Meehan’s Public House closes at Atlantic Station
UPDATE (9/13/2019) This has been updated with a statement from real estate management company Hines
Meehan’s Public House closed its doors at Atlantic Station in Midtown after last night’s dinner service.
The Irish pub, which opened in the mixed-use development at 232 19th St. NW in 2012, was part of the 101 Concepts Restaurants Group family of restaurants, which also includes Meehan's locations in downtown Atlanta, Sandy Springs and Vinings, as well as 101 Steak in Vinings and Smoke Ring BBQ in Castleberry Hill. A Meehan's location in Buckhead closed in 2018, and 101 Concepts closed Food 101 and sold Cibo e Beve in Sandy Springs earlier this year.
Chef Ron Eyester of 101 Concepts said the closure of Meehan's was due in large part to the construction happening at Atlantic Station as part of a major overhaul of the development.
"Construction has been absolutely debilitating" to business at the restaurant, Eyester said.
There has been construction going on there since November 2018, he said, and it is not expected to end until next March. The summer months were especially slow.
The lack of business at Meehan's at Atlantic Station has "put such a severe burden on the rest of (101 Concepts)," he said.
Employees were informed of the decision this morning. “We are trying to relocate most of the employees to other units in the company,” Eyester said.
Atlantic Station has seen many changes to its food and beverage lineup in the past few years, including the openings of NaanStop and Pho24; the closure of Tin Drum Asian Kitchen; the closing of Rosa Mexicano ; the opening of salad concept Salata , which replaced Moe's Southwest Grill ; the opening of PokeBar; and the opening of Gayu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, which took over the space vacated by Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro at the beginning of 2017. HOBNOB Neighborhood Tavern and bowling alley Bowlero are set to open this year.
In addition, last week, restaurateur Shaun Doty announced that he would be re-concepting the Chick-a-Biddy location at Atlantic Station as another Bantam + Biddy outpost.
Hines, the real estate firm that manages Atlantic Station, released a statement to the AJC regarding the construction at the development:
“Atlantic Station is undergoing a major transformation to better serve our visitors, including a renovated park, enhanced concierge services, and the addition of events space, new retailers and experiential tenants. Throughout construction, we have been working with all of our tenants to address any issues that arise. We expect Meehan’s to reopen soon and continue providing quality service to its customers.”
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About the Authors
Yvonne Zusel has been with the AJC since 2010. She worked on the digital news and food and dining teams before joining the arts & entertainment team.
Ligaya Figueras is the AJC's senior editor for Food & Dining. Prior to joining the AJC in 2015, she was the executive editor for St. Louis-based culinary magazine Sauce. She has worked in the publishing industry since 1999 and holds degrees from St. Louis University and the University of Michigan.
