Ink & Elm in Emory Village Announces Its Closing
Decatur Metro | May 26, 2015 | 8:20 pm
From Ink & Elm’s Facebook page…
After 21 amazing months, Ink & Elm is saying farewell. We have enjoyed serving the neighborhood, the Emory community, and the city of Atlanta. We were warmly embraced by many, many who have become great friends. From our house to yours, we thank you for your support and friendship.
We plan to continue to serve the Druid Hills/Emory neighborhood through Saturday depending on our inventory. Please come in, relive great memories, and say good-bye in person. We will even have our bourbon/whisk(e)y wall discounted by up to 50% for your enjoyment.
Once again, thank you.
Photo courtesy of Trip Advisor
Bummer. I had nothing but good experiences there.
Never made it over there. Too fancy for a college area?
Really too bad that Emory University’s front door isn’t a more robust scene for students, professors, visitors….
Just too small?
Ink & Elm is cavernous. Perhaps too big.
I meant is Emory too small to have a robust off campus neighborhood with at least a few coffee shops and one or two nice restaurants
At the risk of stereotyping, I’m surprised there aren’t any authentic Asian restaurants in that area as far as I know. Emory’s enrollment is about 1/3 Asian, and they have a significant number of Asians on faculty.
Doc Chey’s is or used to be there. Or do you mean Buford Highway-level authentic?
Maybe something between those two.
Enjoyed it a few times. Unfortunately, it only had good press when it first opened and i’m guessing they put their eggs all in the Emory community and north basket rather than focusing on intown marketing efforts. That’s just my perception of course.
Well, we would often go after work for drinks. Appetizer menu was very limited, and portions were very small for the price. No lunch table service (which HELLO is your major time to capture Emory staff/faculty business), and the dinner prices were Buckhead-like. Great concept and quite beautiful, but seems some very basic restaurant boo-boo’s were committed from the beginning. Just too high for surrounding residents to walk over for dinner on the spur of the moment…not that they cannot afford it. The perceived value was not there, and too expensive for impulse dining.
I agree with everything you said. I had two pretty good experiences there, no real complaints. My problem with Ink & Elm is my problem with The Pinewood and other places like that which I feel like are riding the wave of what Leon’s brought to this side of town. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But honestly, I’d rather just go to Leon’s.
They have(had) a lunch menu and the little community room was very nice spot for small family, neighborhood or work gatherings. Restaurants have a financial formula for success. They can only spend x% on rent, y% on food etc. etc. It would be valuable to know where they were off. They are located in the middle of an area with some of the highest home values in the region. I suspect they were paying too high a rent and spent too much in the renovation. The next tenant may not have the same burdens.
My complaint was value. For the same price I could go to Float Away or Cakes & Ale and have a slightly better meal at a lower cost. It’s too bad for the owners. They went all-in with their financial commitment, but they made some mistakes in pricing and didn’t or couldn’t adjust to still make a profit.
Sad to see it go. Had some great dinners there. The lunch menu was way, way too limited, and I agree with Jim that lunch is where the action is for that area. And just plain too pricey for the area, regardless of meal time/type. Still, a bummer.
Have we reached “Peak Craft Beer / Locally Sourced Food Pubs”?
Not so long ago, someone here (G Buck?) questioned when more stately, white tablecloth restaurants would displace sound-bouncy, rustic-farmy places as the prevailing trend.
If this is the measure, I guess not anytime soon. Classic elegance takes a hit.
Most people these days don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for “classic elegance,” which some perceive as stuffy and overdone. That atmosphere doesn’t fit Decatur / surrounding area. The $10 – 25 entree seems to be the sweet spot for what people are willing to pay these days for a good meal.
A $39 (or higher) steak at a restaurant like Bones is outrageous, especially when most can purchase a steak (or two) for half that price and have just as good of a meal on their back porch. It is totally ridiculous what some white tablecloth restaurants charge, and it may be even more ridiculous that people are willing to pay for it.
Not really. I’ve posted this before but you can’t make a steak just as good a Bone’s on your back porch, unless you can (a) get hold dry-aged of USDA prime beef, and (b) cook it at about 800 degrees F.
Sure I can. And I can wear shorts, drink a beer, and play music that I like without having to valet my car, tip the valet, and tip the waiter.
It can taste as good. I’ve had steaks at Bones, and though there very good, I’ve had better from people’s backyard grills. IMO, it’s not worth paying big $ for the small difference in quality when there is so little involved in the preparation. But I rarely eat red meat anymore, so I don’t really have a cow in the fight.
One can make a helluva good backyard steak, no doubt. But as good as Bone’s? I must beg to differ. The quality of the meat, the dry aging, and the super-high temps are nearly impossible to replicate at home, unless you’ve got some truly kick-ass equipment. And there’s risk in dropping $$$ on premium beef to cook at home — if you overcook it, you’ve ruined it. At Bone’s, you send it back, then bring you another.
To each his own, of course. But, that said . . . you guys are crazy.
“And there’s risk in dropping $$$ on premium beef to cook at home — if you overcook it, you’ve ruined it. At Bone’s, you send it back, then bring you another.”
Good point. But just as with Bones, someone else would have to be buying and grilling for me to eat in anyway
I got a Big Green Egg. Road trip to Patak’s for some beautiful ribeyes, crank the grill up to 900 degrees, and sear the shit out of those suckers for a perfect medium rare. As good as any steak in any steakhouse anywhere. And dry aging is overrated. Get you a prime or really well marbled choice steak and you don’t need no stinking aging. Damn I’m hungry now.
I agree with you DM….I’ve never prep’d a steak as good as I can get at Bones or a similar top end steak house. Never.
I guess you and I just have exquisite taste.
Yes, that was my point. Such places don’t seemed poised to make the comeback G Buck was asking about.
What would have to make a comeback is someone else paying for it–i.e. employers. That’s a big part of their business.
Oh no! One of my favorite spots!!! Ink and Elm will be missed. I especially loved house made Dark and Stormies in those big chairs in the bar, and delicious meals in the comfy booths! We celebrated many special occasions at Ink and Elm.
Boo! Very sorry to hear this. I have had numerous great experiences on the “tavern” side of Ink & Elm. Great food & drink and excellent service. Someone above likened it to Leon’s. I’ll agree that the menus and price points are similar, but the big, private booths at Ink & Elm provided an ambiance I much prefer to Leon’s. (And I like Leon’s.) Really sorry to see them go.
I do wish there were more big private booths in restaurants, ones that weren’t exclusively for groups of 6 or more.
No mention of the Emory Village landlord? My understanding has been that businesses basically can’t survive in that little section. It was a real bummer for Emory until the new development on the other side of campus along Clifton. (If General Muir and Ink and Elm swapped places, who would we be talking about closing?)
Read somewhere a Lucky’s Burgers and Brews is going in there. Went to the one in Brookhaven once. Not bad, but nothing to get excited about.
I’ve heard the same since 1984. Given the high turnover of nearly all the businesses, it just might be true!