Courtesy of the Victorian Atlanta
The Victorian Atlanta opened its Ponce City Market plant shop in 2017. On December 31, it will shut its doors for the last time with plans to reopen in New City Properties’ nearby Fourth Ward mixed-use development on North Angier Avenue near Historic Fourth Ward Park. Targeting a spring launch, the brighter, bigger Victorian will feature a cocktail bar focused on plant-driven drinks.
“We were offered a really awesome opportunity that we couldn’t pass up,” says Cary Smith, who owns the Victorian with his wife, Libby Hockenberry. “We want it to be more of an experience, so there are multiple reasons to come by.”
The 3,400-square-foot space includes a mezzanine overlooking the plant shop with its own entrance and a stairwell that goes into the shop. That’s where the bar will be located.
“It’s something our customers have asked for [at our East Atlanta location], where we have a coffee program with Bellwood,” says Hockenberry, who brings bartending experience from Sister Louisa’s Church and Manuel’s Tavern.
She describes the space as “super lounge-y, moody, and sexy,” with a 10-seat bar and space for 35 inside, plus additional seats on the patio. The terracotta green-and-neutral look is inspired by Roberto Burle Marx, a Brazilian landscape architect and artist in the 1960s. He discovered many of the tropical plants sold at the Victorian.
The couple hired Ben Richardson of Cocktail Commons as a bar consultant. He’ll help them put together a beverage menu with eight to 10 signature cocktails and mocktails, as well as a small, rotating beer and wine list. Prepackaged snacks made offsite will be available, too.
Visitors will be able to walk around the shop with their drinks, checking out the pottery wall, plant shower, and interactive potting bench.
“With three walls of floor-to-ceiling glass and 26-foot ceilings, the space better lends itself to plant life,” Hockenberry says. “We’re really excited for Atlanta to see it. It’’ll be beautiful.”
