Bite of Big Apple coming to Atlanta
Atlanta Business Chronicle - April 13, 2007by Rachel Tobin RamosStaff Writer
Byron E. Small
Chef-driven developers: Paul Cullen, from left, Clark Butler and Shaun Weinstock of City Centre Properties LLC, which is developing The Mansion.
View Larger Manhattan, meet Atlanta.
One of New York's celebrity chefs, Tom Colicchio, will open his fine dining concept, Craft, next year in developer John Williams' luxury Buckhead hotel and residences, The Mansion on Peachtree.
"Atlanta's a great market," said Colicchio in a phone interview from Miami, where he was filming the next season of Bravo's "Top Chef."
"There's a great food tradition down there. It just made sense."
Tentatively named Craft at The Mansion, the high-end eatery will open in a stand-alone restaurant building that will face Peachtree, at the front entrance of The Mansion, a 42-story luxury tower under construction at 3376 Peachtree Road.
Colicchio is the cool-mannered, New York celebrity judge on the Bravo reality series "Top Chef."
He is also one of the partners behind perennially top-rated Gramercy Tavern in New York, which he opened in 1994 with partner Danny Meyer.
Colicchio later opened Craft, Craftbar and 'wichcraft, a sandwich shop with several locations, like San Francisco.
Colicchio's Atlanta eatery will be his fifth outpost off Manhattan Island, and his third Craft, a fine dining concept that features upscale contemporary American cuisine. He said that in Atlanta, as in his other restaurants, he will seek locally grown, seasonal products, from black-eyed peas to tomatoes.
He added that his eatery at The Mansion will likely be his only restaurant endeavor in Atlanta.
He already has some local ties. Justin Amick, son of restaurateur Bob Amick, of Trois fame, worked for Colicchio in New York for two years.
And Colicchio has already sampled one of Atlanta's top restaurants, Bacchanalia.
The Mansion deal comes on the heels of two years of talks that Colicchio had with The Georgian Terrace Hotel across from The Fox Theatre.
He said those talks took too long, so when he had the chance to bring his restaurant to a project being developed by Williams, he jumped at the chance.
"Where is important, but also who," said Colicchio of the prolific Atlanta developer who is the former CEO of Post Properties Inc.
Colicchio has been on an expansion of sorts. He soon will open Craft Los Angeles in Century City, Calif. Craft Dallas opened in the W Hotel last year, and Craftsteak at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas opened in 2002.
Colicchio also has several cookbooks under his belt, including "Think Like a Chef," published in 2000, and "Craft of Cooking," published in 2003.
His Atlanta restaurant will be a destination point in Williams' tony project. The Mansion is being developed by City Centre Properties LLC, one of more than a dozen real estate development, management and financing companies under The Williams Group umbrella.
The $165 million project is being financed by the $100 million Williams Realty Fund and by private funds from Williams and Arthur Blank, a co-founder of The Home Depot Inc. who now owns the Atlanta Falcons.
The Mansion was designed by New Yorker Robert A.M. Stern, a well-known residential architect. Design features of the residences include 12.5-foot ceilings and elegant crown moldings, plus views across the treelined and skyscrapered city, from downtown to the Perimeter.
Set to open in the spring of 2008, Craft at The Mansion will have 220 seats on two floors, in about 9,000 square feet.
Paul Cullen, City Centre's vice president, said the restaurant will cost about $5 million, and feature private dining rooms and a lounge on the first floor, plus some outdoor seating, in addition to a large second floor dining room.
Residents of The Mansion, which will include up to 42 private residences selling from $2.5 million to $12.5 million, and guests at the 127-room Rosewood Hotel, can order room service or catering, provided by either Craft, or the Rosewood's on-site Mediterranean restaurant. The Rosewood restaurant, which hasn't yet been named, will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, and also provide room service. Craft will be open for lunch and dinner.
Architect Peter Bentel of Bentel & Bentel in New York, who put his mark on other Colicchio restaurants, is also designing Craft Atlanta.
In New York, Craft is one of the top 50 restaurants, as rated by the 2007 Zagat's guide. The average ticket in New York is about $72.
Colicchio is known for his gnocchi and braised short ribs.
"I think it's a good addition to Atlanta," said Harold Shumacher, a former food-critic-turned-restaurant-broker who founded The Shumacher Group in Atlanta. "It's a recognition of the fact you have sophisticated diners here, people who understand food and like to keep up with what's going on."
He said he was glad Colicchio would bring Craft, instead of Craftsteak, to Buckhead, because it has a more extensive menu. Colicchio is one of the first celebrity chefs to bring a concept to Atlanta, noted Shumacher.
Shumacher said a lot of "concepts," like Seasons 52, Rosa Mexicano and Wildfire, have come to Atlanta, but few "chef-driven" restaurants have arrived here, aside from Wolfgang Puck Express and Emeril's.
Added Shaun Weinstock, associate developer of City Centre: "We're very excited to bring this top chef to the people of Atlanta."
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