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Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Why Did Emeril’s Close?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AT RIGHT: Sure, it’s big enough. But what about the food? Emeril’s in Buckhead is closing April 30.
Photo: Becky Stein/Special to the AJC
The rumors have been flying for several months, but Emeril’s has finally pulled the plug on its Atlanta location. Read Richard Eldredge’s story about it here. Friends and editors are this morning asking me “why?”
How could a restaurant with the kind of big-money, corporate backing and star-chef recognition of Emeril Lagasse’s empire fail? I’ll tell you how: The super-chef’s presence was missing far too often in Atlanta and more important, the food wasn’t very good.
It’s obvious that someone with restaurants in five other cities can’t be at all of them at once, but there was no sense of the super chef in the Atlanta location, ever. It was trendy at first, then wavered after everyone figured out that the food was overpriced and sub par. The food, Emeril’s mix of New Orleans nuance, lacked “bam!”.
Atlanta chef Tom Catherall has signed a deal to take over the property when it closes on April 30. He will concentrate his efforts on a new Asian concept.
The tale is woeful, especially at a time when big names are blowing into the city stronger than the tailwind of a Delta jet. Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Spice Market, Jeffery Chodorow’s Maxim Prime, Laurent Tourondel’s BLT and Tom Colicchio’s Craft are all either open or scheduled to open later this year. Does this bode well for the big boys?
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