Sunday, June 28, 2009
Food, "Dish", Atlanta

The fall of Trois

SP gets the scoop from Bob Amick, founding owner of Concentrics Restaurant Group

By Kirsten Ott Palladino

I returned from my Caribbean honeymoon last week only to learn that Trois is closing. I wasn’t shocked—just disappointed. The rumors have been floating for more than a year—maybe two. Employees of the upscale contemporary French restaurant gossiped about the Concentrics-owned three-level digs never being able to turn a profit, and with an astronomically high rent, it seemed doomed.

Ideas swarmed around the question of why Trois wasn’t a good fit, when all of the other Concentrics concepts, with the exception of Pie Bar, have enjoyed record success. One theory is that Bob Amick, founding owner of Concentrics, bought into the hype of the arts corridor between 14th Street and Peachtree Street, connecting the architectural beaut of the 1180 building to the Woodruff Arts Center and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, being the hub of Midtown. And when the ASO’s plan to build the new $300 million concert hall in the middle of the block between Peachtree and West Peachtree streets never materialized, Trois’ future suffered. Another is that 14th Street is just plain annoying to drive on these days with the consistent construction, and people coming from the outskirts of Atlanta don’t know what to do with the 14th Street bridge being out of commission. Whatever people’s comments were that I heard, it was never about the actual food or the service. The top-tier cuisine was fresh, innovative and downright delicious, and the staff was friendly even if they were reserved (as they should be in a chic French restaurant, no?).

I call Amick to get the scoop. After a nice congrats from him on my recent nuptials and a jovial discussion of the Caribbean islands (we went to St. Martin, he prefers neighboring St. Barts), I ask the restaurateur what happened and how long this has been in the works. “We’ve been talking about the appropriate time to do this for awhile now,” he says. “Summertime is fairly dismal for Atlanta restaurants, with the exception of a few weeks in July. But we’re not closing the restaurant entirely. We have a full kitchen down in the bar. We’ve moved our chef there, and guests can get dinner Tuesday through Saturday. As far as the upstairs, it’s still available for private events.” The plan is to run Trois in this manner until the end of the summer when Amick says it’ll all close for two to three weeks in order to complete renovations. “Then we’ll open up a new concept in September. We love the space.” What’s the concept? I ask. “I can’t give you any details right now, but we’ll be making the announcement in a couple of weeks,” he says.

So why did Trois not survive? Amick says, “It was fairly austere and sophisticated. We have a history with more casual restaurants, and people, in this economy, flock back to things they know, that they get.” Do you think location had anything to do with it? I wonder out loud. “No,” he responds. “It’s on one of the two best intersections in the city.” After a revealing pregnant pause, Amick continues, “We are certainly disappointed that the symphony hall is not being built next to us. Trois was created to overlook it.”

Employees of Trois were lucky enough to not be laid off. Concentrics offered them all positions at other restaurants in its group, which includes One Midtown Kitchen, Two Urban Licks, the Bar at Trois, Tap, Parish, Murphy’s, Lobby at Twelve, Room at Twelve, Stats, and 30 Tables and 11 Stories at the Glenn Hotel. Visit www.concentricsrestaurants.com for location information. SP
Kirsten Ott Palladino is the Life and Food Editor of The Sunday Paper.