:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63875223/Screen_Shot_2015-08-18_at_12.36.55_PM.0.0.png)
Nearly three years after purchasing local Atlanta coffee brand Octane from Diane and Tony Riffel, Revelator lets its lease expire at the Jane in Grant Park on December 31. Little Tart Bakeshop, which has shared the space with the coffee shop since its Octane days, takes over the entire space, including its kitchen, starting January 1, 2020.
In addition to the Jane, Revelator isn’t renewing the lease at the Woodruff Arts Center in midtown, set to expire May 31.
“We’ve just decided not to renew the leases on these spaces with all the other projects we have coming up in Atlanta. As for the Jane, looking back to the beginning when that location first opened, both Octane and Little Tart were very young companies,” Revelator president Josh Owen tells Eater Atlanta. “It made a lot of sense to go into that space together then. But over time, both companies have grown a lot, and sharing a space like that doesn’t make as much sense now.”
As for the employees at the Jane location, many will shift to other positions within the company, including to one of the four new Revelator-branded cafes and shops opening soon in Peachtree Corners, Queen of Cream inside Phipps Plaza and at Plaza on Ponce, and Hazel Jane’s Wine Bar and Coffee in the Old Fourth Ward.
Revelator just opened their first commissary kitchen in the city, which supplies all of the company’s baked goods and sandwiches to its Atlanta locations. Hazel Jane’s cafe includes a full-service kitchen run by chef Brad Morris. It’s expected to open along the Eastside Beltline later this summer.
At present, no major changes are planned for Octane-Revelator’s original location on Marietta Street. Although, a renovation could happen over the next year.
Owen says he’s “thrilled” to see Sarah O’Brien expanding Little Tart in Grant Park, where the bakery first began eight years ago. The Jane is currently Little Tart’s main production facility. This expansion eventually doubles the bakery’s production.
O’Brien, who opened her first full-service cafe in Summerhill in January, says she’ll spend the next six months rethinking how to work the Grant Park space to accommodate Little Tart’s needs — especially in the kitchen.
“It’s almost eight years old, so it’s definitely due for a fresh coat of paint and some new furniture. I love Grant Park so much,” says O’Brien. “I live in the neighborhood, and when I opened Little Tart at the Jane, I wanted to be close by so I could walk over. We’re not going anywhere, and we’re excited to see what the future holds for us there now.”
As for what the future entails for Little Tart-Grant Park, O’Brien is considering some “fun ideas” but, wouldn’t elaborate any further.
“My staff and I have been working out of the same kitchen there for eight years back when I had just one shop and a couple of farmers markets.”
“We’re very busy production-wise so, a huge part of what I’m focusing on right now is the addition of more kitchen space and causing as little disruption to our customers as possible once we take over the entire space next year.”
Little Tart-Grant Park will likely serve Counter Culture coffee, as it does at Krog Street Market and in Summerhill.
For now, it’s business as usual at the Jane for both Revelator and Little Tart.
Throughout May, Hazel Jane’s beverage director Melissa Davis and Morris pop-up in Grant Park on Wednesday evenings, starting at 6 p.m., offering previews of the food and wine on the menu at the forthcoming cafe and bar.
