Report: Slice & Pint to Replace Everybody’s Pizza in Emory Village
Decatur Metro | March 8, 2013 | 7:13 amTomorrow’s News Today reports…
In place of Everybody’s, Crawford Moran, brewmaster of 5 Seasons Brewing, will open a new restaurant, Slice & Pint. As its name suggests, the restaurant will serve pizza and will also have a microbrewery serving craft beer. Due to the age of the restaurant and enhancements Moran has planned, it’s likely the restaurant won’t open for a few months.
Thanks to Hops for pointing this out in the comments of the original “Everybody’s Closing” post.
Related Posts:
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June 5, 2013 Emory Village’s Slice & Pint Will Include Brewery Six Months After Opening (0)
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July 29, 2013 Slice & Pint Now Open in Emory Village, Sans “Pint” for Now (1)
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March 7, 2013 Everybody’s Pizza in Emory Village Closing After 41 Years (41)
Thanks to this new tenant and their renovations, they’re kicking out next door neighborhood coffee shop, Steady Hand Pour House. We, along with many other Steady Hand fans, won’t be customers of Everybody’s replacement.
Is this the reality or just how you’re characterizing it? That is, is Slice & Pint literally kicking Steady Hand out or did they simply negotiate a deal for space with the building owner and the owner made the decision to displace Steady Hand to make it work? I understand that the net result is the same. I’m just skeptical that Slice & Pint is the defacto villain.
what a Moran!
p.s. merely riffing on a dumb moron/moran meme.
actually, wish Everybody’s, Steady Hand, and Slice & Pint well . . .
the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself
A quote direct from Steady Hand’s Facebook page: “The new tenants don’t have room for us and have told us to leave. Soon. Very soon. We are getting kicked out of our home that we have put every ounce of our love into.” Sad to see these two businesses go.
Well, dang. Not a lot of ambiguity there.
Putting “every ounce of their love” into a space for which they didn’t have a lease might not have been the soundest business decision. Of course, “you’re fine unless Everybody’s closes” would have sounded like a low-risk gamble up until a few days ago.
LowPo, Please talk to the guys at Steady Hand directly. We’ve talked. They now have a complete understanding of the events. I am certain they will now tell you that we (The Slice & Pint) are not the ones responsible for their situation.
I love the name. Sounds like a winner.
I don’t really understand. How does Crawford Moran have control over the space that Steady Hand Pour House is currently renting? Doesn’t Steady Hand rent it from the landlord overseeing that entire strip? Did that landlord get a better offer from the new establishment? It doesn’t make any sense that the new occupants could “kick out” the old ones.
Couldnt agree more +1,000.
I’d be willing to bet they had an opportunity to extend lease and pay more $$ and decided they couldn’t do it. Sure, landlord probably made an exorbitant ask that forced them to leave, but why is that Slice & Pint’s fault?
Saying that the new tenants kicked them out makes for a better story than saying we decided not to take the offer the landlord was making to us…
I guess I would have lost that bet… too bad I cant delete my comment and not look like a dummy…
All the coffee places have been subletting from Everybody’s-see this article http://www.emorywheel.com/everybodys-steady-hand-in-village-to-close-this-month/
They could have been subleasing it from Everybody’s Pizza. The coffee shop needs to just get over it and find a new spot. Beer and pizza are way better anyway.
Given this new restaurant will also be a microbrewery, I expect they will need more space to brew beer. This would explain why they would need a larger footprint than Everybody’s (and hence, refuse to extend the subletting agreement for steady hand).
They do indeed sublet. I was the waitstaff manager at EB’s back a million years ago. And I am not sad it is closing.
More from Eater:
More news on Slice & Pint, replacing Everybody’s Pizza and Steady Hand Pour House in Emory Village: The restaurant will be a “neighborhood pizza pub” that serves pies made with locally sourced ingredients, including mozzarella made in-house, and craft beer brewed on the premises. They plan to open the restaurant in a few months, but the brewery will take a bit longer to build out. Named in the vein of traditional English pubs, the S&P will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner and will welcome guests of all ages.
Owner Crawford Moran is looking forward to being a part of the neighborhood and says that he was approached by the landlord to take over the space and isn’t “pushing or throwing anyone out.” About Everybody’s, he adds:
Everybody’s is an Atlanta institution. It’s a great place. They’ve been around for 41 years! And restaurant years are like dog years. That’s a long time to be around in this business, and it speaks volumes to the work they do and to their loyal following. I’m a customer from the old days, and they even used to serve my beer back in my Dogwood Brewing days. I think those guys are just ready to retire. I was contacted several weeks ago to see if I would be interested in doing something in that space. It’s a great building in a great part of town, so I’m very excited. I think we’ll be a good fit for the neighborhood. Steady Hand is a great coffee shop too. I think the landlord is working with them to relocate their business into a better space.
This sounds great. I am looking forward to having another microbrewery/restaurant nearby, especially if the brews are as tasty as the 5 Seasons beers…
I believe the 5 Seasons guys were interested in the Decatur depot before the deal that made it The Depeaux. If only…
This is Crawford Moran, the soon-to-be-co-owner of the Slice & Pint. I do want to shed some light on this situation. In no way are we “kicking out” or “forcing out” anyone. Everybody’s is an Atlanta institution and the guys wanted to retire. The Steady Hand is a great place. Cool guys. They are in a tough spot and I do feel for them. I went by to introduce myself to them and assure them that we will do whatever we can to make their difficult situation less difficult. I was approached to see if I would be interested in taking over that spot once Everybody’s was closing. We’re going to open a brewery in there. The equipment has to go somewhere and it only works if it goes in the current space occupied by Steady Hand. I was given the impression that those guys were looking to move, were aware of the coming change and that is why they chose to only have a 30 day lease. I have since learned that was not the case. With that said I’m just trying to open up. I didn’t kick them out. I understand their hard work and I think it is great that they have such passionate and loyal fans. That’s cool. But I would hope any anger shouldn’t be directed at me or The Slice & Pint. We want to be a positive addition to the already great neighborhood. We are very excited and can’t wait to get open.
Crawford, you should be commended for addressing this directly. You are in a tough spot as well – this is probably not the type of buzz you wanted to create before you are even established.
It appears this unfortunate situation says a lot more about the landlord you are dealing with than yourself. By your own description above, you were mislead by the landlord about Steady Hands’s intentions. You struck a deal that dislocated Steady Hand (and their customers). No one forced Steady Hand to sign a lease at that location, and legally they probably have no recourse. Business is business and life is tough.
However, it appears neither you nor the landlords attempted to give Steady Hand any heads up to manage a very fundamental transition to their small (but thriving) business. Neither of you had to, but there was also no downside to extending this courtesy. This is the type of behavior I would expect from someone who wants to be a positive player in the local business community, emphasizing locally sourced everything. From an optics perspective, your actions are indeed pushing Steady Hand out. If that is untrue, are you allowing them to stay? And your sudden, unintended legacy could have been avoided with a much better executed and well-thought plan considering all of the stakeholders.
Lessons learned, let’s move on.
LD, Thanks for your response. As far as not letting the Steady Hand guys know ahead of time, I was told very specifically that there was no problem. So that is the information I was working with. I was under the impression that they were in the process of moving (which is why I was told they didn’t sign a long term lease. If a tenant wants to stay in a location they generally sign longer term leases) and that they were aware of the coming changes. They were subleasing from Everybody’s, Everybody’s had the relationship with them and Everybody’s was informing them of the situation. As far as them staying, that space is the only space where we can install the brewing equipment. Without that space that location doesn’t work for us. I am working with those guys directly to keep them open as long as possible so their business is not interrupted and they can find a new location. Hopefully they can stay in the neighborhood. I am doing all I can. It is a tough situation for those guys, I feel for them, and have promised them I will do whatever I can to make it less difficult for them.
Crawford, I appreciate your thoughtful response. It appears the landlord really wanted out and positioned the whole package as a lay up. In the end their characterization of the situation at Steady Hand certainly seems like a disservice to you as there is this fallout that I imagine you did not expect.
It is what it is. I appreciate what you are doing to help the entrepreneurs at Steady Hand. You don’t have to, but it certainly sends a good message. Good luck with your endeavors.
I hate to see Everybody’s go.
That said, if the new place is taking over the coffee shop, I say go for it. I can’t even count the number of places that space has been since Caribou left.
And there are two Starbucks locations within 100 yards.
Can anyone explain to me why a thriving business would opt for a 30 day lease? Aren’t they putting themselves at risk each and every month?
If that was the only option that was offered by their landlord, then it sounds like a pretty clear message that they should’ve be looking for other space.
This is EXACTLY the point that some people are missing. Sign a short-term lease or subletting agreement and you are on notice that you can be put out under circumstances like this. The last person I would blame in this situation is the new tenant. In fact, a prospective tenant contacting a current tenant or subletter could even be construed as interference with the landlord’s business contracts.
That said, I’m excited as hell to have Crawford bringing his beers to Near-Decatur!
Runswithdogs and J_T,
Unemployment was 8.9% and credit markets were not what one would describe as particularly fluid when Steady Hand opened its doors in Feb 2011. I can also imagine capital investors were not waiting in line to drop cash into a coffee shop at that time. Nor did the thriving business I describe magically appear overnight. I’m not going to fault these guys nor any other small business entrepreneur for not signing a long-term lease under these conditions. To imply they had it coming to them is cavalier.
A deal is a deal. However, the optics of any transaction are often more complicated than the calculations of the underlying agreement. Usually you want to get this right before an announcement rather than clean up after.
I’m done.
Hello, everyone. I’m Dale, and I’m one of the owners of Steady Hand Pour House. I haven’t really had time to get to all the blogs and news sources to tell our story, so, sorry for being late. I’m going to address everything by simply putting our story out there.
Five years ago, a little known coffee shop by the name of Method Coffee Bar opened at 1593 N. Decatur Rd. It’s goal was to show Atlanta that brew-to-order coffee through a Chemex, using responsible/sustainable coffees, using no artificial syrups or sugars could, in fact, be fast and friendly. It did well. It even got a little national recognition for its efforts. This is also where Jordan, Jamie, and I (now owners of Steady Hand) met and where we met our two baristas, Thomas and Frank. We did good business, made great friends, and showed we cared about the community and neighborhood as much as our coffee.
The owner of Method was not as dedicated as we were and ran out on us without warning. Jordan and I wanted to stay. We did it on our own for a short time, working for tips and using the register money for buying coffee and milk. We worked until the power was turned off. During the month between the power being shut off and Octane Coffee taking over the space, we got to really know Andy of Everybody’s Pizza. He would buy us beer and pizza to help lift our spirits, and well, feed us. At one point, we even rebuilt the wood benches that sit outside of Everybody’s for a little extra cash. Then the space was Octane and things were good. Jordan and I were there for 12 of the 15 months Octane was open, but we wanted to get more creative with our craft. So we traveled to Australia to learn to roast coffee.
When we got back, we had no desire to work for anyone. We wanted to do our own thing but wanted to be in the neighborhood we’d been a part of for three years. Jordan, Jamie and I formed a coffee company and a started a coffee van. Crazy? Yes. The van is a 1982 VW bus that was driven down here from New York by a “hippie” who wanted to see his “ma” in North Carolina and hang out in Atlanta for a weekend. We outfitted the van with an espresso machine, grinder, fridge, steel tables, and a whole lot of dreams and it became the Rattletrap. It wasn’t overly pretty what with its old brown paint, but it was awesome.
As the Rattletrap was ready, so was Octane to return 1593 N. Decatur Rd to us. We wanted it; we wanted our customers, our friends, and our neighborhood all back. So, we put most everything we had into it. We put the Rattletrap in the parking lot to show the community we were coming back, while serving the best coffee ever to come out of a van—promise. The shop got a face-lift, and Andy even helped us through our changes. He gave us advice and a month to get everything off the ground before our lease started. The name Steady Hand Pour House was formed as a statement to our dedication to our craft and the people who supported it. Steady because we wanted to assure we would never leave; Hand because we craft by hand; Pour because baristas specialize in not only coffee but also in pouring; and House because it was home.
In our first year, we doubled sales from the last two coffee shops; we had customers who were our friends; we became know as one of the best coffee shops in the south, and we got Andy to drink cappuccinos. But most of all, we finally had turned the space into a community. At our one-year anniversary, we decided against having a celebration, because we only wanted to celebrate after being there longer than any other shop. When our trial lease was up, we started the back and forth of negotiating a new lease. We started paying what Andy wanted until we could come to a number we both could agree to. After awhile and some building issues, we just shook on it. We were closer then landlord and tenant, and I trusted him. From a business standpoint, maybe we should have done things differently, but I didn’t think our longtime neighbor would sell us short.
In the last 6 months, Steady Hand Pour House has had a two-year anniversary celebration that will never be forgotten, grown business to a point where we were going to have to hire a third full-time employee, and ventured into roasting our own coffee. Steady Hand Pour House has brought to Emory Village a stand-out, steadfast small business in a sea of big commercial business options. We took on two Starbucks that you can see from our patio, just like Slice and Pint will take on two fast delivery pizza joints. I only ask that no one doubt Steady Hand Pour House loved its community and the people within it. No one asked if we wanted to stay, and we are allowed to be angry about that. I wish Slice and Pint luck, and I hope Andy enjoys retirement. The owner of 1593 should know that he could have asked us to stay and entered into another lease with us instead of trying to provide another location option. Most of all, I hope that no one thinks we’re done. We’ll be around. We are not closing, cause we don’t do that. #SHPH4LIFE