Wing joint slated to open in March, 2012.
J.R. Crickets, a quick service restaurant that offers “New York style” buffalo chicken wings, is opening its newest location in Midtown.
The wing joint is coming to Colony Square, at 1197 Peachtree Street, according to the restaurant’s website. It should open in March, 2012.
Colony Square’s existing dining options include Goldberg’s Deli, Shout, Tamarind Seed, Chick-Fil-A, Leaves & Loaves, Giancarlo’s Pizza & Pasta, Tre Forze’, Jaffa Gate, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Blimpie, Great Wraps and Starbucks, according to the shopping center’s website.
J.R. Crickets’ original location is located just down the road from Colony Square at 631 Spring Street.
The wing joint was not immediately available for comment.
15 Responses
I wonder if they’re taking the old Houlihan’s spot? Seems to fit well with their “Tavern” concept and I can’t see them being open only for the work crowd like the majority of restaurants at Colony Square.
I now know why the spring st store is not as good as it use to be their too busy opening a new store.
Another hangout for the thug monkeys and their peeps!
J.R. Crickets at Colony Square? REALLY? I fortunately know the realy reason behind the recent outbreak of questionable establishments over the past few months in Midtown, and I hope Urbanist sees this because contrary to his popular belief these businesses are not opening because they fit the tastes of Atlantans and they will, believe me, be closed within 1 calendar year.
These businesses are opening because of a two-fold problem, it starts with the building owners and finishes with the brokers they hire to lease the retail space. Take a look at the recent questionable openings at Spire and now Colony Square. While these buildings are different owners, Novare for Spire and Tishman Speyer for Colony Square, they are, not suprisingly, leased by the same brokerage.
There is no “real” attempt made by the owners to really make concepts work that benefit the neighborhood. The building owners on Peachtree grossly overvalue their assets and locations, while less desirable sites (Urban Outfitters on Ponce, retail on the west side) fill up with the type of desirable tenants that Peachtree retail deserves and needs. The brokers hamstrung by the owners outrageous demands for rental rates are forced to put in unqualified and unorganized operators with poorly thought out concepts and little to no business acumen so they will pay rents that would put them out of business even with a good and profitable concept. But hey, the brokers have to eat right?
The national and regional retailers of quality will never lease space on Peachtree when they can go to these fringe intown areas and rent space at half the price and act as though they are trying to be ‘cutting edge” and the first one on the scene. Peachtree St. is a $15-$20 per square foot market in this economy because nobody wants to be the first retailer to try urban, no parking, retail in Atlanta, they HAVE to be incentivised, yet they are asking $30 and up for rents. The end result is the patchwork of riff raff businesses we are seeing.
Concerned Midtowner: That was very interesting.
Chicken Wings just might be cutting edge for Atlanta.
I agree with you Midtowner on the rents here…Atlanta seems to think it is a big city. If Downtown Midtown and Buckhead had all been conjoined at birth along with now Atlantic failure, I mean station, it would be a real city. I do like it here and live in Midtown but this aint no city.
I am ready to leave this tasteless city. International city my @$$!
CB2 is an unqualified local retailer?
“Riff Raff Businesses”? Name names please.
@ Jason- No, but CB2 had been negotiating their lease for a year, then the economy tanked, then they gave them unreal concessions and tenant friendly stipulations to keep them. Notice nobody has joined them, thats because they are unwilling to give such concessions to anyone else they assumed retailers would line up to join CB2. Give Apple the concessions CB2 got and they’d probably be there. They could give someone like Apple 2 YEARS of free rent, after all thats how long the corner space has been vacant.
@ Marlicioso
Lets see…
Evos
Senor Patron
JR Crickets
My, my, my
Vinny’s NY Pizza
Paris Boutique
whatever that other clothing store in 999 is
Drew Lewis
Now in itself these aren’t horrible but given these are not complimentary retail but instead the ONLY retail, that is not good. Add to that that over the past few years Peachtree st. has missed out on Urban Outfitters, Lululemon, Room and Board, and Anthropologie among others then it s even worse. Tell me which list you’d rather have in your neighborhood, the one that is actually open on Peachtree or the one of retailers who skipped over Peachtree for other parts of Midtown.
Also places like Bachanalia, Ormsby’s, and Abbattoir open on the westside and the former Houlihans at 15th and Peachtree has been vacant for a decade.
@ Concerned Midtowner – I think your designation of “Riff Raff Businnesses” was grossly misleading…conjuring to mind images of check cashing/payday loan spots, liquor stores, and We Buy Gold. Granted, retail space on Peachtree is grossly underutilized for many of the reasons you and Urbanist have explained – but the businesses you listed are locally owned,viable, cater to the Midtown demographic, and in the case of JR Crickets, are Atlanta staples. How does having a UO/Anthro, Lululemon, or any other large chain in the middle of Midtown automatically gives the neighborhood legitimacy? It’d be nice, but not necessary. There’s been a push to have more locally owned concepts instead of big chains in the area (see Atlantic Station) so I don’t see how the businesses you listed aren’t worthy to be there…it’s not their fault that their landlords can’t rent the rest of the space. You may not shop/eat at these places, but obviously there’s enough people that do to keep them in business (except for Evos).
To me this kind of thinking is indicative of the mentality that hamstrings Atlanta at times – “If I’M not using it (MARTA, Public Schools, etc.) then by default it is totally undesirable to everyone.”
JR Crickets is a riff-raff business and so is its clientele. Also, MARTA and APS sucks!
I hear people complaining about Marta and other methods of Transit in Atlanta comparing it to the New York or San Francisco’s Trains & etc., but considering Atlanta’s Transit system was developed after the fact of the city being here. It’s better than nothing. It might not run 24/7 or every 5 seconds, but before that occurs it will have to be a huge demand. Like with anything in life, if there is no demand for it, why would anyone invest in it’s growth. Try cities without anything. This is definitely better than nothing. Places with only buses and cabs? Trust me. At least there is an option. Growth takes time and doesn’t happen overnight. No one wants any type of Riff Raff in their city. But moving Riff Raff out of the city and into other established areas and then bringing that area down isn’t the solution either. All I can say is this. Before any business became successful it started at the bottom. And it that business wants to become successful as Urban Outfitters or Apple, the bottom will be the starting point. There’s really no need for an Apple in the City. It would be nice to have one further East or further South in Peachtree City or even further than that for the customers who don’t want to travel North. But that’s what the website is for and the atttempts for Apple to have their Products in Best Buy and/or Target one day. Just another alternative to building one and wasting cost (Go Green). If Atlanta is going to be successful in becoming and remaining a nice city. People are going to have to participate in the building instead of getting on some random blog site to express their 2 cents and then disappear back into a hole. If you’ve never done anything for your city then you’re right to leave if you hate it that much. Move out and let the rest of us enjoy it & continue to help build the positive and not the negative.