"Our priority is getting the doors open as quickly as possible, and because our permanent grease trap won't be installed until later, we won't be opening with a fryer." Johnny Martinez said that to Rough Draft Atlanta in July while describing Joystick Gamebar's move to 485 Flat Shoals Ave. The bar will open this month without a fryer because of one piece of plumbing.
You can see the same thing up and down the Village this fall. Nearly every business that has opened or been announced since spring is moving into a space that used to be something else: a lounge, an animal clinic, a dessert shop, a bank. The leases are mostly signed. What decides when each place opens is the work of converting an old building: a liquor license, a permit, a grease trap, a design review.
That's why Flat Shoals looks slower from the sidewalk than it reads in the news. In August, AJC critic Henri Hollis wrote that within the next year, EAV "could be back near full strength as one of Atlanta's most interesting nerve centers for food and drink." He measured that against a run of closures: Happy Donuts in 2022 after 20 years, the Elder Tree pub in 2024 after a dozen, and the original Just Loaf'n location the same year. Below are the projects in order of how close each one is to opening, with what's still in the way.
485 Flat Shoals: Opening This Month, Without the Fryer
Joystick Gamebar spent 14 years on Edgewood Avenue. It is moving into the former East Side Lounge across from The Earl. Martinez and co-owner Brandon Ley cited a 98-person occupancy cap that limited what the old bar could earn, a power bill that doubled, and sales that "never got above 85%" of pre-pandemic levels. Their Edgewood lease ended in February. Martinez also said EAV is full of people who care about where they live and support local businesses.
The new space combines Joystick with Mambo Zombi, the tiki-leaning cocktail bar the partners used to run above their Georgia Beer Garden on Edgewood. Kysha Cyrus, who tended bar at Joystick for years, is joining as a third partner and will oversee the food. Until the grease trap goes in, her opening menu skips the fryer: potato chips with melted blue cheese and grilled cheese waffle sandwiches with bacon jam. Dishes that need the fryer come later.
The arcade cabinets and pinball are coming along. The Dolly Parton machine may come back, gaming consoles will be permanent, and tournaments are planned with True Fire Tactics. The anticipated hours are 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on weekdays, noon to 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, and noon to midnight on Sunday. As of Rough Draft's October 1 news roundup, the opening is still listed only as "in October," with no specific day.
535 Gresham: Open, and Waiting on a License
Sagra is the one new place you can sit down at today. Eric Di Nardo, a former sommelier at Bacchanalia, moved to East Atlanta Village with his wife in 2021 to start a family. He had been watching the Gresham Avenue building for a while. When it changed owners, he negotiated a lease that included a few upgrades, including a tasting room and a fenced-in back patio. Limited service started August 29.
The model is the Venetian bacaro, a small neighborhood wine bar serving cicchetti. The kitchen is built around a PizzaMaster oven and an induction burner. The menu has four sourdough pizzas and a focaccia service for two or four people that comes with rotating cicchetti. Culatello and guanciale come from The Spotted Trotter in Reynoldstown, and the cannoli come from the pop-up Vinny's Mutual Aid Bakery. Some glasses of wine start at $9.
Sagra is a wine bar that can't yet sell wine. As of September 9, it was BYOB while it waited for the city to approve its liquor license. It's open Thursday through Monday. We haven't found a public update since then, so check before you bring your own bottle or leave it at home.
The Rest of Flat Shoals: Signed, Then Permitted
The next group has named tenants and known addresses. None has an opening date. Every one is taking over a space that had a different use before.
- 461-B Flat Shoals Ave. SE, Bar Schmutzi. Little Bear founder Jarrett Stieber is opening a European-style wine bar in one of two tenant spaces carved out of the former East Atlanta Animal Clinic. The plans call for 1,300 square feet, communal seating, an open kitchen, vinyl played during service, and a pet-friendly side patio. In June, What Now Atlanta reported that permitting was still underway, with a target of the first or second quarter of 2027 and a hope of opening by the end of 2026. The AJC's August report lists it simply as a 2027 opening.
- 481 Flat Shoals Ave. SE, Suite A, East Atlanta Skateshop. East Atlanta Kids Club plans to sell skate goods and merchandise designed by young people. As of mid-September, permitting was underway, construction hadn't started, and no date had been announced.
- 493 Flat Shoals Ave. SE, Suite B, Zarate Tiki Co. Chef-owner Marcus Fernandez is turning his Filipino pop-up into a grab-and-go spot in the former Silvers Delight space. A September 10 report said construction was still in progress. No opening date has been given.
- 530 Flat Shoals Ave. SE, Big Al's Cigar Shop. Co-owners John Hammond and a partner known as Al were aiming to open a cigar shop and lounge around the end of September. That target has passed, and we haven't found a report confirming the doors are open.
On a short commercial strip, this means the second half of the comeback arrives one storefront at a time, on whatever schedule each permit allows. Stieber's own forecast spans about six months, from late 2026 to mid-2027. That's a fair sense of how much room these timelines have.
512 and 514 Flat Shoals: The Corner Still in Cold Shell
At Flat Shoals and Glenwood, the order is different. The building is ready for work, and the tenants haven't been named.
The Marbut and Minor Building at 514 Flat Shoals Ave. went up sometime between 1911 and 1916. It was most recently a Truist Bank branch, which moved out in 2025. Pellerin Real Estate, the developer behind the Southern Feed Store food hall, finished demolition inside this spring and is dividing the two floors into four suites totaling more than 12,000 square feet. The old bank vault is staying. Urbanize Atlanta notes that the building is considered crucial to the East Atlanta Historic District, which joined the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. Pellerin agreed to a historic easement that permanently protects it from demolition.
Next door at 512, East Atlanta Comics has expanded into more space. As of April 30, two restaurant prospects were at the letter-of-intent stage for the former Just Loaf'n space, which is the last step before a lease. We haven't found any public tenant names for 512 or 514 since then.
Because of the easement, the corner will keep its brick face and masonry columns no matter who moves in. When tenants are announced, they will go through the same steps as everyone else on this list: build-out, permits, inspections, and in a restaurant's case, a liquor license.
Brownwood Park: Same Pattern, One Block Over
The same kind of reuse is happening in the neighborhood's main park. At the East Atlanta Community Association's July 14 meeting, project manager Chase Miller said the planned skate park would sit in the center of Brownwood Park, replacing the black cement paddle area. A 15-person design review group, including kid and adult skaters, neighbors and representatives from the kids club, looked at concept art from New Line Skate Parks.
Community feedback focused on green space, tree preservation and access for all ages. In response, the project is being renamed a "skate garden," with native plants and rain gardens. The team met with the City of Atlanta and expects no major problems. Updated designs will go to the wider community after the next design review round, according to the meeting minutes. Urbanize reported that the City and a nonprofit partner have set aside more than $1 million for it. No construction date has been announced. With the skateshop planned at 481 Flat Shoals, East Atlanta Kids Club is involved in both projects.
Dates That Are Already Fixed
The openings are uncertain, but the fall calendar isn't. Most of it happens on the same block of Stokeswood Avenue.
- Thursdays through Nov. 19: East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, 4 to 8 p.m., 572 Stokeswood Ave. SE.
- Saturday, Oct. 10: Halloweentown Market at EAV Community Park, with local makers, crafts, treats and a DIY area. The organizer's Eventbrite page lists noon to 5 p.m., but one events calendar shows a 4 p.m. start, so confirm before you go.
- Thursday, Oct. 15: A free Costume Closet from the East Atlanta Business Association at the farmers market, 4 to 7 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 24: EAV-O-Ween in the business district, 4 to 6 p.m., with a costume contest and trick-or-treating at participating businesses.
- Saturday, Nov. 14: Middle Earth Market at the farmers market site starting at noon, with more than 25 local makers and fantasy-themed activities.
If Joystick opens on schedule, EAV-O-Ween on October 24 could be its first Saturday on Flat Shoals.
At The Sly Team, we keep an eye on how older in-town buildings get new uses, from a converted bank corner to a small infill lot, because that work shapes the blocks our clients live on. If you live near Flat Shoals and want to talk about what the changes around you mean for your own property, get started with The Sly Team.
