Amsterdam Cafe has permanently closed its Amsterdam Walk doors after 15 years in business. The last day for the long-standing restaurant and bar, at 502 Amsterdam Ave NE, was Sunday, September 13, according to an announcement on the company’s Facebook page over the weekend. “After 15 years we have decided to not renew our lease,” the social media post states. “Your friendship, great memories, and business over the years is greatly appreciated and will always be remembered.”
“We regret the closing of any business in one of our properties, particularly a tenant like Amsterdam Café, which has been such a great community asset and enjoyed such a successful run at Amsterdam Walk for so many years,” Jack Halpern, Chairman and CEO of Halpern, the owner of Amsterdam Walk, told What Now Atlanta (WNA) in a prepared statement. Reps for Amsterdam Cafe on Monday did not immediately respond to WNA’s request for comment.
Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate, which leases the property for Halpern, last week listed the restaurant and bar space for lease. Amsterdam Walk is anchored by Urban Body Fitness and is home to Loca Luna and Sean’s Harvest Market (which is opening a second location very soon, this time in the Candler Park neighborhood.) The property sits on the Atlanta BeltLine with direct access to Piedmont Park.
[Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article stated that Gene Kansas owned Amsterdam Walk. The center is actually a Halpern property.]
6 Responses
Despite these new additions, sadly the retail in the Highlands isn’t what it used to be. It’s been eclipsed by Ponce City Market, Krog Street Market and Inman Quarter. And rightly so – the landlords in Virginia-Highland keep signing up businesses who can’t cut it, so the revolving door of “here today gone tomorrow” tenants continues. The Highlands has charm for days, but to compete with the curated retail of destinations like Ponce City Market, these landlords need to go after some cooler tenants that will actually draw foot traffic back to the neighborhood. A spice shop isn’t going to do that.
P.S. – You forgot one: https://whatnowatlanta.com/chicos-to-exit-virginia-highland-location/
You forgot Stanton Design. Vi Hi landlords are super greedy with zero vision. Decatur surpassed Vi Hi & Morningside years ago. VI hi became duplicated Thai concepts, beer bars & candles. The clothes are cheap quality & more expensive than Bloomies. The parking disaster hurt many & the nhood soccer Mom s who are not business Davy have too much NPU control. You forgot the entire storefront beside Bill Hallman as well. The pet store moved to the back. Marcos pizza is a disaster. Having a cheap Dominos franchise type really shows zero vision . Sad
Bill Hallman who was in VH for over 20 years moved to 299 N. Highland in Inman Park. We loved Virginia Highlands but it was just not viable for us any longer. Cities change and Inman Park is the go to place now. If you want original and locally owned stores and restaurants you won’t find any better than Inman Park
Virginia-Highland is a neighborhood, not a happening, and it should have more businesses that cater to the people who live in neighborhood. But the landlords are holding out to make a killing, which means that they will end up with many tenants who either make a killing or fold in a year. Result: constant turnover.
When the bloom is off the roses of Inman Park and O4W 10 years, they will start seeing the same phenomenon. Watch. Atlanta is a trend-addicted, dysfunctional market whose participants are forever killing the goose that lays the golden egg because it’s not golden enough for them.
If you want original and locally owned stores and restaurants you won’t find any better than Inman Park
City council rep for ViHI should’ get involved with all the empty spaces and address the parking issue.,Remove the meters as a goodwill gesture for the greater good. The city benefits from a thriving retail , restaurant , business district and the city would not go broke without the meters. The neighborhood also must support local . I again use Decatur as a point of reference , as the neighborhoods support the local restaurants and retail. The landlords in ViHi should attend the next npu meeting and find out what the locals want. Inman P has a younger demographic that is spending $$. VIHI has a more mature resident who is not going out as much . VIHI needs businesses that appeal to the more mature as well as will attract visitors. I would put Tuscan kitchen on life support list as it really does not bring anything of value . Their fresh offerings are lackluster and the retail items are overpriced. They seem to be a quick knee jerk replacement by landlord . The soap shop is not getting any biz and will be the next to go. It is hidden . Vi HI needs to develop a strong desire to reinvent their Main Street or many more empty spots will pop . Rize has already closed and Co is empty. Co has terrible service but good food. Too many Asian concepts in the neighborhood from Mai Lai to CO, Genki, Harry & sons, surin, Thai ( house) on greenwood, co. Some of these are same LL, so what are they thinking?The Rest is bars and burgers . With all due respect there is really nothing to compel a shopper or visitors to patronanize the area versus IP or PCM . Folk art enjoys traffic and they have parking and offer a product appealing to the demographics of VIHI , Poncey and IP. Ppl love breakfast . Maybe VIHI residents need to speak up about what they want