Recently, I brunched with my girlfriends at Alons at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta. Walking in, I was taken back to a couple of years ago when the McDonough Square was blessed with a wonderful restaurant called Starshines. If only it could come back.

I spotlighted McDonough in my segment, “It’s Hip to be Square”. The renaissance with hip restaurants and stores continues to emerge.

One of those restaurants, Starshines, unfortunately had to close last year after 5 years. This was a place that many of us dreamed to have in our neighborhood for a long time.

But what happened?

Why did it close?

Depending on who you talk to, some say it got too big, too fast. Others say that their high expectations made it difficult to maintain staff.

It began as a small patisserie just off the square and was opened for breakfast and lunch. They blew everyone away with their pastries, fresh breads and macrons. The brunches and lunches were made with all mouth watering fresh ingredients.

In time, they offered dinners on specific evenings. The menu was advertised in advance.

In seeing how popular it was becoming, “ the lords of the square “ offered them a larger building in order to expand on all 3 meals , 7 days a week. Located on the side of a corner building, a neighborhood lot was built as an entranceway and outdoor dining with bar. They offered live music, yoga classes and , in winter, dining in an “ igloo”.It was charming; a perfect place for Sunday brunches and lunches with girlfriends. They were big contributors to the marketplace on the square and in the lot, and were a huge success at the annual “ Taste of Henry” charity events

From there, the owners rented out a store directly across the street and made a Poke restaurant. Six months later, that closed. They would served the poke bowls on their lunch menu.

I followed them on Facebook. From that perspective, it looks like it was reservations only. ( using resy.com) . They would post the menus in advance and many had themes, seasonal dishes and wine pairings.

A year later, the owner posted on Facebook that the landlords forced them to build a wall around the neighborhood lot; making it difficult to see the restaurant from the street. They were told they couldn’t even put a sign in front to let people know they were there.

Then they would post changes in their hours; no longer serving lunches because they did not have enough staff to serve both lunch and dinner.

The next thing you know, the owner announces that they had no choice but to close permanently. Shortly after the restaurant closed, the owners sold their home.

In no time after Starshines vacated the lot , 1942 On the Square opened in its place. The wall came down and there’s an indoor/ outdoor dining area with an outdoor bar. They advertise live music, karaoke nights and Taco Tuesdays. The menu is not all that different from other places in the area; burgers, steaks, wings, firecracker shrimp.

Another One Bites the Dust

As previously mentioned, many county residents complain we don’t have nice, 5 star restaurants. They travel to Atlanta to experience one . For the past 30 years some restaurants emerged . We were all excited; only for them to go out of business within a year or so.

Gregory’s Steakhouse-on HWY 138 in Stockbridge, it opened in the mid 1990’s and lasted about 10 years. The interior was nice (linen napkins and formal place settings ) and the portions were abundant.

A friend of mine who was an active parent volunteer at her children’s school, managed to receive food donations from the restaurant. They were extremely generous, and the school raved about the food. When she let the owner know about the positive feedback, he had to break the bad news that he was closing due to low business. In his travels promoting the restaurant, he said people wanted more fast food and convenience.

To satisfy the majority, he would have to lower the standards. He found another location closer to Atlanta.

Buckhead Grill and Brewery – filed for bankruptcy. Some became Ted’sMontana Grill, this location became Sydney’s.

Like Gregory’s , Sydney’s was upscale fresh food; steak and seafood. It was owned by a family who also owned a deli and coffee shop. The deli lasted a long time, the coffee shop lasted close to a year, and Sydney’s lasted 6 months tops.

On the bright side…..

2025

A new complex is under construction. It is resembling Atlantic Station in Atlanta; large shopping areas ( Costco and Sprouts ) eateries ( Starbucks,La Hacienda, Whataburger and the state of the art 2- story Chic fil a drive thru ) with apartments sprinkled in between. They just announced 5 Guys is coming and there’s talk of Carabba’s and Papadeux’s.

Moving up? Or same old, same old?