A new bar and grill The Westwood is coming to 1529 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd SW, according to an alcohol license filed with the city.
“We’re totally stoked,” co-owner Angelina Coluccio confirmed with Whatnow Atlanta by phone. “It’s coming together pretty quickly. We’re shooting for September 1st if all the permits come and everything goes according to plan.”
Coluccio is one of six partners with deep ties to—and a deep appreciation for—the classic dive bar. She and her wife came up through Elmyr, the beloved Euclid Avenue staple that’s been serving up strong drinks and late nights since 1997. The rest of the group works at Estoria, the laid-back Wylie Street bar, though a few still pick up shifts at Elmyr from time to time.
Coluccio, who has been a bartender at Elmyr for 14 years and is now a co-owner, gives credit to the regular customers for keeping the rich tradition going. “Elmyr is a small dive bar of mostly regulars, they keep it alive.”
The team therefore want to Westwood to be built on the same traditions. “We’re trying to work for ourselves,” Coluccio said of the inspiration behind launching the Westwood, “but make it a place for people to hang out.”
When it comes to the 2,160 square foot space with a seating capacity of 100, “comfortable” is key to the decor. “Not super new and fancy,” Coluccio went on, “but comfortable, a place to have good time.” Coluccio credited her wife with having a “big hand in (the decor)” for the space, which will have booths, a pool table, and an outdoor patio. “We’re trying to not go broke,” Coluccio said of making the space inviting, “but at the same time, learn from other bars.”
The menu is still in progress, but Coluccio expects it to be pretty standard American bar food. “We’re doing everything from burgers and wings to blue plates, salads, stuff like that. Something for if you don’t feel like cooking, you can come down and know it’s going to be good.”
“We would love for our food to be fire,” Coluccio concluded. “We are shooting to be a neighborhood bar and grill.”
The bar menu will take the same comfort-and-quality meets no-frills approach. “We’re gonna have a lot of BeltLine customers,” she said. “We want to have cocktails but also the sort of place to be able to get PBR and shot.”
The permits filed affirm the restaurant will serve “malt beverages, wine, and distilled spirits,” and projected that food sales will account for 55% of profit with the other 45% covered by alcohol sales.
The bottom line is another place where Caluccio and her team are putting the regulars first. “We’re trying to keep the price reasonable,” she said. “We want everybody to be able to great time.”
It’s clear that the customers — particularly regulars from the neighborhood — will be the focus for The Westwood. “We come from two different neighborhoods,” Coluccio said of the co-ownership team, “Little Five and Cabbage Town,” both places where the idea of a neighborhood is important. “We want to be part of the community” in the Westwood space as well.
“We are 21 and up,” Coluccio went on, “we want to create somewhere adults can hang out, eat good food, have a good time.”
The hours reflect this desire, staying open on weekdays from 12pm-12am and Weekends 12pm-2am. Coluccio points out that this is a rarity for the neighborhood right now — “It’s a late night place to hang out, there’s not many in the area.” But Coluccio and her partners are determined to make Westwood not just a community gathering spot, but a harbinger of a changing tide; “The first of many,” such late night hang out places in the neighborhood, Coluccio is sure of it.
In the meantime, you can follow the Westwood’s instagram, which is posting content about transitioning the space and videos of the group. “Everybody is living through the demo with us right now,” Caluccio said. On the day we spoke, they had just cemented the patio, making the September opening that much closer to a reality.
