Opening In Atlanta’s Homeless Epicenter
Currently under construction just blocks from the Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter, 150 Pine street will soon be the home of a restaurant concept copycat out of Munich Germany; Scene Café.
Father and son team, Michael and Samuel Teklé, have had ties to the space since 2007, when Michael took over the grocery store that occupied the space most recently.
Samuel Michael Teklé, 28, is taking over his father’s grocery store and opening Scene Café. Teklé graduated from Bauhaus School– German Architecture in 2006 and has designed the space and concept for Scene.
Opening across from the Civic Center, the Café portion is slated to open this November. The entire project is slated for a January opening in 2011.
“There is a complete transformation in this part of town when the Civic Center holds events,” Teklé said. He hopes to receive a majority of his business from the Civic Center and from up and coming Townhouses and Apartment complexes in the area.
One third café, one third lounge, and one third office space, Scene Café’s 9000 square feet of space will be divided three ways and utilized for different purposes at different times throughout the day.
Understanding the transformation: lunch begins at 11:30 a.m and ends at 3:00 p.m. Dinner picks up at 5:00 p.m and goes until 9:00 p.m and from then on the space operates as a lounge. Upstairs will be where Teklé runs his business, C-Quence Design.
Scene Café will offer Mediterranean and east African fare for lunch and dinner at an average price point of $8 – $12.
Dining in the lounge for those with reservations consists of sitting on top a stage and overlooking the rest of the diners. Ambient music will be played through means of live music.
In theory Scene Café sounds great and the design of the space is like none in Atlanta. We asked Teklé his honest take on the space and whether or not it was desirable for Atlantan’s considering it’s proximity; one of which is lacking in other dinning options and is positioned near Atlanta’s largest homeless shelter?
Teklé’s response: “I didn’t let the homeless shelter deter me from where I was going.”
Evident from the number of bystanders stopping in awe to photograph the space, Scene Café is taking the first step in the right direction for growing this area of town.
Scene café
150 Pine St
Atlanta, GA 30308
22 Responses
haha fail.. playing with fathers money. being close to the largest homeless shelter deter him from going, but it will deter the paying customers away. EPIC DEATHWATCH
1) Not only is it close to the homeless shelter, it’s next door to a seedy low-rent extended stay motel.
2) Relying on a second or third tier events facility to sustain your business does not a good business plan make.
3) That area is void of any lively pedestrian life and very few people will feel comfortable parking there.
I’m all for neighborhood transformation, but that area needs some serious help from the city before it will be ready to transform. Concentrated poverty is extremely difficult to overcome.
Hate to see someone invest a lot of money in an area that is too dangerous to visit. I wouldn’t feel safe parking my car in that area for dinner. They would need to hire two off duty cops for parking security and offer valet. Hopefully Reed will do something to clean up that area. Sad to say that the homeless in the area creates a lot of crime and pan handling.
@Atlanta
Sadly, Reed won’t do anything to clean that area up. He is all talk…
Negative Nancies!
It is wonderful that someone is thinking creatively to bring new options to the area! These are definitely needed!Live music and pedestrian access will attract me and many of my friends who live/work around here.
How do you think change is created!?!!?? By doing nothing, ignoring and hoping that under-performing areas disappear into thin air? Thank you Samuel for bringing such a nice idea to this neighborhood. It has to start somewhere!
Well, I wish him the best of luck and hope he succeeds. I live less than two blocks from there and can assure you the neighborhood is not “too dangerous to visit”. Sure, the panhandling is a nuisance but I walk in the neighborhood frequently and have never felt endangered.
interesting comments, all. I work within sight of the contruction project. while you can say yes, the neighborhood is more dangerous than some, it is far better than others. Many people live in short walking distance to this location, but they hide behind their gated condominiums and locked air conditioned cars. Irrational fear is self perpetuating. Walking proudly, rightfully, respectfully, and yes, attentively down Pine Steet has never once given me concern for my safety, in 9 years. Things improve when enough folks say, hey, this is an affordable and increasingly attractive neighborhood, and somebody has to be the pioneer. The homeless are not out to get YOU, they are out to get a fair chance at decent humanity. The “system” eats people up and spits them out.
gardenboy sounds like a communist.
ok people.. new flash!!! restaurants are always paving the way for gentrification.. inman park, highlands, cabbagetown.. all crackhead infested hell holes before small brave restauranteurs decided to brave the unchartered territory to create a destination that brought customers who see the potential of living in those communities… funny thing is i was recently at sun in my belly with lily white diners on the back patio eating their breakfast scones and drinking their organic yogurt smoothies while watching 3 old black ladies walking home from church with thier big bright hats onto the porch of a beautiful colonial home with bars on the windows.. we know whats to come.. if only i could warn the community. Here comes the yuppies!!!
WOW now thats what im talking bout. my fellow Eritrean brothers are making a change im proud of u Samuel, and i know your father Michael is proud of you to and is right behind you for EVERYTHING! Ill will try to come and visit one day…i KNOW you will secede in this project…
AWET N’ HAFASH!!!!!!!!!!!!
Samuel Tekle is my brother. im so proud of you Samuel. You changed a place that was a waste of space to something none in ATLANTA. I dont think I KNOW that this plan will secede, all your plans do. all your fellow Eritreans (as in the one above^^^) look up to you and how smart and creative you are, so do i. dont listen to anyone that brings you down, they dont know what there talking about. Once again your little sister is proud of you and loves you a lot. NEVER GIVE UP!!!
Congrats Sammy, Finally someone turning the area around, with courage and vision.
Good Luck. Hey Garden boy, two people got shot 1/2 a block from there two weeks ago…
Putz is right….
We moved into the area one year ago… because we could see the potential, and yet got a great price on a condo space because of all the people who are afraid to live here due to the proximity of the homeless shelter. I still believe our decision sound.
The homelessness is a delplorable societal problem for all of us, and I wish we Atlantsns were wise enought to solve it. However, I believe that the Pine St shelter is on its last legs. The property has been foreclosed upon, real estate with a Peachtree Street address is valuable, and when (or if ?) the economy improves, it will become too valuable for such a use.
Whether the unfortunate homeless citizens will depart with it is another question, but we were willing to bet the situation would get much better when the shelter is gone. And so, apparently, was Mr. Tekle. If so, he will be lauded as a visionary rather than a fool. I know my vote is for visionary!
As for the shooting earlier this month… people get robbed or shot in, or after leaving, nightclubs in Buckhead or redneck bars in Forsyth County. Does that make them unacceptably dangerous places to live?
Look at the surrounding bars/restaurants on any night. Dead as a doornail. This place is going nowhere
Garden boy,
by fair chance do you mean living somewhere for free, eating for free, and smoking crack? That sounds petty fair to me. I know some people are down on there luck every once in a while, but that place is f-up. You need to go inside sometime.
I would love to see this area clean up, but it just can’t happen with that shelter there.
I live two block away, My friendsaand I eat out all the time.
We will support your business, Will you have a patio? Must have good drinks ..:)
So, what’s going on with this project? It still looks exactly like it did in July.
tlt, it’s not suppose to be finished until january but from the look of things, the project has come to a dead stop. come january, if nothing has changed, we’ll provide you an update!
best regards,
–cjs
Ladies and Gents, I must say that I am extremely proud of Sammy. I too, was once told that my business wouldnt survive in its location, and we are now approaching 4yrs! Not everyone was born to be a visionary. Sammy was blessed with a gift to see ahead of time, and has accomplished alot with the place. Instead of tryin to tear him down, stopping by and being supportive would be so much more productive. Dont forget, what is spoken into existence, can never be retrieved, and also, what goes around, comes around. You never know….you too may be in Sammy’s position one day, and will be lookin for that support and wont be able to get it; And when u begin to wonder why no one is supporting you – jus think back to the comments you made in regards to this man’s vision….He is actually doing something positive, and you are sitting here speaking negativity into his vision. I support sammy, and will be there for the long haul…i look forward to seeing every negative comment that was made on here, walk thru that door one day. God bless!
This building was a private gay sex club in the early 2000s!#