Popular seafood restaurant Fishmonger is poised to open a new location on Howell Mill Road on the Westside, its third eatery in just over a year.
Fishmonger will take over the former La Fonda space at 1025 Howell Mill Road for the next two years while its permanent location in the Stella building of the Star Metals District mixed-use development is being built. La Fonda will relocate to East Lake development Hosea + 2nd.
Skip Engelbrecht, who opened the first Fishmonger in April 2022 on Highland Avenue with partner Nhan Le and chef-partner Bradford Forsblom and a second in Kirkwood in the Pratt Pullman development in October 2022, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he hopes the Westside location will be open by mid-May.
Credit: Henri Hollis
Credit: Henri Hollis
Before then, the building’s interior and exterior will be painted, along with installing a new bar and raw bar, as well as new chairs and tables. He said the space is so large, it might also be used as a commissary kitchen for all Fishmonger restaurants.
“We’re going to make it look very cool,” Engelbrecht said. “We always put our vibes on things.”
While all three locations will have the same core menu items including blackened grouper sandwiches and tuna melts, each restaurant will also feature rotating specials specific to that location. The Westside location will also offer late-night hours.
Engelbrecht said he, Le and Forsblom are focused on expanding Fishmonger to other neighborhoods and cities, with eventual plans to franchise.
Credit: Courtesy of the Allen Morris Company
Credit: Courtesy of the Allen Morris Company
“I think it’s something that works because the core menu is simple and high quality,” he said. “Fishmonger is our baby, and she’s growing so well.”
A representative for JLL, the leasing agent for Star Metals District, the 8-acre development from Allen Morris Company real estate firm, said work on the Stella at Star Metals building will be started by the end of March, with plans to be finished within two years. The building, which will be the tallest on Atlanta’s Westside, will include 327 luxury apartments and about 25,000 square feet of retail space.
A second undisclosed Miami-based restaurant concept will also be part of Stells, and the building’s 17th floor will feature a two-story full-service bar that will open onto a private rooftop terrace.
The $350 million Star Metals District also includes the Sentral at Star Metals residential building and the 267,000-square-foot Star Metals Offices, which also features 40,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and showroom. Star Metals Hotel is set to open in 2023 with an underground speakeasy and botanical rooftop bar.
Open and operating food and beverage concepts at Star Metals include sushi restaurant Hayakawa, Prevail Coffee, Sweetgreen, Savi Provisions, Flight Club and Wagamama. Still to come is rooftop bar Patina.
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