Marvin Woods to reopen Asante in new location, working on second restaurant

A restaurant that has made its home in downtown Atlanta since 2014 is making a move.

Chef Marvin Woods confirms that he has closed Asante at 250 Park Avenue West NW across from Centennial Olympic Park, and plans to reopen in early 2017, likely at a spot in Midtown.

Why the move? Woods says it boils down to one thing: Parking.

"It was just a bad location," Woods says. "I fought with parking issues every day for two years."

In addition to Asante's move, Woods is working on a new restaurant, Aunt Tiny's, which is set to open near King Plow in the fall. He describes the concept as "affordable, good, unadulterated Southern food." Woods, who declined to give the exact address, said he is currently gutting the building for a rebuild. One of the best parts? It has its own parking spaces.

In addition to his restaurants, Woods has made a name for himself as the chef who helped spearhead Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign , as host of the Turner South program "Home Plate" and for his cookbooks.