In burgeoning Edgewood retail village, garage overhaul plans revealed

Two and a half years after its auto repair business ended, plans are emerging to transform a 1950s building at a key Edgewood intersection with a still-popular taqueria next door.

A local, chef-driven pizzeria and neighborhood market will operate in a small corner building at 131 Whitefoord Ave., immediately north of traditional Mexican concept El Tesoro, according to the building and business owner, lawyer Sid Weinstein, who has lived nearby for 19 years.

The building and land in question – closed and cleared of all automobiles since late 2021 – is located near the intersection of Whitefoord Avenue with Arkwright Place. Atlanta city planners prophesied that the intersection could become Edgewood’s version of a downtown shopping village; Evidence includes Weinstein’s concepts, the multi-use Eastside Trolley Trail that opened last summer and a recent demolition across the street that sources say could spawn a breakfast concept. of what could happen.

Weinstein’s property spans just under 8,900 square feet, roughly the size of a typical inner-city housing plot. In the 1950s, a contractor built the only cinder block building on the property into a three-bay auto repair garage, and for about two decades it operated as Rudy’s Auto.

Weinstein tells Urbanize Atlanta that about half of the 1,400-square-foot building will be devoted to a non-franchise pizzeria concept serving pastas, salads, takeout, beer and wine, although the limitations of The space does not allow a traditional brick oven. Plans call for extending the building’s roof to cover brick patio seating in front, separated from the sidewalk by a wall.

“Most of the seating will be indoors – very little indoors – because we just don’t have the room,” Weinstein says. “But it will be really cool.”

The name of the concept has not yet been made public, and Weinstein says renderings of the project are pending. According to him, it will be essential to preserve the character of the property.

“We’re going to try to keep it as raw as possible for the neighborhood,” Weinstein says. “That’s part of what put the kibosh on (this concept) for a while. The first designer designed something that should be in Alpharetta, somewhere other than here. A lengthy soil testing process through the city of Atlanta’s Brownfields program also caused delays, he said.

The other half of the building will become a neighborhood market that Weinstein said will be more “upscale,” offering dairy, meats, beer, wine, fresh breads, canned mixed drinks and possibly fresh vegetables in a limited space. (One drawback, Weinstein says, is that the building’s character-rich garage doors face east, facing the morning sun, meaning they will need to be replaced to maintain stable temperatures for the products inside. ‘interior.)

Parking in the area is a source of concern for neighborhoods and businesses. Tentatively, about eight to 10 parking spaces are planned behind the building, which Weinstein said is more than half the lot. He’s also in talks with nearby landowners to potentially lease additional parking space, at least initially.

“It’s like Virginia-Highland was 33 years ago,” Weinstein says. “People get used to it and learn to park elsewhere.”

The market-pizzeria concept was scheduled to go before the Edgewood zoning board Monday evening to begin the redevelopment process.

Weinstein hopes to open the building by late summer or early fall. It will be open seven days a week, from morning until “as late as possible,” according to the ordinances, he said.

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• Edgewood News, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)