Watershed on Peachtree Will Close After Dinner Service Dec. 28

Watershed on Peachtree will close after dinner service Saturday, December 28, Eater Atlanta first reported Monday.

What Now Atlanta confirmed the news with Chef and Owner Matt Marcus in a phone interview shortly thereafter.

“[Watershed is] closing to the general public on Saturday, but we’ve still got a bunch of private parties lined up,” Marcus said.

When asked about future plans for Watershed, Marcus shared that he is selling the space and had no comment on the restaurant itself, but gave no indication he’d be slowing down in the culinary arena.

“Broadly, I believe that we have been cooking some of the best food of our lives and we’re not going to stop doing that.”

Watershed, located in the Brookwood Hills neighborhood of Atlanta at the base of the Brookwood highrise adjacent to Saltyard (also for sale) and Egg Harbor Cafe, first opened in 1999 in Decatur under the direction of Scott Peacock and Edna Lewis before relocating to Buckhead in 2012.

When Marcus—formerly of Portofino and Woodfire Grill—took over as the new executive chef and owner in April of 2018, he introduced a new experimental menu that top-billed BBQ Octopus, Jellyfish and Scallops, Grits and Morels, while also offering diners the staple Southern fare for which Watershed came to be known (to the tune of 2,500 varied dishes over his time at the helm, Marcus pointed out.)

The restaurant was listed for sale for a third time mid-September 2019.

Marcus was asking $250,000 for the space which recently underwent  $100,000 in kitchen improvements, according to the listing through The Shumacher Group.

As of Monday, the space that houses Watershed has not sold yet and is still listed among Shumacher Group’s current listings roster.

“I got into this business to change the ecosystems and make the world better,” Marcus said.

“With the relationships that I’ve developed with the Watershed, I’m going to continue bringing what I have to the table in a smaller capacity on the restaurant side and larger capacity on the farm side.”

After talking about how his culinary concepts work best on a smaller scale, asked how that revelation will inform his immediate next steps, Marcus says, “as soon as I can, I’m going to try to open an 18-seater.”