Mike wrote in a couple days back that he had been told by the bartender at Carpe Diem restaurant that they would be closing their doors permanently on December 23rd.  A blog post on Patch echoed the news.

Carpe Diem has long sat beneath the Ice House Lofts at the southeastern edge of the Old Decatur neighborhood.  I’m not sure how long it’s been there (I’m sure someone can tell us), but it was already in place back when Fellini’s was still a Greyhound bus station  towards the Y2K end of the last decade.

It sat in a unique location, a bit removed from the rest of retail downtown Decatur, with the exception of Fellini’s.  That may change in the coming years, if the new “Brick Station” (my made up shorthand for the Brick Store venture in the Decatur Depot) and MAR completely reinvigorate that old rail line strip of commercial along East Howard Ave, but for now the space sits slightly off the beaten path.

Farewell Carpe Diem.  You will be missed by many!

Photo courtesy of Next Stop…Decatur

Yesterday, in a letter to the AJC, Sembler Co. asserted that it wasn’t a vocal neighborhood opposition, but the hideous real estate market, which led to a scaled back version of “Town Briarcliff”.

That got me thinking about the proposed condo on Hillyer that prompted Old Decatur to become a historic district.  It’s on the lips of residents again, but not because its beginning to cast a shadow over the homes of Old Decatur, but because a similar battle is in early stages over at 315 W. Ponce.

I believe it’s been a good four months since this plan was approved by the planning commission, but today the property remains a vacant, grassy lot.  What gives?
Is this another casualty of the weak real estate market?  Or is the sister building of 345 W. Ponce still a go?

(Photo Courtesy of DecaturHighRise.org)