Content area
Full Text
Buckhead's Brio! Tuscan Grille has been doing well, but customers driving from North Atlanta kept asking when a sister eatery might open in the suburbs.
Thus, when fellow Italian restaurant Il Fornaio left its space at 700 Ashwood Parkway next door to P.F. Chang's China Bistro and McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, the space afforded the perfect fit, said Rick Doody, chairman and CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based Bravo! Development Inc., which owns the Brio! concept.
"[Perimeter] seemed like the only natural extension for another Brio!," Doody said.
Despite a year of recession, the Central Perimeter market remains a sought after location for both retailers and restaurateurs, but with little available space for new construction. Those wishing to move into the market are left to watch for vacancies, say brokers and developers.
Retailers rumored to be scouting Perimeter sites include Lowes Cos. (NYSE: LOW) and Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT).
"It's got the perfect mix - excellent vehicular access to properties and a multiuse area with a ton of office," said Shana Webb, senior associate for the retail division of Trammell Crow Co., which leases and manages Publix At Perimeter. "There's a great daytime population and you're situated right around a major mall."
At the end of the second quarter, the vacancy rate in the Sandy Springs submarket, which includes the Perimeter Mall...