By Nancy Leighton
When the new Cook-Out restaurant opened in late April, East Atlanta experienced something not really seen in our area before: a big traffic jam. The parking lot at the corner of Faith Street and Moreland Avenue was full, the drive-thru was wrapped around the building, and the cars were backed up out on to Moreland Avenue. Cook Out lovers from all over the Atlanta metro area had to be in on the big opening.
The Cook-Out company from North Carolina did considerable reconstruction of the old Mrs. Winners building to bring their restaurant to the Atlanta area. When Mrs. Winners was built many decades ago that property was zoned Light Commercial (C-1). A few years back it was rezoned to Neighborhood Commercial (NC-2). The new zoning requires new buildings to be closer to the street and three stories tall. To overcome these new rules, Cook-Out had to use some of the existing building outline and the structure of the original building. This is often referred to as “grandfathering in” or “the grandfather clause.” It means that anything already in place can stay even if the zoning has changed.
Demolition of the Mrs. Winners started around the first of the year. They tore the roof completely off. Then they took down a large portion of the walls, making sure not to go all the way to the ground so they could still claim the use of the grandfather clause in the new construction. As soon as they removed what they didn’t need, the crews began building up again to Cook-Out’s specifications.
The new building has large areas of beautiful beige and tan stone on several sides of the façade. The building has red accent panels and signs with neon outlines. The new Cook-Out makes this corner look completely different. The fast pace of business activity here is something the neighborhood has not been used to. The crowds of Cook-Out patrons coming here from throughout the metro area give southeast Atlanta new exposure too. The heavy traffic has continued since the opening and may go on until the novelty wears off. Until then it is good to see a new business have a big success on this side of town.
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