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Cousins’ plan for Terminus keeps growing

Aquaknox and Lola to brand Terminus tower
Atlanta Business Chronicle - March 24, 2006
by Rachel Tobin Ramos

The new restaurants at Terminus 100, Cousins Properties Inc.'s 27-story Buckhead office building, are meant to offer more than just lunches and business dinners.

They will "brand" the project, giving it a sense of place, according to Kevin Polston, the head of retail leasing for Cousins (NYSE: CUZ) who's been deciding what will go in the 35,000 square feet of available restaurant space.

Cousins is mixing Atlanta newcomers Aquaknox and BrickTop's with two successful Atlanta mainstays, MF Sushi Bar and restaurateur Tom Catherall.

The restaurants, slated to open in May 2007, represent millions of dollars in investment.

British-born and Atlanta-based Catherall, of Here to Serve, said he plans to spend at least $3 million to develop Lola, his first Italian concept.

Expect California inspired-Italian food, light on heavy sauces and heavy on vegetables.

Catherall said Lola will be very feminine, like the name. "We want to attract the ladies," because where women go, men follow, he said. Lola will be Catherall's seventh Atlanta restaurant.

Aquaknox will be Atlanta's first restaurant from Orlando, Fla.'s E-Brands Restaurants. The "global water cuisine" was originated by Chef Stephan Pyles in Dallas, but after several ownership swaps, E-Brands bought the name and opened Aquaknox in The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.

That's where Polston found it on his annual trip to the International Conference of Shopping Centers. (The Dallas restaurant is closed.)

E-Brands Chief Operating Officer Charly Robinson said the Atlanta restaurant will cost about $4 million. He likes Atlanta because it's "a sophisticated city," and "Buckhead is the hub of business and travel in Atlanta."

This will be Aquaknox's second restaurant. The dinner-only concept in Las Vegas generates about $10 million in revenue, where average tickets are about $75.