Speakeasy concept Red Phone Booth planned for former Dailey's location

January 22,2016

http://atlantarestaurants.blog.ajc.com

If you miss Prohibition, the Speakeasy-style bar that closed at the end of December, along with seven other bars, clubs and restaurants in Andrews Entertainment District in Buckhead, you’re in luck.

Steve de Haan, who served as the president of Andrews Entertainment District, has big plans for his latest venture, ’20s Speakeasy concept Red Phone Booth, named for the red phone booth used to enter the space (and previously used to enter Prohibition).

One location is already in the works at the two-story building at 17 Andrew Young International Blvd. in downtown Atlanta, which previously housed Dailey’s Restaurant & Bar, with a second to open in early summer in a yet-to-be-announced location in Buckhead and a third to-be-determined location later this year.

But de Haan has his sites set beyond Atlanta — he’s working with a franchise group to open seven more Red Door locations around the southeast by the end of 2017, including spots in Charlotte, Charleston and New Orleans, with hopes to eventually go national.

Red Phone Booth will feature craft cocktails and a full selection of cigars, complete with a walk-in humidor.

De Haan is also dipping his toes back into the restaurateur waters with a planned Neapolitan-style pizzeria, Amalfi, set to open above the downtown location of Red Phone Booth. He’ll travel to Naples next month to train with pizza chefs, then bring his expertise back to the 170-seat restaurant.

“We’re sparing no expense,” de Haan says of Amalfi, which will feature two 6,000-pound ovens craned in through the roof.

In addition, de Haan also now holds the lease for the Atlanta Improv, previously located in the Andrews Entertainment District, and plans to re-open at the beginning of the summer next to the Buckhead Red Phone Booth location.