Two eateries have closed after several years located in the Beacon mixed-use development in Grant Park.
Charlene “Maggie” Diaz announced in a video on Instagram that her business, Marguerite’s Jerk Bistro, closed St. Patrick’s Day after nearly five years at 1039 Grant St.
“I’m closing my restaurant not because I want to, but because I’m forced to,” she said. “Unfortunately, the building was sold, and I was told that ... my lease would not be renewed. I know you’re going to miss ... the big smiles, happy place, good food and good soul. But rest assured (I’m) not gone. This is just a pause.”
Diaz said she will continue to serve her menu of Jamaican fusion dishes, including jerk turkey meatballs, conch fritters, rasta pasta and oxtails via pop-ups and a food truck.
“It was a rough road, and I built this place out from scratch,” she said. “I just don’t have it in me again to build somebody else’s building out. So the next time I build something out, it’s going to be mine.”
Diaz did not immediately respond to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s request for more information.
Baker Dude, located next to Marguerite’s closed on March 24. Owner Orran Booher, who was part of the first wave of tenants when the Beacon opened in summer 2018, told the AJC in an email that he decided not to renew his lease because his business model has changed.
He said he “has downsized and will focus more on a smaller, retail model,” including his location inside the Chattahoochee Food Works food hall on the Upper Westside (another Baker Dude location at Emory Village has also closed).
Booher served a full breakfast and lunch menu at the Beacon, including sandwiches and quiches, as well as custom cupcakes and cakes.
Credit: Yvonne Zusel, yzusel@ajc.com
Credit: Yvonne Zusel, yzusel@ajc.com
Several other food and beverage concepts have closed over the past year at the Beacon, including Bailey Wine Shop, owned by former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Cynthia Bailey. Also recently closed at the Beacon are: A Haute Cookie bakery, and Parkside Kitchen & Cocktails (formerly Grant Park Eats and Zoo Bar).
Operating tenants at the Beacon include Patria Cocina, Elsewhere Brewing, Hotto Hotto Ramen & Tepanyaki, Buteco and Pin & Proper.
Asana Partners, the North Carolina-based real estate investment firm that also owns Krog Street Market and recently purchased Plaza Fiesta, bought the Beacon in late 2021 from developer Pellerin Real Estate.
Reed Kracke, a partner at Asana, told the AJC in an email that the company “cannot comment on specific tenant-related matters.”
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