The process of remaking a vacant old auto business into active uses has begun in a section of Edgewood that's poised to evolve into a larger, local retail district soon.

Next to the popular original location of El Tesoro, just to the north, plans were revealed in spring 2024 for turning a former 1950s auto garage into a local pizzeria and neighborhood market with patio seating in front and some parking in the rear. 

But aside from the addition of construction fencing, the site was then idle for a year and ½. 

That’s changed in recent days, as demolition, interior, and roof construction work has kicked off at the 131 Whitefoord Ave. site. 

The beginning of construction at 131 Whitefoord Ave., next to El Tesoro taqueria in Edgewood, as spotted Thursday night. Urbanize Atlanta

The corner property's 131 Whitefoord Ave. location at a commercial intersection in Edgewood. Google Maps

Building and business owner, attorney Sid Weinstein, who has lived nearby for 20 years, didn’t respond to emailed questions regarding ETA and planned concepts this week. He asked for a phone call today, but schedules didn’t align. This story will be updated with any additional information that comes. 

Weinstein told Urbanize Atlanta last year roughly half of the 1,400-square-foot building will be devoted to a non-franchise pizzeria concept serving pasta, salads, grab-and-go meals, beer, and wine, though space limitations won’t allow for a traditional brick-fired oven. Plans called for extending the building’s roof to cover brick patio seating in front, separated by a wall from the sidewalk, with about 10 parking spaces behind the building. 

The other half of the building would become a neighborhood market that Weinstein said in 2024 will lean more “high-end,” offering dairy, meat, beer, wine, fresh breads, canned mixed-drinks, and possibly fresh vegetables in limited space.

For months, a banner on the auto garage building had read: “Getting closer … Your pizzeria, market & more …” 

The Rudy's Auto building after cars were cleared out in 2021. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Construction fencing and the 1950s building's proximity to Whitefoord Avenue. Urbanize Atlanta

Meanwhile, across the street, plans are moving forward for another boutique retail concept the property owner hopes will benefit from a steady stream of foot and bike traffic next door. 

That project is situated on the northeast corner of the Whitefoord and Woodbine avenues intersection. 

Last year, a crumbling, 2,482-square-foot commercial building from 1945 was razed at the 142 Whitefoord Ave. site. It had been vacant for more than a decade, with a collapsed roof and trees growing inside. Sara Thurston, the lot’s new owner and a licensed real estate agent, told Urbanize in June she’s submitted plans to the City of Atlanta for building permits to move forward with infill development on what’s currently used as a dirt parking lot. Plans were still being finalized at the time. 

The .26-acre site has more cachet than most, given its front-row status along the Eastside Trolley Trail, a popular Beltline-to-Kirkwood connector trail installed in 2023 by the PATH Foundation. Across the street, El Tesoro is so popular, lines often form around the block.

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• Edgewood news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)