Blaze Pizza and Zaxby's Headline Eateries Planned For New Northside Development

Site work is underway for the new Fuqua Development project at Northside Drive and 17th Street adjacent to IKEA. While it is already known that a large format Kroger will anchor the project, ToNeTo Atlanta has uncovered a number of additional tenants planned for the project.

A view of the progress (and the midtown skyline) from Northside Drive 

The approximately 82,000 square foot Kroger and 14 pump fuel center will be joined by a number of restaurants as well as a few retailers.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Dunkin' Donuts, Zaxby's and Thai Express are all expected to open restaurants in the development. 

Chipotle and Dunkin' Donuts both already operate locations on nearby Howell Mill, but clearly still see opportunity for these locations to do well as they are close to both Atlantic Station and Georgia Tech. 

Sources say that Zaxby's was in talks to join the new QuikTrip on Howell Mill Road, but when talks fell apart, they were quick to secure space in the Northside project.  Zaxby's has opened locations in North Buckhead and near North DeKalb Mall in recent years, but this new restaurant will be the closest Zaxby's to Atlanta's in-town core.  

Thai Express, a new-to-market quick-serve Thai eatery, will be opening a total of three locations in metro Atlanta in the coming years.  All three are in Fuqua Development projects with the first expected to open in Decatur Crossing.  Subsequent locations are planned for the Northside development and Peachtree Corners Town Center in Peachtree Corners.  According to the Thai Express website, Atlanta is only the second expansion market for the Montreal, Canada-based chain which began with a single location at Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

Quick-serve pizza eatery Blaze Pizza, which opened their first Atlanta location last week in Decatur and recently confirmed plans for another location in Akers Mill, will also open in the new development.  Carl Hoover, owner of Blazing South LLC, the firm that is developing the chain locally, plans to have the Akers Mill restaurant open by late October and the Northside location open next summer.  Hoover's group is reportedly actively scouting for additional metro locations in the months and years to come.

Inside the new Blaze Pizza at in Decatur 

McAllister's Deli, a franchise owned by Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands, plans to open what sources say will be a "flagship" restaurant in the project. It's unclear what will be special about the new restaurant, but FOCUS may take the concept in a new, more contemporary direction, as it did with Schlotzsky's last year.  "Schlotzsky's Austin Eatery," a millennial-focused iteration of the classic restaurant, debuted this past December at Sugarloaf Marketplace, another Fuqua Development project at the corner of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth.   Upgrades to the concept include premium furniture and fixtures in the restaurant and a drive-thru, among other things.  (Sources say that FOCUS plans to introduce a new look to its Moe's Southwest Grill chain next year, as well, which could include the launch of a "flagship"-like location.)

In addition to the many restaurants, Hollywood Feed, a boutique dog & cat pet store, will open in the center, as well as a SunTrust Bank branch and a Sage Dental office.  

An Extra Space Storage facility is also expected to be part of the development.  

There's a rumor that multi-family residential may be added to the project, but that remains unconfirmed at this time.

Sources close to the development suggest that construction should wrap up next spring with tenants beginning to open next summer/early fall.  

Are you  pleased with the addition of a Kroger to the area?  Does the initial list of restaurants sound appealing?  What other tenants would you like to see open within the Northside & 17th development?

Please share your thoughts below.   

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