A new place to grab a bite to eat and listen to some tunes could be coming soon to Alpharetta.
Last week, plans submitted by developer Bob Rothman for a venue called the Copper Fox, passed through the city's planning commission. The next step is for the plans to be presented to the city council for a vote on March 26.
In the plans submitted to the city, Rothman describes the Copper Fox as a “sports restaurant” and “live music venue” that will appeal to folks between the ages of 40 and 60 years old.
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“By day the restaurant has a fun atmosphere that is perfect for the whole family and has special sports orientated events for the avid fan or the regular Joe,” the plans say. “During the evenings, the bar atmosphere increases to allow the who’s who to show up and rub shoulders with the locals all while experiencing great service.”
For the Copper Fox, Rothman wants to rezone two buildings at 10 and 37 Roswell Street from special use to commercial. The buildings are part of one combined property that Rothman already owns.
The building he is eyeing for the Copper Fox is at 10 Roswell Street. Two businesses occupy some space in the building now and they would remain.
The submitted request, if approved, will allow one side of the building to operate a music venue and restaurant where office space previously existed, while the other side would remain home to the Corner Deli and Aria Hair Salon.
The Copper Fox would occupy two floors of the building. The bottom would be a restaurant and the top floor would be a 5,000 square-foot, 330-seat music venue. Management of the restaurant will be handled by Ben Lee and Mark Ferrara.
According to the plans, music will only be played at the venue on Friday and Saturday nights from 8 p.m. to midnight.
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The other part of this proposal is that Rothman wants to expand the La Casa restaurant at 37 Roswell Street by 3,500 square feet. The Italian restaurant is run by Pasquale Cardamuro, but Rothman owns the building, which was built in 1930.
This building is on the city’s list of contributing historic properties, meaning all improvements and renovations to it must fit with the existing historic style and require city approval. Rothman plans to expand the kitchen and the dining room, add outdoor seating and create a stronger entry point.
At the March 1 Planning Commission meeting, the panel passed the plans, but expressed concerns over securing parking in downtown Alpharetta for the venue and restaurant. In the plans submitted, Rothman showed he had agreed to deals with Wells Fargo and the Alpharetta Animal Hospital for 76 parking spaces.
There are two nearby public parking lots and a parking deck has been proposed for Milton Avenue. City staff recommended that parking for the Copper Fox be directed to the Roswell Street public lot. City staff also recommended that Rothman submit an offsite parking plan and agreement to the city to mitigate impacts that may include off-site valet and temporary signage to direct patrons to offsite parking.
From a business perspective, the panel and city staff liked the idea and think it will bring people to downtown Alpharetta.
Plans for the Copper Fox were first filed with the city in September 2017.
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