EXCLUSIVE: Mi Cocina Can't Handle the Georgia Heat, Closes

Tex-Mex eatery quietly closed Saturday night.

Irving, Texas-based Mi Cocina ("my kitchen" in Spanish) has closed its Atlanta area location on Peachtree Street in Midtown.  The Tex-Mex restaurant opened in late 2012 as part of Selig Properties' 12th & midtown development.  

Mi Cocina posted the following message to their official Atlanta facebook page earlier today:

"It is with a heavy heart that we close our restaurant here in Atlanta. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and hope you will visit us in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. For questions, please email us at information@mcrowd.com."

The two-level, nearly 9,000 square foot restaurant never seemed to gain a significant following. Mi Cocina was to be joined in the project by sibling concept Taco Diner, but its parent company M Crowd Restaurant Group saw the writing on the wall from the early results of Mi Cocina, and wisely pulled the plug before it ever opened.  Dallas, Texas-based Restaurant Works opened their Italian concept, Princi Italia, in the would-be Taco Diner space last year.  

Mi Cocina's closure, while sad, is unfortunately just the latest in a string of restaurant and retail failures in midtown, many within Selig Properties' newer and more prominent buildings.  (M Crowd closed a Mi Cocina location in Chevy Chase, Maryland in late 2014, after about a year and a half in business.  By that standard, the Atlanta location did well lasting basically four years.)

Max's Wine Dive closed in Selig's 77 12th property last September following a fifteen month run.  Fig Jam Kitchen & Bar, previously in Brookwood, was to join Max's in the development, but "terminated" their lease before opening. 

Cucina Asellina, the Italian concept from New York's The One Group, also closed in the Selig project at 1075 Peachtree. The space has since been consumed by sibling concept STK, which uses the space for larger parties and special events.  

New York-based 5 Napkin Burger shuttered their restaurant at 10th & Piedmont Streets in 2012, about a year after opening.  Polish restaurant operator AmRest shuttered their La Tagliatella restaurant at 8th & Peachtree Streets in 2014, just over a year after opening.  Italy-based Piola, a pizzeria, also closed in 1010 Midtown, after about a four year run.  Fado Irish Pub and Ribalta have since replaced La Tagliatella and Piola respectively, and seem to be performing better than their predecessors.  

Retail wise, Selig's Midtown properties have seen some serious closures as well.  Republic of Couture (ROC) closed its 6,500 square foot boutique at 12th & Midtown in late 2014 after opening the previous spring. CB2, the "modern" and "affordable" sibling concept from Crate & Barrel, adjacent to the Mi Cocina space, closed late last year after nearly five years in business.  At the time, the retailer blamed a "rent increase" for the closure of their approximately 14,000 square foot store.   On a much smaller scale than the two aforementioned retailers, Raw Denim, a boutique that relocated from Buckhead to midtown in 2013, closed at 77 12th in 2014.  

*Selig and joint venture partner Daniel Corp. no longer own 1010 Midtown, 1065 / 1075 Peachtree or 77 12th.

Why do you think so many restaurants and retailers struggle to find success in midtown?  What would you like to see open in the former Mi Cocina space?  Do you think Burgerim will do well in midtown?

Please share your thoughts below.