South Downtown hotel project’s lynchpin tenant pulls out

Josh Green

Mon, 11/25/2024 – 10:48

A hotel restaurant concept considered a win for historic but less lively blocks of South Downtown won’t move forward as planned.

All-day restaurant Butter + Scotch, from the same team that owns the celebrated Che Butter Jonez in Southwest Atlanta, had signed on to operate at the Origin Hotel Atlanta, an adaptive-reuse former office building at 166 Pryor St.

But Butter + Scotch reps announced via email Sunday those plans have been cancelled.

“Despite the excitement and community support [for Butter + Scotch], unforeseen challenges during the development process have led the team to make the difficult decision to halt the project,” reads the announcement.

Exterior work in April at the 166 Pryor St. building in South Downtown. Submitted

Rendering of the Origin HotelNuveen Green Capital

Back in April, owner Detric Fox-Quinlan told Urbanize Atlanta that construction crews had encountered hurdles at the property but that “everything promises to be absolutely beautiful upon completion.” This week, the team behind Butter + Scotch noted they remain optimistic the concept will come to life elsewhere in town.

The Afro-Caribbean and Southern-inspired restaurant and bar, spearheaded by Chef Malik Rhasaan and Fox-Quinlan, promised a unique mashup of flavors from Rhasaan’s native Queens, New York, and downhome comfort food. “We wanted to create something special for Atlanta,” Rhasaan noted in a prepared statement. “[But] this is not the end of our story.”

The Origin Hotel Atlanta, a Wyndham Hotels and Resorts property, has been delayed by construction issues, but hotel officials said last summer an October opening was realistic. The property still hasn’t opened and is not accepting reservations until mid-January.

We’ve asked Origin reps for a construction update—and if plans are moving forward to replace Butter + Scotch—and we’ll update this story with any additional information that comes.

[UPDATE: 12:03 p.m., Nov. 25: Origin Hotel Atlanta reps have provided the following statement: “[We] originally partnered with the Che Butter Jonez team to develop a restaurant. Unfortunately, delays in construction and permitting timelines have impacted the business plans for both parties. Although the Che Butter Jonez team will no longer be part of the restaurant, Origin Hotel Atlanta still plans to open a restaurant in the hotel, and it should be ready near the time of the hotel opening. The completion date for the hotel continues to be a moving target for late 2024 or early 2025.”]

The boutique hotel is remaking a 1950s office building into 122 guest rooms and suites. Other features include a private event space on the top floor. It marks a rare large-scale, non-governmental investment south of Five Points near the Georgia State Capitol.

Atlanta iconography—including a depiction of the Beaux Arts-style Terminal Station, demolished in the 1970s—is included in a model room’s wallpaper. Courtesy of Origin Hotel Atlanta

The Origin Hotel Atlanta’s location where Pryor and Mitchell streets meet, in the context of South Downtown. Google Maps

Situated about a block south of Underground Atlanta, the hotel marks an important historical save and “jewel” of redevelopment, project leaders have said. Marketing materials describe the property as being “where dynamic cityscapes and Southern hospitality intertwine.”

Online bookings begin Jan. 15, with nightly rates ranging from $175 to north of $600 for rooms with between 265 square feet (single queens) to 700 square feet (a “premiere suite” that sleeps four).

The building stands at the intersection of Pryor and Mitchell streets, roughly two blocks east of where developer Newport revived parts of downtown’s historic Hotel Row before handing over its portfolio to foreclosure. Tech-focused Atlanta Ventures has since purchased those properties and taken over redevelopment while adding more buildings.

Plans call for the hotel to join others under the Origin brand in Austin, Lexington, Baton Rouge, and Red Rocks (Colorado), along with another new property in Kansas City.

Mississippi-based The Thrash Group paid $16 million for the six-story office building in early 2022, when plans were announced to complete a stalled renovation and open the former offices as a boutique downtown lodging option.

Officials noted the hotel’s proximity to two MARTA stations—Five Points and Garnett—as a selling point at the time.

Origin reps said last summer a 50-foot art installation in the hotel’s lobby will serve as “a graceful nod to the neighborhood’s thriving arts community,” while bike rentals will be free for hotel guests. Plans for the loft-like aesthetics are described as a combination of high concrete ceilings and exposed brick walls with details such as patterned wallpaper featuring Atlanta landmarks, per the Origin website.

Hotel designs will lean into a midcentury aesthetic, with nods to Atlanta history. In addition to event spaces that include the rooftop with skyline views, the property will feature a retail storefront that sells ATL-themed souvenirs and gear, officials relayed in August.

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