Soup and sandwich stall Farm to Ladle is set to close after service on May 1, one of three food and beverage to close in the mixed-use development in recent weeks.
Farm to Ladle was one of the original tenants when Ponce City Market opened in 2015. A second location opened at mixed-use development Avalon in Alpharetta in 2016, but closed in March 2022.
The “urban farmhouse” cafe, which served a variety of salads, soups and sandwiches, was owned and operated by Geoff and Katie Melkonian. The couple also owns the popular Breadwinner Cafe, which has locations in Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and in the Chattahoochee Food Works food hall in the Works development in West Midtown.
Jamestown, the real estate development firm that owns Ponce City Market, initially tapped the couple to develop a concept that would cater to the many weekday office workers in and around the development.
Geoff Melkonian said the economic effects of COVID-19 were largely to blame for the closures at Ponce City Market and Avalon.
“The last thing we wanted to do was close, but COVID did a number on us,” he said. “It’s been over two years, and office workers haven’t really come back the way they were before and we didn’t have the sales we used to.”
He called the closures “bittersweet,” but said they allowed him to focus on Breadwinner Cafe and opening a new restaurant.
In addition to Farm to Ladle, Marrakesh Market and Batter Cookie Dough Counter also closed in Ponce City Market this year, though several concepts have opened in the development’s Central Food Hall in the past six months including Vietvana, Nani’s Peri-Peri Chicken, Cake Culture, Atrium and Excuse My French. Set to open soon are Umbrella Bar, Spicewalla and Bibi.
A representative for Jamestown confirmed the Farm to Ladle closure and said plans for the space would be announced soon.
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