Among the items on tonight’s Zoning Board agenda is a parking variance request from WPD Center LLC, which hopes to open up a burger joint called “Farm Burger” in the old Voila space.

According to the city’s summary, the site (which includes Watershed, Your Best Cleaners and the vacant space), currently has 54 parking spaces, but the parking code requires 65.   Viola got around this obstacle by entering into a shared parking agreement with 402 West Ponce (Ponce Preventative Care), however that agreement has since been terminated.

54 spaces for that modestly sized restaurant?  Am I the only one that finds that a bit ridiculous?

But a heated parking debate is only one half of this multi-layered story.  The other is this intriguing new restaurant called “Farm Burger”.  Luckily there’s a “Farm Burger” concept statement is among the enclosed documents for the Zoning Board to consider.  Here’s a taste…

“Farm Burger will take product sourcing  as serious as it takes crafting one of the world’s finest burgers.  Our belief is that a great burger starts with exceptional beef from exceptional cows raised on sweet Georgia grass alone.  With that guiding principle, Farm Burger’s ingredients will be: 100% grass-fed, 100% locally grazed Georgia beef, 100% organic (or beyond).

It starts with a $6 burger…From there we will offer a wide-range of seasonal accouterments, many grown on our 100-acre organic farm in Athens, Georgia, as well as diverse artisanal cheeses, housemade pickles, local eggs, and culinary delicacies, such as roasted bone marrow, house-cured bacon, and charcuterie.”

For more, see pages 11 and 12 of the ZBA’s packet for tonight’s meeting.

h/t: InDecatur