Epicurean Cafe is saying goodbye to its Duluth home, at 3579 W. Lawrenceville St., in the historic Knox House built in the early-1900s. The restaurant isn’t renewing its lease, a representative for the landlord Tuesday told What Now Atlanta in an email. “We are looking at [possible] tenants now and the space will be available soon,” they said. Knox House sits on downtown Duluth’s Town Green.
Epicurean Cafe opened its doors in 2017 replacing upscale southern bistro Park Cafe & Wine Bar which occupied the space since 2007. An exact last day for the eatery is unknown and ownership did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The landlord’s rep said it’s possible that Epicurean Cafe could open elsewhere.
Epicurean Cafe earlier this year was listed for sale through The Shumacher Group. The asking price was $145,000, according to the for-sale listing. In 2019, the restaurant netted $96,000 in profit with gross sales of $500,000. The monthly rent for the space is $5,200 “all in.” Around the time of the restaurant hitting the market, Co-Owner Yana Lee-Fong told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she was worried “about how to keep her restaurant open and her workers employed” as businesses were mandated to temporarily shutter.
In late-August, What Now Atlanta (WNA) Preferred Partner Refined Parking Solutions took over Epicurean Cafe’s second floor for its offices. Refined Co-Founder Dilshan Singh — a friend of the landlord and Lee-Fong — is subletting the space to decrease the restaurant’s financial burden amid the pandemic, he told WNA. Singh and his team handle parking and valet for the City of Duluth, which is “currently on hold.”
