The long stretch of renovation work on Candler Park's historic retail strip is finally winding down, and the headline addition is a pair of sister businesses from one of Atlanta's best-known bakeshop names. Little Tart Bakeshop is preparing to open its fourth location in the 1600 block of McLendon Avenue, right alongside a brand-new Paris-inspired concept called Midi that will pour cocktails and serve sandwiches under the same roof.
The commercial row sits on the southern side of McLendon Avenue, directly across from Candler Park Market and Gigi's Italian Kitchen & Restaurant, according to Urbanize Atlanta. Renovations and a wave of tenant turnover there are nearly complete, the outlet reports, closing out a stretch of change that has remade several storefronts along the block. Little Tart and Midi are taking over the combined space once occupied by bridal shop Kelly's Closet and Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party, situated next to La Fonda Latina.
Midi is led by Little Tart owner Sarah O'Brien and will share a kitchen and restrooms with the bakeshop next door, though the two will run separate menus. Per the same report, Midi plans to serve fresh breads baked by Little Tart alongside sandwiches, salads, small bites, classic cocktails and curated wines, with ice cream rounding out the lineup. A takeout window along McLendon Avenue is also planned for soft-serve treats, and the business is said to be filling numerous job openings as it gears up to open.
No Firm Date, But a Fall Countdown
Business leaders have not committed to an exact opening date for Midi, but have recently said they are counting down the days to an anticipated fall debut, the report notes. That timeline tracks with earlier coverage from WhatNow Atlanta, which previously reported that both Little Tart and Midi were expected to open this fall and placed the bakeshop's address at 1643 McLendon Ave. NE. Separately, Candler Park's neighborhood association had earlier described plans for Big Softie to take the storefront adjacent to Little Tart, while more recent reporting identifies that space as Midi's — the two accounts differ on which concept landed in the former Dr. Bombay's footprint.
Little Tart already operates locations in Grant Park, Summerhill and Krog Street Market, so Candler Park will mark its fourth outpost. The Midi project is notable beyond the neighborhood, too: according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the owners of Little Tart Bakeshop and Big Softie describe it as their first new restaurant concept in seven years. That same outlet has reported that Big Softie's newest location, in Old Fourth Ward, occupies a compact 300-square-foot space built around a walk-up soft-serve window.
A Block Reshaped Since Flying Biscuit's Exit
The retail strip's transformation traces back to the departure of a neighborhood fixture. Flying Biscuit Café, which first opened at the corner of McLendon and Clifton in 1993, relocated to the former Lazy Betty space on DeKalb Avenue, according to Rough Draft Atlanta. That same report detailed Dr. Bombay's Underwater Tea Party's move from Candler Park to Grant Park, another piece of the shuffle that has reshaped the block's tenant mix.
Rough Draft Atlanta's later coverage described the block as having been slowly changing since Flying Biscuit's 2024 move after three decades in business. Into that vacated footprint stepped two very different newcomers: Lostintheletters, a writing studio, bookstore and event venue, opened a brick-and-mortar home base in part of the old café space, according to Atlanta Magazine, which described it as a workspace, bookstore and venue rolled into one that hosts quarterly readings, workshops and studio hours.
Next door, Lucille's renovated and opened the corner space immediately east of Lostintheletters, sitting at Clifton Road and McLendon Avenue. The gift shop sells size- and gender-inclusive lingerie, books, jewelry and personal-care products, according to Rough Draft Atlanta's report on the shop. Separate coverage from Haute Living describes Lucille's as a luxury gift store for the romantically inclined, occupying the former bakery and takeaway space of the original Flying Biscuit café, and notes the shop has hosted events including “Kink for the Curious” and “Sling That Strap,” the latter billed as a complete guide to strap-on sex with any kind of partner.
Nearly Back to Full Occupancy
Taken together, the changes point to a retail resurgence along a strip that had lost some of its longtime anchors. Urbanize Atlanta's earlier coverage of the shakeup described the block as undergoing a retail resurgence and predicted the row would be back to fully leased liveliness soon. With Little Tart and Midi closing in on their debuts, Candler Park's historic commercial strip looks poised to complete that comeback this fall.
