Three Buckhead restaurants closed since March won’t reopen

MAY: John Kessler wrote of the service at Doraku in Buckhead, "There’s a lot of friendliness, but no hustle." Read the full review here. Pictured: Eggplant Miso with Asian eggplant grilled with miso, sesame seeds and garlic chips, and roasted beet salad with tender red and golden beets with rocket greens, pickled onions and miso. (Beckysteinphotography.com)

Credit: Becky Stein

Credit: Becky Stein

MAY: John Kessler wrote of the service at Doraku in Buckhead, "There’s a lot of friendliness, but no hustle." Read the full review here. Pictured: Eggplant Miso with Asian eggplant grilled with miso, sesame seeds and garlic chips, and roasted beet salad with tender red and golden beets with rocket greens, pickled onions and miso. (Beckysteinphotography.com)

Three Buckhead restaurants that initially closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic won’t reopen.

Doraku and Qing Mu are permanently closed at the Buckhead Village District development on East Paces Ferry Road, and Cook Hall on the bottom floor of the W Atlanta Buckhead hotel at 3377 Peachtree Road NE won’t reopen, Tomorrow’s News Today first reported. A representative for Buckhead Village District confirmed the Doraku and Qing Mu closures to the AJC. A representative for Cook Hall was not immediately available for comment, though a W Atlanta Buckhead employee confirmed the closure.

Open since 2016, Doraku and Qing Mu were both concepts from Aoki Group, owned by Kevin Aoki, son of wrestler and Benihana founder Rocky Aoki.

Doraku offered “takes on traditional Japanese dishes with twists of Asian and Latin flavors,” AJC food writer Bob Townsend wrote in a first look at the restaurant, while Qing Mu served up Chinese-style noodle soup. Locations of Doraku remain open in Hawaii and Florida. while a Hawaii Qing Mu location remains.

Cook Hall, which opened in 2013, served a menu of elevated gastropub fare along with a full bar. The restaurant space is reportedly for lease.

Doraku, Qing Mu and Cook Hall are the latest food and beverage concept casualty due to the coronavirus economic impact. Other recent closures include Ammazza in Decatur, Donetto in West Midtown and Rise-N-Dine in Emory Village.

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