Summerhill commercial village reboot lands beloved local coffee shop

East Atlanta staple Hodgepodge Coffeehouse is second confirmed tenant at strip near former Turner Field

By Josh Green@JoshGreen1234 Jan 16, 2018, 8:00am EST

A photo of one of several buildings owned by developer Hines undergoing renovations now along Georgia Avenue. — One of several buildings owned by developer Carter undergoing renovations now along Georgia Avenue.

While the full retail roster is still very much undetermined, it’s clear the rebirth of Summerhill’s commercial district should have no shortage of beer and coffee.

Officials with developer Carter tell Curbed Atlanta they’ve signed East Atlanta staple Hodgepodge Coffeehouse to open a second location as part of a mixed-use revival of the beleaguered blocks just east of Georgia State Stadium (formerly Turner Field).

UPDATE: Curbed’s sister site Eater Atlanta separately reports today that the team behind The General Muir, Fred’s Meat & Bread, Yalla, and more is also opening a concept at the Summerhill redevelopment called Wood’s Chapel BBQ. It’ll take 5,200 square feet in the 85 Georgia Avenue slot, with a goal of opening later this year.

Carter senior vice president David Nelson said Hodgepodge, the second confirmed tenant, will open in 2019 in a new building set to rise near Hank Aaron Drive.

“We’re really excited about Krystle [Rodriquez, Hodgepodge owner] being a part of what we’re building at Summerhill,” Nelson wrote in an email. “She’s such a meaningful part of the neighborhood she’s in now, and we think she’ll be an incredible addition.”

Carter owns about four blocks around the Georgia Avenue corridor, where plans call for new offices and apartments to join the boutique retail.

On the avenue itself, up to 10 retail slots could be fashioned from shuttered old buildings. One signee, local brewery Halfway Crooks, aims to start pouring by May or June in a two-story, brick structure on the north side of the street.

The brewery will consume the two-story brick building at left; the attached structure at right contains addresses for possibly two other retail slots.

Nelson said two additional leases have been signed, and that letters of intent are in place for several other spaces.

“Leasing has been going great. We’ve had a lot of interest from local chefs and owners,” Nelson wrote. “We’re hopeful that one more tenant will announce in the next month.”

The new coffeehouse will claim a smaller space than what Hodgepodge occupies now, just south of the East Atlanta Village on Moreland Avenue, per the business’s Facebook page.

In an announcement, Rodriguez said she attended Georgia State University and views the expansion as returning to her roots.