Joel Brasserie loses liquor license
Joel Brasserie, formerly Joel, has lost its liquor license as of yesterday morning. The restaurant confirmed the rumor (tipped to me by AJC writer John Kessler) earlier today.
“We have been calling our reservations to let them know,” explained chef Cyrille Holata by phone. The chef said that no liquor could be served on the premises, either by short, free pours or BYOB, which is often the case with restaurants waiting for licensing. Apparently former chef-owner Joel Antunes’ name was on the former license, and he is no longer associated with the restaurant. Holata has applied for an entirely new license in his name, which he says could take “3 days to two weeks.”
“When it will come I don’t know,” he told me, “but I have no doubt that it will come.”
The question, of course is when. Applying for an entirely new license is a time-consuming endeavor, as any new restaurant owners will tell you. The five-star restaurant has been falling dramatically from grace since the exit of former chef-owner Joel Antunes for a high-profile gig at the renovated Oak Room inside the Plaza Hotel in New York, and this is yet another dramatic blow.
Nobody ever said chefs were good businessmen. That’s often why they have silent backing partners or visible, charasmatic front men handling the business end of things. Many chefs who don’t have these actually hire legal services to handle the licensing.
As for Joel Antunes, friends say he is spending time between a chef’s gig in Bali and London, where his friend and super-chef Daniel Boulud is said to be trying to obtain a position for him …
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© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
36 comments Add your comment
Jennifer Harbin
August 20th, 2009
3:57 pm
WOW, we just celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary at Joel Brasserie a few days ago and it was a fantastic experience. Ms. Ford is sure making a 180 degree turn on her last official review of this restaurant. It appears that she and the “tipster” John Kessler are out to ensure that they hinder any chance that this restaurant has at surviving. Of course anyone who sees the “Rexall Diner” in Duluth as a culinary treat needs to have her taste buds examined. I sincerely hope that Chef Holota gets past this and we look forward to returning to the restaurant in the near future. Oh and shouldn’t a food critic limit his or her comments to the quality of the fare and service and not try to butt in to legal issues?
Diva_Lady
August 20th, 2009
3:57 pm
Call Attorney Dwight Thomas…He’s the best in these situations.
RK
August 20th, 2009
4:08 pm
“falling dramatically from grace”? What is that about? I think it is consistently great.
jakesdad
August 20th, 2009
4:12 pm
too bad Cambell’s gone – I’m sure this could have been “expedited” during his tenure (”Mr Mayor, I found this briefcase full of unmarked, non-sequential bills outside your office – can you make sure it gets back to its rightful owner? oh, BTW – there’s been a little snafu w/our license & the change of ownership – what floor is that dept on?”…
OneChris
August 20th, 2009
4:13 pm
only Mayor Franklin signs off on the license so it is all in who you know … time to kiss up if you want it expedited otherwise get in line …..Good luck!
Stu G.
August 20th, 2009
4:14 pm
Sounds like comeone has a “meat cleaver” to grind. Meredith obviously has a thing for the old chef and a disdain for the new one. Its a shame that Ms. Ford calls herself a journalist. The title for this article should have been “I don’t have any proof, but Joel Brasserie sucks, believe me, I’m a food ‘critic’”
Oh please. Ms. Ford…if you are going to write such a poor article, at least make it so outrageous that we all get a good laugh out it. Please pander somewhere else. Joel Brasserie as it is, is just find.
Mike
August 20th, 2009
4:30 pm
“Falling from grace…”. I am often suspicious of the motives of these official reviewers. Ford absolutely slammed one of my absolute favorite new restaurants a few weeks back.
J
August 20th, 2009
4:37 pm
I thought AJC gave the new chef a great review not so long ago. I love this restaurant. Not so wild about the AJC spreading word of something that is unfortunate but not unheard of as if this is the end of the far above average restaurant. Isn’t there something real in the food business rather than this sort of pithy tripe?
sad brotha
August 20th, 2009
4:47 pm
Sista Shirley will be glad to help out… just wait in line with all the other whiteys. They don’t need no money… she be lam’in like a duck.
what_what
August 20th, 2009
4:50 pm
first this article has almost no information content. secondly, wtf??? she writes
…… exit of former chef-owner Joel Antunes for a high-profile gig at the renovated Oak Room inside the Plaza Hotel in New York
ok he is working in nyc
but then she writes
As for Joel Antunes, friends say he is spending time between a chef’s gig in Bali and London, where his friend and super-chef Daniel Boulud is said to be trying to obtain a position for him …
huh?????
M
August 20th, 2009
4:52 pm
Can they still serve beer and wine?
Nu uh
August 20th, 2009
4:52 pm
ONEChris is dead on it… Shirley just overruled on the Liquor Board’s denial of a bar on Peter’s Street in Castelberry Hill that wanted an entertainment license so they could hold parties all night long. the neighborhood said “no.” The Liquor Board said “no.” But for some reason Shirley said yes, even though the proprietor has a lengthy criminal history to boot.
Chocolate Habenero
August 20th, 2009
4:55 pm
Thanks for the info. I was planning on taking a group to Joel next weekend. It’s a group of heavy drinkers. I’ll book elsewhere now, but will certainly go back to Joel as soon as the liscense is reinstated. The pastries there are perfection.
blackcatgraycat
August 20th, 2009
5:18 pm
Hello folks — if a high-end restaurant abrupty stops serving wine and other alcohol, the regulars will find out and word will spread. Restaurants make a lot of their money on the booze, and folks who go to higher-end places generally expect to be able to have a glass of wine with their meal. This is news if you’re really a foody.
HERBIE
August 20th, 2009
5:27 pm
M you are stupid
MB
August 20th, 2009
5:33 pm
Of course it was tipped to you by John Kessler…he actually knows what he’s doing.
RK
August 20th, 2009
5:36 pm
Joel Antunes left for the Oak Room, but was then fired months later…
BenThere
August 20th, 2009
5:40 pm
Oh drama. Did someone not comp your dinner, Ms. Ford Goldman? “…falling dramatically from grace…”, The only thing dramatic here is your statement. Grow up.
likes good food
August 20th, 2009
6:07 pm
I guess that the new people running Joel don’t have Meredith Ford on the payroll – hence the negative comments. She’s the worst food critic in the world flaunts her position of food critic when going to a restaurant; how can that possibly give her a clear impression of a restaurant?
Tim
August 20th, 2009
6:34 pm
Does Joel Antunes still own this restaurant?
Janea Boyles
August 20th, 2009
6:35 pm
It is REALLY hard to get an alcohol license in this city. It’s apparently no easier to change the name on a license then it is to get a new one in Atlanta . Getting legal assistance for this is recommended and really quite necessary because of the wavy conundrum of Atlanta’s ordinances. I think it unfair, however, to insinuate the lack of or loss of an alcohol license is a result of someone’s bad business sense or is because of the reputation of the former chef. Moreover, I think we all need to speak up to our elected officials that if we are going to become the world class city Atlanta is desperately driving towards with top notch food on every corner in every neighborhood, these ordinances, and the people who oversee them, need continued evaluation. I have not had the opportunity to dine at Joel in several years, but I’m willing to bet that most of the people working there have been giving every ounce of themselves to keep the place going, put great food out, drive business in this difficult economy, and deal with day to day operations. Chalking this up as yet another bit of bad behavior or arrogant negligence? Is that really fair based on the information in this article? I hope for the sake of the jobs that Joel Brasserie offers to people, the guests who have their life experiences there and the passion that goes into any restaurant of that nature, that they get their license very soon. In the meantime, the lawyers get all the money, the journalists get all the say so and small businesses scratch and struggle to make an identity for themselves in Atlanta. Rock on, independents. Let’s not let these times get us down!
-Janea Boyles, The Mercantile
Tye
August 20th, 2009
6:40 pm
They won’t make it a month.
KevinGT
August 20th, 2009
7:06 pm
Lay everyone off and close for one month. That way everyone gets a quick one month vacation paid for by the Department of Labor. Owners can save some money and everyone can relax before having a massive grand reopening! Maybe a new name just for kicks! Lots of opportunity if handled correctly.
AW
August 20th, 2009
8:58 pm
As a former patron of Joel under Joel Antunes, and a regular patron of Joel Brasserie (including recent experiences) I have consistently had not only standout meals, but also superior service. I can’t imagine what kind of supporting evidence there is that the restaurant “has been dramatically falling from grace.” Whose grace? What fall? The only thing I’ve actually seen fall are some of the prices with the addition of new brasserie menu items. I look forward to another great meal again at Joel very soon. And an even better dining experience once their liquor license is restored (and I can enjoy one of the fabulous wines from their wine list!)
Janea Boyles
August 20th, 2009
9:06 pm
It is REALLY hard to get an alcohol license in this city. It’s apparently no easier to change the name on a license then it is to get a new one in Atlanta . Getting legal assistance for this is recommended and really quite necessary because of the wavy conundrum of Atlanta’s ordinances. I think it unfair, however, to insinuate the lack of or loss of an alcohol license is a result of someone’s bad business sense. Moreover, I think we all need to speak up to our elected officials that if we are going to become the world class city Atlanta is desperately driving towards with top notch food on every corner in every neighborhood, these ordinances, and the people who oversee them, need continued evaluation. I have not had the opportunity to dine at Joel in several years, but I’m willing to bet that most of the people working there have been giving every ounce of themselves to keep the place going, put great food out, drive business in this difficult economy, and deal with day to day operations. Chalking this up as yet another bit of bad behavior or arrogant negligence? Is that really fair based on the information in this article? I hope for the sake of the jobs that Joel Brasserie offers to people, the guests who have their life experiences there and the passion that goes into any restaurant of that nature, that their license is granted very soon! In the meantime, the lawyers get all the money, the journalists get all the say so and small businesses scratch and struggle to make an identity for themselves in Atlanta. Rock on, independents. Let’s not let these times get us down!
-Janea Boyles, The Mercantile
Lullwater
August 20th, 2009
9:23 pm
A story like this that is so off-topic, biased and poorly written casts a spurious shadow that I hope the AJC cleans up by finding a professional in the future to write in the this void.
Susan Scarbrough
August 20th, 2009
10:35 pm
Dude. It’s really hard to get a liquor license in this town. The fact that Holata doesn’t have one doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s a bad businessman. The whisper of an implication that he’s running the restaurant into the ground is just egregious.
It’s not Ford-Goldman’s job to be nice, but it sure would be decent of her to be…decent.
Give the man a chance, for crying out loud.
Buzzer
August 20th, 2009
10:51 pm
I’ll take all bets that Joel Brasserie makes it. In the meantime I’ll drink my wine elsewhere and look forward to this restaurants re-birth in the near future. I sincerely hope they can pull this off and it would be a feather in the City of Atlanta’s cap to assist them as much as they can within the framework of the city’s ordinances. Does the city realize that this will have a domino effect if this restaurant closes,an the city afford to lose the tax revenues generated and the spendable incomes of the restaurant’s employees? Exceptions to the rules can and have been made and I think that in the case of a restaurant of this calibre, consideration should be made. Just my two cents. Best of Luck Chef Holota, I’m rooting for you (unlike the author of this blog).
WH
August 21st, 2009
9:53 am
Meredith Ford? Isn’t that a used car dealership in NJ? Why on earth do they think they have the right to kick around a fantastic Chef and all of his exceptional staff who would probably like nothing better than to serve YOU the best way they can, considering, only to find a “wanna be food critic/reporter” knock them all down with the strike of a pen (in this economy). We love JOEL, their ambience and their servers/staff. Ms. MF is complaining this morning that she was “misinterpreted” by the readers. Does she even read her own stuff? Falling from Grace? is she “reporting” from her experience since the Kessler’s “transfer”? Who cares about the ill-fated “laid-off” Joel, his whereabouts or who he is in bed with while in Asia? Maybe they need a “1 star” food critic in Bali! As for the City of Atlanta’s doing: one more reason NOT to socialize this country Health system: On the menu would be red tape appetizers with a moron vinaigrette, a “dragging everybody around for months” entree, finishing with a delightful serving of higher taxes topped with a flavorful permanence. I can see a new reality show on the Bali horizon: The Shirley Franklin, Meredith Ford and Joel Antunes show, straight from Bali: falling from Grace! Hold the press!!!
Kevrock/Smarty Jones
August 21st, 2009
10:56 am
Good God Folks! She just reported they lost their liquor license.
It sounds like a lot of you worked there and now are going to lose your tips, etc….It’s not your fault but the new owners.
The city of ATL should not let another business and TAX REVENUE go out of business for this reason. Come on Atlanta get it together. You blew it with Buchhead and lost MILLIONS for your dumbheaded moves before.
J
August 21st, 2009
11:49 am
Actually Kevrock/Smarty Jones – most people are pointing out that she wrote a glowing report about the new chef and the food in the spring. That many frequent the restaurant and not sure what she means by “fall from grace.” She has been 1) Remarkable inconsistent as a journalist who writes about food for a living. 2) She didn’t just say they lost their liquor license, she went on to strongly hint at the restaurant closing – if that were the case, we all would appreciate some sources on that topic rather than what is here.
The point many are making is that it seems to be a silly article in the first place and poorly written at that – would be nice for an article to have real meaning.
Facts and information should be a part of a good reporter’s regular work – Ms Ford has none of these qualities. When the AJC went through its reorganization – we got left with a trash rag. Unfortunate for a major city.
Meanwhile – you can take pot shots at Buckhead if you wish – easy target.
JOËL BRASSERIE will remain open, PR rep says | Omnivore Atlanta
August 21st, 2009
12:30 pm
[...] reported yesterday by Meredith Ford in the AJC , JOËL BRASSERIE is currently without a liquor license. Since then, rumors have been flying that the restaurant would potentially be closing next week. [...]
JC
August 21st, 2009
6:57 pm
My husband and I have been enjoying JOEL for the past few years and the food has been amazing and more importantly consistent everytime. I enjoy the new chef, Cyrille much more than former chef Joel. On more than one occassion, we have seen Cyrille come out from behind the kitchen and engage with his customers which is something I had never seen from the previous Chef. To me, that shows he cares and to say that the restaurant has fallen from grace since the exit of Joel couldnt’t be farther from the truth. We can’t wait to go back and wish them the best of luck.
journalist
August 21st, 2009
10:57 pm
Meredith suffered probably sudden short memory loss when she was writing this article. She forgot probably about the great review she gave Joel restaurant and Holota in the spring mentioning that food tastes even better. Think twice before you write next time Meredith, this made you to look really unprofessional.
Amy
September 10th, 2009
5:42 pm
They have their new license. The restaurant is still awesome. The Food is still fabulous. The staff is wonderful. Chef Holata and the rest of the chefs are c’est magnifique. All the negativity is unnecessary.
Merideth Ford
September 11th, 2009
11:43 am
I’m a moron OK?