:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72388417/229414572_535946014410072_2905811245281935396_n.0.jpeg)
Japanese-Korean restaurant Salaryman closes Saturday, June 24, after four years at the Hosea and 2nd development in East Lake. But according to a Facebook announcement, the restaurant space next door to Poor Hendrix won’t remain empty for long, as “the landlords have something cool cooking already.”
Korean Wives Hospitality Group partner Michael Lo (Suzy Siu’s Baos, Ramen Station) opened Salaryman in 2019, taking over the former Mary Hoopa’s House of Fried Chicken on the corner of Hosea L. Williams Drive and 2nd Avenue. The restaurant serves ramen and yakisoba, bao, a wagyu beef burger topped Boursin cheese and crispy prosciutto, arugula, Korean fried chicken wings, and poutine tossed with beef bulgogi, kimchi, cheese, and gravy. Salaryman takes its name from the term used to describe a white collar business person in Japan.
The group opened a second location of Salaryman this winter in the Toco Hill Shopping Center on North Druid Hills Road.
“We made the decision to close East Lake based on business conditions. We are working with all of our existing staff to relocate to one of our other restaurants,” Lo tells Eater. “The Toco Hills location has been a great success so far and this will allow us to combine some talent and resources, making it even better. We’re excited to start offering sushi and other exciting menu items at Toco Hills very soon.”
The closure of Salaryman at Hosea and 2nd marks another big change in the restaurant lineup at Hosea and 2nd over the last few months.
In May, La Fonda Latina opened in the former Lake and Oak BBQ space at the development, home to Poor Hendrix, Hippin Hops Brewery, and Perc Coffee. Owners Clay Harper and Mike Nelson, who own Fellini’s Pizza, closed the longtime Howell Mill Road location of La Fonda in January in order to relocate it to East Lake. Harper and Nelson opened Greater Good BBQ in the East Lake space before closing the barbecue restaurant in 2019. The duo are also partial owners in Hosea and 2nd with Nathan Bolster and Jay Martin of ReDevStudio, having purchased the four corners at 2nd Avenue and Hosea L. Williams Drive in 2015 from the Cousins Family Foundation.
Eater reached out to the owners of Hosea and 2nd for more details on Salaryman’s replacement.
