemon Athletica

Lululemon Athletica is opening its West Midtown location Friday, June 8, the yoga inspired athletic apparel retailer announced Friday in a press release.

The clothing store and yoga studio, at 1168 Howell Mill Road, will be the second full retail location for the yoga inspired athletic apparel company in Atlanta. Lululemon’s first store can be found at the Shops Around Lennox.

Lululemon’s Westside store will offer complimentary in-store classes, including yoga and running groups, lead by local ambassadors, according to the release.

“Lululemon Ambassadors are local athletes, instructors and/or role models in communities where there is a lululemon store,” according to the release. “The program exists as a way to celebrate and promote athletic leaders who reflect lululemon’s core values.”

The ambassadors also test lululemon product to the limits, then provide feedback on design, fit and function.

Lululemon Athletica will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Eco Denizen will open its doors at 999 Peachtree Street on May 22, real estate investment firm Jamestown today announced in a press release.

Eco Denizen will occupy 1,336 square feet of street level space. The retailer will offer eco-friendly products and services.

“We spent a great deal of time searching for the perfect Atlanta area retail and design location, Gene Cox, co-owner, said in the release.

“Nowhere else could we find the perfect combination of a walkable community and property owners – such as Jamestown – that are sincerely excited about eco-friendly living.”

The store is establishing partnerships with some of Atlanta’s most sustainability-minded professionals in categories like energy efficiency and renovation.

The line-up includes everything from Georgia-made recycled glass countertops featured on HGTV to tiles made from palm trees to purses crafted out of recycled seat belts.

Eco Denizen is owned and operated by metro Atlanta native Gene Cox and his wife Xiorelis. Both Gene and Xiorelis have earned the professional credential LEED Green Associate administered by the United States Green Building Council.

Yum Bunz is finally making progress toward opening its first location.

The quick service dim sum restaurant submitted an application for a building permit with City of Atlanta Tuesday. The Yum Bunz concept was first revealed more than a year ago.

Construction on the new 3,400-square-foot space, at 935 Marietta Street, will cost an estimated $300,000, according to the permit.

Mike Blum, creator of The Real Chow Baby restaurants, is opening the dim sum restaurant that will specialize in bao, fluffy Chinese buns stuffed with barbecued roast pork and other fillings.

“I am thrilled to have Guy Wong of Miso as my partner on this venture,” Blum said in an email to What Now Atlanta Thursday. “It took a long time for Yum Bunz to come alive mainly due to the special equipment we had to source out to make the Bao.”

Yum Bunz is pushing for a mid-October opening, according to Blum.

Photo courtesy of hotdishreview.com

Super Pan is closing its current location, at 1057 Blue Ridge Avenue, the Latino sandwich shop announced in a press release Tuesday.

“While Super Pan has received great press and reviews, and has wonderful loyal customers, the foot traffic in the area is not enough to support the high labor, high food cost concept in its current location,” according to the release.

Chef Hector Santiago and wife Leslie, who own neighboring restaurant Pura Vida, are currently looking for investors to partner with to move Super Pan to a new location with much higher foot traffic, the release notes.

Santiago plans on opening in a new location where Super Pan can be a full-blown Latino bakery and coffee shop as well as a sandwich Shop, open for breakfast, lunch and possibly dinner.

Developing…

Julia LeRoy Credit: Photograph by Lizzy Johnston, courtesy of Julia LeRoy's Facebook page

The Pinewood Tippling Room, a restaurant serving “inventive, southern-inflected victuals and potables in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere,” is slated to open Tuesday, May 15, according to a press release Monday.

Translation: it’s a southern restaurant that serves food and alcohol. Oh, and it’s opening in Decatur.

Located at 254 West Ponce de Leon Avenue, The Pinewood will replace the since relocated Cakes and Ale, according to the release.

Chef Julia LeRoy was hired to consult on The Pinewood’s menu which consists of “southern classics” like fried green tomatoes, pork belly, sweet potatoes, and a fried bologna sandwich, the release notes.

Cocktails will be made with locally sourced fruits and vegetables and house-made syrups, tinctures, infusions and sodas.

Photo courtesy of Garish Photography via Eater Atlanta

Grecian Gyro, a quick service Greek restaurant, is opening its first franchise store this summer in John’s Creek, according to a press release.

The restaurant, located at 11035 Medlock Bridge Road, will be a family-owned business operated by the brother-sister duo of Steve Van Wey and Christine Dolgetta, along with Christine’s husband, Joe Dolgetta.

Nick Koulouris, Grecian Gyro’s owner, first decided he would begin franchising in 2009. The Greek restaurant is now under the ownership and direction of Nick’s sons George and Pano.

“We look forward to broadening the brand’s reach to a variety of areas in the state, while at the same time ensuring the same dedication to high-quality Greek food and service that has been instilled within the company for the past 30 years,” George said in the release.

“An important part of achieving this goal is teaming up with the right people who share our dedication and commitment to quality.”

Founded in 1982 in Hapeville, Ga., Grecian Gyro now has three company-owned locations in Hapeville, Tucker and Forest Park.

The newest concept from Fifth Group Restaurants is nearing its grand opening.

“Just a [little] over 2 months to go until she sets sail,” Michael Erickson, director of marketing for Fifth Group, tweeted Wednesday.

Lure will be the group’s seventh restaurant (in addition to South City Kitchen midtown and vinings, La Tavola Trattoria, Ecco, The Orignal El Taco, and the recently opened Alma Cocina).

The casual seafood spot replacing the now shuttered Vickery’s on Crescent Ave., is expected to open mid-July, according to Erickson.

David Bradley was recently named executive chef.

Ecco's Midtown location courtesy of Ecco on Facebook

European influenced restaurant finalizes plans to open at Atlanta airport’s new international terminal.

Fifth Group Restaurants is bringing its popular Mediterranean concept to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Ecco, the restaurant group’s European influenced eatery situated in Midtown, will open its second location at the airport’s new international terminal.

The restaurant submitted an application to City of Atlanta Wednesday for a building permit to begin construction on its new restaurant space inside Harsfield-Jackson.

An estimated $878,000 will be spent to build-out the 4,365-square-foot Ecco restaurant, according to the application.

The Mediterranean restaurant will open at the International Concourse F section of the airport, according to the application. The Original El Taco, Fifth Group’s Mexican concept, will also open in Concourse F.

Fifth Group’s other restaurants include South City Kitchen Midtown, South City Kitchen Vinings, La Tavola Trattoria, The Original El Taco Virginia-Highland and Alma Cocina, according to the restaurant group’s website.

Lure, Fifth Group’s newest restaurant, will open in the now-shuttered Vickery’s Midtown space.

Fifth Group was not immediately available for comment.

Photo courtesy AMC Theatres

AMC Phipps Plaza 14 is undergoing a $1.2 Million renovation, according to an application for a building permit filed with City of Atlanta on April 25.

The movie theatre located on the third floor of the luxury Buckhead mall announced its plans for the renovations in a press release Wednesday.

“For the last several years we’ve worked to bring our guests a number of different moviegoing improvements to help get people excited about coming to the movies, and we’ve had great success with a variety of enhancements at locations around the country,” Mark McDonald, executive vice president of Global Development at AMC, said in the release.

When finished, the theatre will feature stadium-style seating instead of the current sloped floors, according to the release. The seats will be converted into “power recliners with footrests.”

In addition, AMC plans to install a MacGuffins bar (named after a term coined by famed filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock) allowing guests to order a beer, wine or cocktail at the theatre.

AMC’s concession stand will be remodeled into The Marketplace. Instead of waiting in lines to order, the concessions are laid out at convenient stations, allowing guests to choose what they want, before proceeding to the checkout area.

Other modifications to the theatre include a renovation of the theatre’s restrooms, as well as changes to the box office and lobby area.

“These innovative renovations to AMC Phipps Plaza are going to take moviegoing in Atlanta to an entirely new level,” Dewayne Herbert, mall manager at Phipps Plaza, said in the release. “We are thrilled with this announcement, as it complements other recent additions to the mall — such as the opening of LEGOLAND Discovery Center — in establishing Phipps Plaza as an entertainment destination.”

Construction will begin at AMC Phipps Plaza this summer and the theatre will remain open during the renovations, which should be complete by the end of 2012.

Designer Bill Hallman is opening the fourth location for his Atlanta-based boutique in Midtown.

The retailer will open at Atlantic Station Sunday, May 6 on 18th Street across from West Elm, according to a press release Friday.

The boutique will house Hallman’s own collection, vintage pieces and men’s and women’s fashions from international designers, the release notes. The store’s interior will reflect the clothing mix and will most closely mimic Bill Hallman Original in Virginia-Highland.

“The Atlantic Station store will include reclaimed fixtures, vintage art and décor, artistic visuals, all in a comfortable and inviting setting,” Hallman said in the release.

Hallman opened his first store in 1990 and his designs are carried in both U.S. department stores and boutiques worldwide. The Atlantic Station boutique joins Bill Hallman’s Buckhead, Little Five Points and Virginia-Highland locations.

[Disclosure: the author of this article is employed by North American Properties (Atlantic Station’s developer). Articles relating to North American Properties, Atlantic Station, or its affiliates will be treated like all other news content presented on What Now Atlanta. The owner of this blog will never receive compensation in any way from this blog’s content unless explicitly noted.]