Conversion of shuttered Moe’s on Ponce has begun

Candid, pun-filled signage on one of intown Atlanta’s signature streets hints at what’s in the works for a building vacated last year by a longstanding Moe’s Southwest Grill: “The Wurst is Yet to Come,” “Hope 4 the Best—Prepare 4 the Wurst,” and so forth.

The Moe’s at 863 Ponce de Leon Avenue, which operated for well over a decade, shuttered in late 2021 in the high-profile locale near John Lewis Freedom Parkway, where a condo building had been proposed a few years ago.

Replacing Moe’s is a three-pronged concept by Shaun Doty, a seasoned Atlanta restaurateur and chef known for the Bantam + Biddy, Chick-a-Biddy, and YEAH! Burger quick-service chains, in addition to more upscale, former intown eateries Shaun’s and The Federal.

Doty filed plans with the city in June to open German-themed concept The Wurst Beer Hall alongside, in a smaller section of the space, The Best Sandwich Shop. The latter concept would also include a pint-sized espresso bar called Freedom Perk that serves breakfast sandwiches and Batdorf & Bronson coffee, per Doty’s plans.

Doty told What Now Atlanta in June the beer hall will occupy the bulk of the former Moe’s and will open around 4 p.m. to serve smaller bites and brews in a traditional beer hall setting, with outdoor seating in a new landscaped area behind the building. Doty also said the property’s owners still eventually plan to redevelop the site into a condo building—and that both the beer hall and sandwich shop could be fixtures on the ground level of that new development.

According to property records, the .43-acre parcel last sold in January 2020 for $3 million to an LLC called 863 Ponce.

Days first appeared numbered for the Ponce Moe’s in summer 2019 when a rezoning application emerged for a 45-unit condo building on the site. Plans had called for one and two-bedroom residences priced between $299,000 and $359,000, according to listings at the time.

As of last summer, Doty said he hoped to open the German concept by September, in time for Oktoberfest.

We’ve reached out to Doty’s company regarding a revised timeline for building out and opening the Poncey-Highland business—and to see if eventual condo plans may have changed, given more recent economic conditions. This story will be updated with any additional information that comes.

Along with its Ponce frontage, the site also borders Freedom Park, a 200-acre, linear greenspace the Freedom Park Conservancy describes as Atlanta’s most-connected park, linking together seven historic neighborhoods.

• Poncey-Highland news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)