Since September 1, the corner that Char Korean Bar & Grill held for nearly a decade has been serving pizza cut into stars. Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza opened at Inman Quarter that day, according to What Now Atlanta. It is the Miami-born brand's third Georgia location, after Buckhead and Sandy Springs. The courtyard-level space that Hampton + Hudson left when it closed in 2024 is due to reopen this fall as Blue Willow.
Read separately, those are two restaurant announcements. Read together with the courtyard construction that started this February, they follow a sequence. The owners fixed the ground between the two spaces, leased the storefront that faces the street, and are now bringing in the tenant for the space that faces the courtyard itself.
The Highland Avenue Frontage Went First
Char sat at the 299 North Highland Avenue address, with direct access from the street and the Beltline side of the property. ToNeTo Atlanta reported that it closed in May 2025 after nine years. That is a storefront with built-in visibility, so it makes sense that it was the first to be re-let.
The lease was announced on November 20, 2025, in a release from Jamestown. The unit is 1,440 square feet, with a 1,000-square-foot patio and Little Spirit as its neighbor. Earlier reporting put it at roughly half the size of the brand's Buckhead and Sandy Springs restaurants, which means the patio does a lot of the work. Opening was projected for spring 2026 and happened in September.
The menu is short. Pizzas come in 8-inch and 13-inch sizes, built on a dough fermented for 72 to 96 hours. The star-shaped pies have ricotta-filled crust points, as in the Star Luca. Other menu items reported at opening include the Coffee Paolo, with gorgonzola, honey, coffee and spicy salami, and a Nutella Banana Calzone. The Mimmo, with spicy salami, Italian sausage, honey, basil, ranch and black truffle seasoning, is also on the list.
The Courtyard Space Waited Longest
Hampton + Hudson opened on May 25, 2016, in the courtyard between the two residential wings of Inman Quarter. The husband-and-wife team of Billy and Jenn Streck designed a 3,500-square-foot community bar around a barn-wood bar and big screens. It closed in 2024.
Blue Willow takes over the former Hampton + Hudson space, listed at 3,600 square feet, off the courtyard. It is a Hunan-focused restaurant founded in New York City in 2020 by Vincent Lin, and Atlanta will be its first location outside New York. The menu includes Chairman Mao's red-braised pork, bone-in ginger chicken, roasted Peking duck, hand-pulled noodles and dim sum, with Baijiu-infused cocktails at the bar. Lin told the press he spent much of his childhood in Atlanta after immigrating from China, and called the return "a full-circle moment".
No opening date has been published. The Infatuation lists it as opening fall 2026, and that is as specific as the announcements get.
| Space | Operator | Size | Status as of Sept. 29, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Avenue frontage, next to Little Spirit | Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza | 1,440 sq ft plus 1,000 sq ft patio | Open since September 1 |
| Courtyard level, former Hampton + Hudson | Blue Willow | 3,600 sq ft | Announced for fall, date not confirmed |
| 337 Elizabeth St. NE | Mushi Ni | Not published | Open since March 2026 |
What Changed Between the Two Announcements
In March 2025, Jamestown, whose Atlanta portfolio includes Ponce City Market, Colony Square and Buckhead Village, bought a minority stake in Inman Quarter alongside longtime owner TriBridge Residential. The stated plan had three parts: better common spaces, a community events program, and "curated lease-up of retail vacancies."
The courtyard work followed. An Urbanize Atlanta report describes a water feature that had been a point of pride for the original developers being decommissioned. In its place goes an elevated wood-clad deck meant for small-scale programming. Sculptural benches add seating, and new power points support pop-up activations. A large-scale mural, fresh landscaping, new pavers and upgraded tree lighting along North Highland Avenue round out the list. The work was slated to finish in spring, and I could not find a confirmed completion date.
A courtyard restaurant depends on the courtyard, and Blue Willow sits off one that now has a deck built for small events. Jamestown's head of retail leasing, Adam Schwegman, said the goal is to bring in chef-driven concepts "that add something truly distinctive". Applied here, that means a Miami pizzeria with a patio on the street side, and a Shanghai-inspired dining room on the courtyard side.
One detail reinforces the sequence. Inman Quarter now has an open-container designation, so a to-go drink bought from a participating restaurant on the property can be carried between them. That rule only matters when there is somewhere to stand with the drink, and the deck is that place. It also makes the two restaurants, plus Beetlecat, Little Spirit, MF Sushi and VinoTeca, easier to combine in a single evening. Look for posted signage on the property for the specifics, since the designation applies within Inman Quarter and only to participating businesses.
Elizabeth Street Has Its Own Second Location
Mushi Ni opened in March at 337 Elizabeth St. NE, and its history is a useful comparison. Michael Le and Tanya Jimenez started as a pop-up, then took a stall in the now-defunct East Atlanta We Suki Suki food hall, then spent three years at Chattahoochee Food Works. The Elizabeth Street restaurant is their second location, and the Food Works stall stays open. According to the AJC, the larger space allowed a bigger menu and a full bar, with cocktails developed by a former Little Trouble bartender.
An operator with an existing restaurant chose to expand into Inman Park. Blue Willow, with one existing restaurant in New York, is making a similar move. Mister O1 arrived with two Georgia restaurants already open. Each of the three was a second or third location rather than a first, which suggests the block is being chosen by operators who already know what they sell.
Restaurant Hours and Calendar Notes
Mister O1 is already open, and it is worth remembering that Jamestown's original projection was spring. Blue Willow's fall estimate could move the same way, so a check of the restaurant's own channels before planning around a specific evening is sensible. Mushi Ni's hours as reported in March were Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Those may have changed since.
Inman Park Restaurant Week ran March 23 to 29 this year, with tasting menus from Beetlecat, bartaco, Fritti, Sotto Sotto, Wisteria and Wrecking Bar Brewpub, among others. No dates for 2027 have been announced.
If you are curious how the Inman Quarter turnover fits into the rest of Inman Park, or you have been thinking about your own next chapter near Elizabeth Street and North Highland Avenue, the team at HOME Luxury Real Estate is glad to talk it through. Contact Us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
