Along Edgewood Avenue, new brewery, bar, expanded restaurant claiming old buildings

The past decade, give or take, has seen Edgewood Avenue morph from a sleepier east-west corridor dotted with vacancies to a bona fide nightlife destination, home to establishments such as Joystick, Cafe Circa, the original Church Bar, Georgia Beer Garden, and Noni’s, with its popular DJ nights and mean lasagna bolognese.

A partnership of national real estate companies is working to accelerate Edgewood Avenue’s food and nightlife cachet—and to establish more attractions farther east.

Asana Partners and SRS Real Estate Partners are teaming to bring a brewery, expanded pizza restaurant, new neighborhood watering hole, and possible new uses for a large loft-office building near the Atlanta Beltline, all east of Edgewood’s intersection with Boulevard.

Chief among the developers’ announcements today is that brewery concept Biggerstaff Brewing Company will take 5,800 square feet at 521 Edgewood Avenue.

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It’ll be helmed by longtime brewers and area residents Clay and Sarah Davies, along with chef Ryan Smith of renowned restaurant Staplehouse next door. Smith will oversee a menu of beer-friendly fare: house-made charcuterie, small plates, sandwiches, salads, and snacks, officials said.

A rendering indicates the brewpub will claim a building once used for electric motor servicing, but a recent site visit clearly showed renovations underway at buildings next door, too. We’ve asked a rep today for further details and will post any updates that come.

Biggerstaff’s marquee suds will be IPAs, but expect a lineup of coffee beers, sours, and unique varieties such as smoked pale ale. In the mornings, the business will serve Intelligentsia coffee and pastries, bringing “additional activity to the already thriving Edgewood corridor,” officials said in a press release.

It’s expected to open in early 2020.

Curbed Atlanta

Meanwhile, at the historic 476 Edgewood Avenue building that Asana also owns, longstanding neighborhood eatery Edgewood Pizza is expanding into a space next door.

A new watering hole called Handlebar will also open there.

That work is expected to finish later this year, where Edgewood meets Boulevard, officials said.

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Elsewhere on the street, Asana bought 560 Edgewood Avenue, traditionally known as the Atlanta Belting Building, for $12 million in April, according to city records.

The two-story building includes 50,000 square feet of retail and loft office spaces.

SRS is marketing the building now to entertainment and restaurant concepts, officials said today.