Buckhead’s abandoned Cheesecake Factory, at 3024 Peachtree Road, has been reduced to rubble. Excavators this week were seen demolishing the boarded-up restaurant building which sits adjacent to Restoration Hardware’s cascading showroom.
The neighborhood’s Development Review Committee (DRC) in September 2020 recommended that the building be demolished.
“The committee recommends that the applicant demolish the existing building, underlying slab, and front patio area in their entirety leaving a smooth grassed area that is regularly maintained to ensure high-quality aesthetics along the Peachtree Road frontage,” according to a recap from the DRC at the time.
Initially, property owner Peter Blum approached the committee with the intention of securing a fence around the property while he contemplated whether to sell or redevelop the lot. The purpose behind this fence request was to address the issue of trespassers on the property. During the September 2020 meeting, Norman Koplon, Blum’s representative, conveyed that they would take the DRC’s recommendations into consideration. However, Blum’s original plan did not involve demolishing the building.
The building, which had been originally constructed by the Cheesecake Factory in 1993, was vacated by the restaurant chain in 2014 as it relocated to Lenox Square.
In 2017, Blum sold the adjacent site that currently houses Restoration Hardware for a substantial $33 million. Notably, Blum had acquired this property back in 1990 for a reported sum of $3 million.
The fate of the prominent Buckhead land is unclear. Blum and his representatives have been tight-lipped and have not returned requests for comment.
