Ever-evolving Ponce de Leon restaurant 8Arm announced today that it will close its doors on Oct. 8.
The eatery, which opened in 2016 at 710 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, made the announcement on its Instagram account, acknowledging that the building that houses the restaurant was sold.
“We’re not sure what the long-term future holds for our adorable little building, but it will not include 8Arm,” the post said.
8Arm will end its current food program and open its kitchen “to a variety of up-and-coming and established chefs.” The roster of culinary talent Thursdays-Saturdays will include former 8Arm executive chef Maricela Vega of Chico and sous chef Duy Huynh of Vee’s Vietnamese; 2022 James Beard Award finalist Cleophus Heathington of Ebi Chop Bar; and Molli Voraotsady of SoSoFed.
The restaurant’s full bar will be available through Oct. 8.
The Instagram post also referenced chef Angus Brown, who co-owned 8Arm and Octopus Bar until his sudden death at 35 in 2017.
“When Angus left us, we were forced to reinvent ourselves, and in some ways reinvention became our beacon,” the post said. “We hope these next few months will be a celebration of the diverse people, delicious food, refreshing drinks, and great parties that graced 8Arm over the last six years. Please help us go out in style, and shine bright the spirit of Angus Brown.”
8Arm morphed several times after Brown’s death, first under the direction of Vega, who created a vegetable-forward menu that garnered her a James Beard Award nomination and received a three-star review from former Atlanta Journal-Constitution food critic Wendell Brock.
Credit: Wendell Brock
Credit: Wendell Brock
Since opening, 8Arm has debuted several sister concepts in its space including Ink Cocktail Bar, 8Arm Wine and outdoor kitchen and bar Sidepiece.
Most recently, the restaurant reinvented itself as a Japanese izakaya under chef Hiro Endo.
In addition to 8Arm, Brown co-owned Octopus Bar in East Atlanta and the now-shuttered Lusca in Brookwood Hills with business partner Nhan Le.
Le currently co-owns 8Arm with Skip Engelbrecht. The latter owned art community Paris on Ponce, an art community located next to 8Arm that was forced to close after a 2019 fire.
Engelbrecht and Le are also behind recently-opened Poncey-Highland seafood concept Fishmonger and are planning to open Small Fry in the Atlanta Dairies development.
Le and Engelbrecht did not immediately respond to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s request for more information on 8Arm’s closure.
Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
