The AJC published an article right before New Years saying as many as six new restaurants are coming to EAV. It looks like the folks who have gotten it right are going to give it a run to add many more options. What's really needed is to get something in the check cashing space at the intersection of Glenwood and Flat Shoals -- An outdoor restaurant in that space would put walking traffic on the streets and make the village feel more inviting to visitors. It's my understanding that the owner of that space owns a great deal of property in EAV and won't let go of it. The AJC article follows:

Eateries bet on East Atlanta
With several restaurants about to open, hopes high for revivalBy PAUL DONSKYThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 12/30/05
Nearly a decade after emerging as Atlanta's newest hot spot, East Atlanta Village is struggling to regain its footing.

Not too long ago, the trendy shopping and nightlife district boasted two of the city's top live music venues, an upscale bistro called Iris that drew raves from the foodie crowd, and an eclectic mix of offbeat stores and hip bars.
But the neighborhood fell on hard times recently as the economy cooled. Now, a rash of empty storefronts has turned parts of the Village into a ghost town.

Iris, once viewed as a symbol of the Village's coming of age, shut its doors several months ago after a three-year run. The Echo Lounge rock club remains boarded up after having trouble with its liquor license. The Heaping Bowl and Brew restaurant, credited with kicking off the East Atlanta boom, closed after an ownership change.

But don't count the Village out just yet. The plucky neighborhood may be on the verge of a second renaissance, led by the opening of at least six restaurants next year, including an upscale eatery in the old Iris space. The new blood can't come soon enough for Michael Knight, co-owner of Traders furniture store, which opened just as East Atlanta was beginning to take off.

The store, which sells everything from scented candles to leather couches, initially stood out among the check-cashing stores and old-school beauty salons. Knight watched the area blossom into a hipster hangout and then retreat a bit as shops went out of business and remained vacant for extended periods.

"It's been up and down for years. We're the only retail store that has made it, that's stuck it out from the beginning," Knight said. "If all those restaurants open up, that would be a big boost for the East Atlanta retail stores. You can't make a living unless you have lots of traffic."
And an onslaught of eateries is on the way.

The owners of Cantina La Casita, a successful budget-priced Mexican restaurant that opened earlier this year, plan to open four new spots: Latitude 33, a Southern-style seafood restaurant; a diner serving breakfast and lunch called Honey's Kitchen; a wine bar; and a barbecue joint.
The Iris space, meanwhile, has been leased by the owners of the Flatiron, a mainstay East Atlanta bar. The group hopes to open a restaurant by March with "high-end" cuisine but more affordable prices than Iris, which featured entrees in the $20-to-$30 range.

The owners of East Atlanta Thai took over the Heaping Bowl lease and plan to open the Blue Dog Cantina, a moderately priced Latin American bistro, early next year.

The entrepreneurs say they are bullish on the area because they see pent-up demand for restaurants among the young families and others flocking to the still-affordable neighborhoods surrounding the Village.

As evidence, they point to the Village's newest restaurant, the Graveyard Tavern, which opened a few weeks ago and has attracted huge crowds for its Mediterranean cuisine.

"This neighborhood is more than capable of supporting three times the amount of restaurants than are here," said David Bishop, a partner in the Flatiron ownership group and president of the East Atlanta Business Association. "There has definitely been growth in higher-income families."
Micki Silvestros, one of the La Casita owners, said the East Atlanta area is thriving, but too many residents eat and shop in more established neighborhoods like Midtown and Virginia-Highland.

"I definitely see lots more people — people with kids and dogs and strollers— walking around at all hours of the day, which I never saw six years ago," she said.

East Atlanta Village was a bustling commercial center earlier in the 20th century, serving a community then on the outskirts of Atlanta. The crossroads of Glenwood and Flat Shoals avenues featured a drugstore, a movie theater and several grocery stores.

But the neighborhood declined as middle-class families fled the city, and by the 1970s it was overrun with crime and drugs. As the crime rate fell and the economy boomed in the 1990s, East Atlanta rebounded and emerged as a center of youth culture.

The Village is now a mix of established businesses, trendy boutiques struggling to make it and empty buildings like the old Madison movie theater, which remains in severe disrepair.

Hipsters still pack the EARL most nights to see live music shows and guzzle cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Joe's coffee shop and Mary's, a gay bar, have loyal followings.

The neighborhood also is one of the few in Atlanta where it's possible to do errands on foot. The Village is home to a post office, a hardware store, a bank, a bakery, a public library, a pet store and several hair salons.

Local shop owners and residents offer a range of reasons for the neighborhood's recent woes.
Some say the businesses that failed were poorly run. Others blame new competition a few miles up the road from the big-box-dominated Edgewood Retail District.

And many feel that the neighborhood remains unfairly saddled with an image as a sketchy, crime-ridden outpost. While police say crime is down in East Atlanta, many people still remember that shortly after Iris opened, a customer was shot and killed as he left the restaurant.
Business owners who have been successful in the Village say the secret is to cater to the people who live in the area. Much-loved Iris, for instance, was considered beyond the budgets of most people except for special occasions, said Knight, the furniture store owner.

"You can't just open a restaurant in a neighborhood like this unless you are going to sell food people can afford for an everyday meal," he said. "You're not going to get people from Dunwoody on a Tuesday night to come down here and pay those prices."
East Atlanta resident Russell Brissette said he'd patronize the new restaurants — as long as the food was good and the prices were right. He is particularly excited about the diner being opened by the La Casita group.

"I would definitely go to a place that had eggs, a traditional breakfast," he said, eating a piece of cake at Joe's on a recent afternoon. "And I wouldn't just go on Saturday or Sunday."

Adrene Ashford, owner of Pieces of Adrene clothing boutique, said her 5-year-old store recently stood virtually alone on a long stretch of Flat Shoals as neighboring businesses failed.

But her shop has of late been joined by a men's clothing store and two shoe stores.
The restaurants will entice people "to stay, hang out in the area, see what else is popping up over here," she said as hip-hop music thumped in the background. "Restaurants are the perfect places to keep people in the neighborhood. That's what this area needs."