News You Can Eat

Brasserie Le Coze has closed its Lenox Square location and will reopen in August at Allen Plaza, a new residential/office/retail development overlooking the Downtown Connector at Spring Street. Owner Fabrice Vergez, who opened the Lenox restaurant in 1994, will rechristen the restaurant FAB, short for French-American Brasserie. Neiman-Marcus will expand into the restaurant space at Lenox.

Dine Out for Project Open Hand is set for Wednesday, April 26, with more than 200 Atlanta restaurants donating 20 percent of the day’s sales to Project Open Hand. The 14th annual event raises funds for POH’s mission to provide freshly cooked meals and nutrition services to people living with HIV/AIDS, homebound senior citizens and those with critical illnesses or disabilities. For a complete list of participating restaurants, visit www.projectopenhand.org.

The annual Atlanta Wings Festival is set for April 22 23 on Auburn Avenue. Last year’s event attracted more than 80,000 visitors and served up more than 100,000 chicken wings. There will be eating contests, music, artists’ market and activities for children. The event benefits the Sweet Auburn Business and Improvement Association. For more information and a list of restaurants preparing the wings, visit www.atlantawingsfestival.com. Pozole, sister to Inman Park Wisteria, has opened at the old Surin location on Greenwood Avenue in Virginia-Highland. Joey Masi, formerly the opening chef at ONE.midtown kitchen, will lead the kitchen with a mix of Spanish and Mexican cuisine.

Buckhead’s Terminus project is rumored to be the site for a new version of Las Vegas’s upscale AquaKnox. Located inside The Venetian hotel, the seafood restaurant was created by Chef Tom Moloney with a menu that includes fresh seafood flown in daily from around the world, including stone crab claws, caviar and a “raw bar.”

The Epicurean, famed for its catering service, now has a Parisian-style bistro on Clairmont Road in Decatur. Patrons of the catering company will recognize familiar menu items, while new items include Chilean sea bass, poached pear salad and roasted Georgia quail. Founded in 1975 by Susan Steinberg, the restaurant has brought on Peter Golaszewski, formerly with the Ritz Carlton Buckhead as chef.

Atlanta-based Novare Group will open a Twelve Hotel Condominiums in Charlotte featuring Bob Amick’s new concept restaurant Lobby. Novare and Amick will partner on additional Twelve/Lobby concepts in Nashville, Tampa and Austin. Amick also operates ONE.midtown kitchen, TWO.urban licks and piebar.

California favorite Trader Joe’s has signed leases for two Atlanta locations, including the former Winn-Dixie store in Midtown Promenade ynext door to the Midtown Art Cinema) on Monroe Drive in Midtown. The second is in Sandy Springs Plaza on Roswell Road. Known for its laid-back, casual approach to natural food, it’s also popular for Charles Shaw wines, affectionately known as the “Two Buck Chuck,” a selection of table wines that sell for a 1.99 a bottle.

Castleberry Hill is getting a spike in dining options later this year with the opening of Baltimore Crab and Seafood on Peters Street and Wine bar OWC on Walker Street.

The third location of seafood favorite Spondivits is now open in Buckhead on Pharr Road. The 12,000-square-foot restaurant was originally going to be a new eatery, Tib’s Grill, but it never opened. Spondivits owner Andy Camp opened the first restaurant by the airport in 1979 and a second in Cumming in 1995.

Flavor Cafe Bakery is now open in Sandy Springs on Johnson Ferry Road. The 80-seat eatery serves breakfast, lunch and dinner created by Executive Chef Peter Teimori, former owner of Pekaso Restaurant in Buckhead and pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco. The menu will feature sandwiches, artisan breads, soups, salads, desserts, coffees, desserts beer and wine.

QUICK BITES: After months of delay getting city permits, Redfish is now open on Memorial Drive. The Creole bistro is the brainchild of Agave owner Jack Sobel and Tiburon Grille founder Gregg Herndon.... Buckhead sushi restaurant Soto has closed, and mercurial owner and chef Sotohiro Kosugi has said he will relocate to New York and open a small sushi bar there.... Another closing is Lush in Poncey-Highland, although a note on the restaurant Web site says the cafe is looking for larger space and hopes to reopen in the future.... Atkins Park in Virginia-Highland celebrated its 84th birthday last month with a party featuring tasting stations and a DJ.... Luxe in Downtown has closed.... Savor Specialty Foods on Roswell Road in Buckhead is delighting customers with new offerings such as Burrata cheese from Italy, new oils from Italy, Portugal, Greece and Australia, and a new line of pasta by Morelli. The shop plans to expand into adjoining space to open a meat counter.