Next door to the Crescent Moon restaurant in Decatur, a construction crew is busily erecting the signature wooden accents of a Ruby Tuesday, slated to open in June.
Just down the street, the approximately 7,000-square-foot space that recently held the Metro Market is about to be transformed into a 200-seat Taco Mac, and a Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant has opened in Commerce Square.
During the past five years, downtown Decatur and neighboring Oakhurst have attracted 48 midprice to upscale restaurants, but with the exception of Mick's, all are privately owned eateries. But restaurant chains are entering the Decatur market.
"We've had a lot of success in locating Ruby Tuesdays in smaller communities in areas where some other chains haven't chosen to be," said Richard Johnson, senior vice president of brand development and growth for Ruby Tuesday Inc. (NYSE: RI). Ruby Tuesday opens about 50 company-owned and 25 to 35 franchised locations a year.
A lot to offer
Joe Ardagna and his three partners, Joe Freer, Bob Campbell and Taco Mac founder Greg Wakeham, were attracted to Decatur because of its similarity to Virginia-Highland as a dining and nightlife destination, Ardagna said.
"It's an area that people have become attracted to over the past three or four years," he said. "We thought our concept would work well in Decatur."
The close proximity of Agnes Scott College and Emory University also offered both a potential labor pool and customer base, he said.
The community's economic boom also attracted the one nonchain restaurant that opened in downtown Decatur this year, Eurasia Bistro.
Owner Donald Mui, who also owns Northlake Thai, considered Alpharetta and Buckhead, but his professional customers kept recommending Decatur, he said.
"In Buckhead, there's too much competition, a lot of teenagers on Fridays and Saturdays, and also no parking," Mui said. "We have a lot of people come from Buckhead here. Also a lot of people from the Highlands."
Because Eurasia Bistro's Asian fusion cuisine is distinctive, he does not expect to lose customers to his new chain neighbors, he said.
At Crescent Moon, a 6-year-old venue especially popular for breakfast and brunch, there is some, but not much, concern that Ruby Tuesday may affect lunchtime clientele, said Rob Atherholt, president of Alternative Dining Inc., Crescent Moon's parent company.
"They're not going to be able to offer the creative things we do," he said. "We have a loyal following, most of whom are shocked that Ruby Tuesday is moving in.
"Most customers don't feel they'll do very well in Decatur, but everybody seems to think Mick's has the biggest worry," he added.
Any dilution of the lunch crowd, however, would be felt across the board in all Decatur restaurants, said both Atherholt and Angelo Pitillo, co-owner of Caf� Lily, known for chef Anthony Pitillo's creative spin on Mediterranean cuisine.
"At dinner, in my particular business, it is not going to have that much fallout because we're an entirely different niche," Pitillo said. "But business development and growth will benefit all of Decatur, including us."
`Unique destination'
At this point, no other chains have shown interest in Decatur, and no stampede is expected, said Lyn Menne, Decatur's community and economic development director.
"I think the reason why people are coming here is it's a unique destination," she said. "You can come here and eat in restaurants that aren't anywhere else in Atlanta."
Adding too many chains would make Decatur just like any shopping mall, she added.
"We don't have a lot of space that would be conducive to these types of restaurants unless they want to develop an urban concept where they are willing to go into the ground floor of a building," Menne said.
Downtown design restrictions also do not allow for new freestanding buildings surrounded by parking lots, she added.
Some Caf� Lily diners have expressed concern that Taco Mac, as a bar, may bring in rowdy beer-drinkers, Pitillo said.
However, Taco Mac's owners plan to cultivate a neighborhood atmosphere, Ardagna said. "We're very strict on underage drinking," he added.
The average Taco Mac customer is between 25 and 45 years old. Around 7 p.m., area Taco Macs are typically filled with families with children, Ardagna said.
"We still have a neighborhood feel," he said. "We're not a chain like [T.G.I.] Fridays. Every Taco Mac is a little different."
Still, Mick's, a chain restaurant, was one of the first eateries to find success in Decatur before the 1996 Olympics that marked the boom's beginning.
"Will we go out and recruit them? No," Menne said. "But if they're willing to get involved with the community, then they will do well."