A hotel concept co-founded by Hollywood actor Robert De Niro is coming to Buckhead’s Phipps Plaza, AtlantaFi has learned. The Nobu Hotels brand will grace the 150-room structure in the space formerly occupied by Belk department store.
The hotel will also include a 10,000-square foot Nobu Matsuhisa restaurant featuring Japanese restaurant. The space will also have a three-level Life Time fitness athletic club featuring a spa, rooftop pool and kids academy.
Nobu Hotel Coming To Buckhead
The project will be ready to open sometime in November 2022, according to The Beck Group, the development’s contractor. The Beck Group notably was hired by Simon to renovate Phipps Plaza’s facade, modernizing it for new tenants.
Matsuhisa, a world renowned chef, recalls that he met De Niro in one of his early restaurants.
“When I opened Matsuhisa in LA, Bob came in,” he told Country and Townhouse. “He seemed familiar to me but I had no idea who he was. He loved the black cod miso and after his dinner, he asked me to join them for a drink. This was our first conversation. He would drop into Matsuhisa whenever he was in LA – sometimes he brought friends or his agent. After a while, he suggested we start a restaurant together in New York. Matsuhisa had only been open for a couple years and I wasn’t ready to open a restaurant somewhere else. I wanted to focus on making Matsuhisa a success first.
“Bob continued to visit me at Matsuhisa and four years later, he called me at home and said ‘Nobu, how about it?’ I decided it was a good time, so we signed a partnership contract and opened our first restaurant in New York in 1994.”
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Final Word
Looking for more exciting things to do and see in Atlanta’s most affluent enclave? Read our guide to Buckhead.
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