Mama's Estranged Daddy In Deep Trouble

Mama Fu's founder Martin Sprock and current Raving Brands president Daryl Dollinger are facing a lawsuit brought against them by Twenty-nine franchisee-plaintiffs. Among other claims, the group alleges there was an overall misrepresentation and distortion of materials and statistics related to customer counts and profitability of Mamu Fu's restaurants. Other accusations allege kickback schemes, poor marketing and an insufficient franchise support system. The trial is set to begin February 17, 2009 and will be tough for both sides. Personally, I believe every word of the nine count accusation. Though I was never an actual employee of any Raving Brands franchise, I was familiar with much that went on via friends at their corporate office in Buckhead. I was put to work by executives, at that time I was labeled a "raving fan of Raving Brands", promised things that were not delivered, told things that were not true, and witnessed things that were flat out wrong. Friends of mine have gotten food poisoning from what had been their flagship restaurant in Buckhead on Peachtree Rd. and have since made a pact not to return. The management team needs a wake up call and hopefully this trial will be the the ice water in the face to wake them from their fantasy. Repeat Atlanta!

Click here for more info on the lawsuit.

Bloomies Tweaks Its Hours As Retail Suffers

Bloomingdale's at Lenox Square and undoubtedly at Perimeter Mall as well have reduced certain operating hours. Monday through Wednesday they will close an hour earlier at 8PM rather than 9. Sundays the store will close at operate from noon till 6, rather than 7. These changes take effect this Sunday and are probably the first of many as other retailers will most likely trim hours to cut costs. This reduction of operating hours comes days after a number of key managers were let go in addition to a number of relatively new sales associates. Many managerial positions were eliminated at the store level as well as regional postions. Repeat Atlanta!

Panchero's Mexican Grill Making Play For Atlanta

Panchero's Mexican Grill, though around since 1992 is only now entering the Atlanta market. With approximately 55 units around the country, the chain is relatively small in comparison to rivals such as Denver based Chipotle Mexican Grill (over 500 units), Atlanta based Moe's Southwest Grill (over 400 units) and Thousand Oaks, California based Baja Fresh (over 300 units). Panchero's features a similar menu to the aforementioned competition but differentiates itself by "pressing" tortillas in front of the customer, made to order. They will open at 400 W. Peachtree between the new W Hotel and the Twelve Hotel. No sign states an opening, from what can be seen from the outside, I'd expect for them to be open within 30 days.

***According to a rep from Panchero's HQ, the opening was to be the February 10th but has since been delayed to the 17th.
Repeat Atlanta!

BLT Opens At W Downtown!

BLT Steak from chef Laurent Tourondel ("BLT" being Bistro Laurent Tourondel) opened this week at the new W Downtown Hotel and Residences. After being announced, then delayed, the restaurant finally opened to a warm welcome. A visit during the peak of the lunch hour saw much of the restaurant filled and many smiling faces. The resaurant serves breakfast lunch and dinner and features a surprisingly large breakfast. Repeat Atlanta!

FLIP,Not A Flop, Additional Locations Planned

FLIP Burger Boutique, which opened last month in west midtown on Howell Mill Road seems to be doing well, or so it would seem after the announcement of additional locations in the coming months. Richard Blais, whose Trail-Blais consulting business assisted in the FLIP concept announced earlier today that there will be additional locations in east Atlanta, Washington D.C. and another as yet undetermined location. He has ample opportunity to scope out potential cities as hes often traveling doing demos and appearances. Repeat Atlanta!

"W-tante" Event At W Buckhead Truly Wonderful Way To Spend A Weeknight!

Noble Investment Group officially opened their second Atlanta area W Hotel Thursday night with an event dubbed the "W-Tante". Invite only guests included local and national celebrities alike including jeweler Mark Edge and Tom Sullivan of Atlanta & Company. Former Braves pitcher John Rocker was seen in attendance (though not on the guest list) was ejected from the event after verbally assaulting local radio personality Steak Shapiro while in Whiskey Blue. Rande Gerber of the Gerber Group was spotted in his uber chic club posing for a few pictures and fielding questions on his ever expanding portfolio. Sophia Bush of the CW's "One Tree Hill" was also spotted enjoying the party. Former NBA star Kevin Willis and former Atlanta Mayor, Sam Massell, as well as actress Michelle Trachtenberg, could also be seen perusing the crowd. Though the property is small, it is rather chic, as would be expected from design guru, Thom Filicia, who was also in attendance. The hotel went through a major renovation with the addition of both the Market restaurant and Whiskey Blue club. Both spots are reasonably nice but seemed to become crowded somewhat quickly. The hotel overall is small in size; a true "boutique" feel. Though R.A. was able to view rooms at the W Midtown opening event last year, rooms seemed not available for viewing at this property. The size of the rooms, however, must match the rest of the property, especially considering the current W Hotel Buckhead was originally a Days Inn. All in all, the W Buckhead is a charming hotel and a welcome addition to the Buckhead community.

Repeat Atlanta!

Grab Some Grub At A Great Price + A FREE Gift!

70% off $25 Gift Certificates + FREE $15 Dale and Thomas Gift Card with your purchase. Use code SUPER and pay $3 thru 1/31/09.

Will W Downtown Woo You?

At long last, the eagerly anticipated opening of the W Downtown is finally near. Tuesday January 27, the hotel will open to guests and will be the first W hotel built from the ground up as a W. All others in the Atlanta market were retrofitted from brands like Sheraton, Day's Inn and Extended Stay, so expect to be WOWed by this new property. Despite rumors to the contrary, BLT Steak will open as well as Atlanta's second BLISS spa. Repeat Atlanta!

Really Bad For Real Housewife Of Atlanta

Real Housewife of Atlanta star, Sheree Whitfield appears to have more financial troubles than anyone knew. According to this weeks Atlanta Business Chronicle, her long since closed west midtown boutique Bella Azul has a tax lien on it, owing the state over $66K. This factoid, a little curious given her current financial situation and the fact that word was that the store closed as Bob, her former husband had pulled the money plug. Within the past few weeks she abandoned a lawsuit against her former husband and former Falcons player Bob Whitfield as she said "he's broke." Repeat Atlanta!

Raving Brands Sells Additional Concepts

Atlanta based Raving Brands has sold two more of its shrinking concept array. Planet Smoothie, founded by Martin Sprock in 1995 has now grown to 128 locations as well as Shane's Rib Shack founded in 2002 by Shane Thompson and purchased in 2004 by Raving Brands were both sold. The buyer, Edmonds Capital, will run the concepts under a new subsidiary, Petrus Brands Inc. Raving is now left with Bonehead's Piri Piri Chicken, Monkey Joe's, Doc Greens Salads and The Flying Biscuit Cafe as its four remaining concepts. Both Bonhead's and Doc Greens were billed as the next Moe's with word of hundreds of franchise agreements, though nowhere near those numbers have come to fruition. Together the two concepts, both developed by Raving, have a under 25 locations, years after their inception. Aside from the Flying Biscuit, a concept that has performed well locally, as well as at its more recent location in Charlotte, the remaining concepts are pretty pathetic. The problem I see with The Flying Biscuit is that Raving is ruining everything that made it such a cool, fun eatery ; its character. The original location in Candler Park and to a lesser degree their subsequent location in Midtown were part of the neighborhood, and not generic. Their more recent locations, Terminus for instance does quite well, possibly even the best but it sits in the bottom of a parking deck in the middle of Buckhead. This is as "cookie cutter" a location as you can get. Similarly, their East Cobb location took the space of a former Donatos and Mama Fu's, another cookie cutter. While it may do well in the short run, its the character of the site that will sustain the restaurant. There is word from within Raving that a new concept will be launched by the fourth quarter of this year in an un-named category, most likely not pizza as former Moe's exec. Matt Andrew just opened Maddio's Pizza in Toco Hills. Repeat Atlanta!

Hit The Brakes! Runway Atlanta Closes Its Boutique In Buckhead

Runway Atlanta, a luxury boutique located on Pharr Road in Buckhead has closed. After a glitzy opening at the Mercedes Benz dealership in Buckhead this past April, they have closed their physical store as they conduct a closing sale via their website. Merchandise from Kooba, Tom Ford Roberto Cavalli and many more all 50-70% off. For those brands, a great savings, but still pricey. Repeat Atlanta!

50% At Restaurant.com + A FREE $10 Gift Certificate

The holidays are over but the deals keep coming here at Repeat Atlanta. Our friends over at Restaurant.com are at it again with another special offer for our loyal readers. Help keep local eateries in business, buy a gift certificate, (save some dough), take a friend to eat, (allowing the owners to eat). To take a line from the fellas over at Ted's Montana Grill, "Eat good. Do good."

Now Take 50% off $25 Gift Certificates and receive a free $10 certificate with every order. Use code DEAL and pay $5. Valid thru 1/12/09.

The Grape Goes Buh-Bye In Inman Park?

This just in from a Repeat Atlanta repeater!
The Grape in Inman Park is "closed for renovations"? I may not be an expert, but I'm thinking with the amount of money already spent on that space, a renovation is just Usher lingo for closed. I say Usher lingo, as in Usher the artist as he owned the Inman Park location, the first in what he previously stated would be a number of openings with him as the franchisee. Not too long ago I spoke with Usher on his foray into the restaurant business and I spoke of visiting The Grape's location near SouthPark Mall in Charlotte, (a friend of his runs that one) and he said he was actively seeking additional locations both in Atlanta, Las Vegas and also additional sites in Charlotte) It seems to me The Grape is slowly not becoming as popular as it once was, or thought it was. One of The Grapes original locations, 999 Peachtree closed over two years ago, and patrons were directed to the Atlantic Station location as well. Repeat Atlanta!

Il Mulino Makes Quiet Entry Into Downtown Atlanta

Il Mulino New York recently opened a new outpost in downtown Atlanta. Located adjacent to Deloitte's offices, the 4 star restaurant offers and PDR as well as both indoor and outdoor dining. As with its other locations, they feature traditional Italian fare and a refined interior. Situated in the heart of the downtown financial district and across the street from the Westin and next to the Ritz Carlton should serve them well when the economy recovers. Repeat Atlanta!

Streets Of Buckhead : Delayed? Disaster? Dead?

Amidst the bad news that followed the 2008 holiday season was the fact that the luxury goods market took an especially big hit. The construction seems to have slowed and no new tenants have been announced. Anyone have any concrete news?

Repeat Atlanta!

Taurus Restaurant Closes

Not a great way to start the new year as Gary Mennie has closed his SoBu restaurant, Taurus. Closed as of December 31, the restaurant was one of my favorites but had a challenging location on the second level of the Brookwood shopping center on Peachtree, across from the AMTRAK station. Shortly after opening in 2005, both Access Atlanta and Jezebel Magazine named Taurus best new restaurant and there was talk of him opening a second concept within Sembler's Town Brookhaven development, but that seems unlikely at this point. All I can say is the fact that this restaurant had to close is "bull".
Repeat Atlanta!