Longtime Atlanta restaurant and bar the Local will remain open on Ponce de Leon Avenue after initially announcing plans to close by the end of this year. The about-face comes after local developer Portman Holdings decided to rethink its development plans for a stretch of Ponce de Leon Avenue near the Beltline in response to current financial headwinds. “I’m playing it all by ear,” said Murphy, who also co-owns MJQ and Drunken Unicorn, Ponce businesses that will move forward with plans to relocate to the Underground Atlanta development in downtown Atlanta. “Ask me in two years what my plans for Bookhouse might be.”Explore Metro Atlanta restaurant openingsHe said Ponce de Leon Avenue — and the Atlanta restaurant scene — have changed drastically since Bookhouse and MJQ opened. He said all projects in planning phases have to be reevaluated, even in high-demand areas like those along the Beltline.

Source: The Local August 31, 2023 13:13 UTC