Steve Simon and his partners opened South City Kitchen in Atlanta in 1993. A year later, they attempted to emulate a Starbucks-like experience and opened three cafes in the market. Three years later, they pulled out of their coffee experiment.
“I’d like to say that everything we’ve done has been a hit, but sometimes we make the wrong decisions. We had a bad strategy because we tried to run cafes like a full-service restaurant,” Simon said in a recent interview.
So they focused more on full-service restaurants and formed Fifth Group Restaurants. South City remains the flagship and most successful restaurant in the portfolio, which now also includes La Tavola, Ela, Lure, Ecco, Alma Cocina and Bold Catering & Design. Cuisines range from contemporary Mexican cuisine at Alma Cocina to modern European cuisine at Ecco.
It’s been a slow and steady growth strategy for Fifth Group and there have been many successes (and a few failures, such as with the coffee shops). Simon has learned from his 30+ years of experience that it helps to differentiate the dining experience – everything from the culinary offering to the design and atmosphere.
“We love designing restaurants and creating spaces and environments that people fall in love with. We always want to do something that’s fresh. Creating a beautiful environment attracts people and brings them back,” Simon said. “They have more interesting conversations in an environment that is pleasant and stimulating, and where the service is provided with the right level of energy and professionalism.”
Plus, it helps ensure the bills get paid, which is how Fifth Group has built a strong reputation in the Atlanta market, Simon said, noting that most of the company’s locations have come from landlords who have proactively reached out.
“That’s our norm. It’s a fickle business, but everyone seems to be happy with our track record. We pay our bills and stay in our spaces for a long time. What costs landlords money is turnover,” Simon said. “They look at us as more than just rent. They look at us as an amenity.”
Balancing that business acumen with the creative side – the menu, the interior design, etc. – is Fifth Group’s priority. Simon said the company has a large number of culinary and business leaders who metaphorically run the company the way a pilot runs a plane.
“If you look at a cockpit, the pilot has a million little buttons to push. We feel like we’re doing the same thing. We’re hyper-focused on culinary and business, on how we’re doing operationally; are we getting menu changes done on time or are we dragging our feet? We have to keep the balance. If it’s too artsy, the business model is dead. If you get too businesslike, it gets too boring and people stop coming,” Simon said.
Fifth Group will maintain that balance as it plans its next steps. First up are several brand refreshes, starting with seafood concept Lure. Simon said such updates are especially important now that consumers are becoming more sophisticated and younger consumers represent a larger target audience.
The company is also focusing on becoming more sustainable and cost-effective, for example by selecting more efficient equipment and composting. There is also potential for further growth.
“We want to continue to grow the South City brand. People want that,” Simon said.
He is in talks with a hotel in Dallas to potentially license the brand. If such a deal comes to fruition, it would be Fifth Group’s first expansion outside of Georgia. The company currently licenses three locations at the Atlanta airport, and Simon said the licensing has been “a good thing for us.” However, there is currently no commitment and no expansion guidelines. For Fifth Group, it remains as it has been since the beginning – slow and steady.
“All I have right now is a plane ticket,” Simon said. “We don’t have a specific goal in mind. We just want to create something that we know will last.”
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