Podcast 347 – Dunwoody Isn’t Just Known for Perimeter Mall Anymore – Mark Galvin

Dunwoody Isn’t Just Known for Perimeter Mall Anymore

For decades, people outside Dunwoody, Georgia knew our city for one thing, Perimeter Mall, and Mark Galvin of Discover Dunwoody joined me to talk about why that’s changing fast. Dunwoody has added 53 new restaurants in the last four years, and High Street, Ashford Lane, and Campus 244 are giving the rest of Atlanta a whole new reason to come here.

In This Episode

• Mark Galvin of Discover Dunwoody says High Street, Ashford Lane, and Campus 244 are making Dunwoody “more Avalon-esque” and a lot easier to get to.
• High Street Phase 2 went before Dunwoody City Council in October 2026 with a plan to open the development up so drivers can see inside.
• Adega Gaucha, a Florida Brazilian steakhouse, opens its first Georgia location at Twelve24 on Hammond Drive in December 2026.
• Dunwoody’s 10 hotels charge about $30 more per night than Sandy Springs, because guests can walk to more.
• Discover Dunwoody moves its office to High Street in mid-November 2026, built around a new podcast studio.

Two Dunwoodys That Make Our City So Great

If you live here, you know Dunwoody has always been two places at once.

There’s the Dunwoody of big, older neighborhoods. Neighborhood pools. Swim and tennis clubs. Tennis teams. Neighborhood Facebook groups that know everything before the news does.

Then there’s the Perimeter side of Dunwoody. Tall office buildings, hotels, and really nice restaurants.

People who live in Dunwoody have always known both. But if you’re from somewhere else in Atlanta or the Southeast, you probably knew us for one thing. Perimeter Mall.

Mark said it himself. Perimeter Mall will always be the nucleus, “the center of mass” of the Dunwoody and Perimeter area. We even took our nickname from it. People say “Perimeter” and mean us.

What’s changing is everything around Perimeter Mall. High Street, Ashford Lane, Campus 244, and Park Place are adding what Mark called “more depth” to the area. People are starting to know Dunwoody for those places too.

That’s what the title of this episode means. Dunwoody isn’t just known for Perimeter Mall anymore.

Is Dunwoody’s Perimeter Area the Next Avalon?

I asked Mark how people will describe Dunwoody five years from now. His answer stuck with me more than anything else in the episode.

“Dunwoody is seen maybe more Avalon-esque,” Mark said. “And we’re certainly a lot easier to get to than Avalon.”

If you’ve ever fought GA-400 traffic to get up to Alpharetta, you know exactly what he means.

Here’s my take. Dunwoody doesn’t have one Avalon. It has a bunch of little Avalons, sitting almost on top of each other. High Street, Ashford Lane, and Campus 244 are all within a few hundred yards away from Perimeter Mall. That’s one massive commercial area, and it’s starting to run together in the best possible way.

And I’ll go one step further. When High Street is finished, I think it’s going to be bigger and better than the original Avalon. People used to think of Perimeter Mall when they heard “Dunwoody.” I think they’re going to start thinking of High Street.

None of these developments existed just a few years ago. That’s the part that blows my mind.

Why Do Companies Keep Choosing Dunwoody?

Location. That’s the short answer, and Mark said it better than I could.

“We sit at the corner of two very important highways,” Mark said. “We’re hot real estate.”

Dunwoody sits right at the intersection of I-285 and GA-400. Mark pointed out that businesses want access to an affluent area. They also want to connect to the rest of Atlanta through 400 and 285. “And not to mention MARTA,” he added. The Dunwoody MARTA station sits right in the middle of it all.

“You’ve got all these transportation hubs that run right through our neighborhood,” Mark said. “It makes us very attractive.”

That lines up with something William Pitts of Saints + Council told me on Podcast 336. He said Dunwoody carries as much office square footage as Buckhead. That’s a lot of people who need somewhere to eat lunch, grab a drink after work, and stay overnight.

Since 2020, I feel like everything around Perimeter Mall has taken off. There’s building going on everywhere. In my opinion, Dunwoody’s location is second to none, and the big companies and developers figured that out before a lot of us did.

What’s Happening With High Street Phase 2?

High Street is getting redesigned so you can actually see what’s inside it.

Mark told me High Street’s owner, GID Development Group, went in front of Dunwoody City Council to talk about reformatting Phase 2. The goal is simple. When you drive past High Street, you’ll be able to see into it.

“The feeling is that people don’t really understand what’s on the other side of those walls,” Mark said, “which I have a tendency to agree with.”

The first public hearing was October 13, and council is scheduled to vote on October 26, 2026. GID wants to swap a planned residential building on Block 6 for a central greenspace, luxury retail, and a parking podium underneath. Mayor Lynn Deutsch called the swap “critical.” In her words, “I think people don’t necessarily know what they’re seeing at High Street.”

I actually made a Top End ATL video about this, so I did a lot of homework. High Street is supposed to be 10 blocks when it’s done. Right now there are four finished blocks. So if you think High Street is big now, and I do, it’s going to be more than double that.

The next pieces are blocks 5 and 6. When GID came to council, council basically said open it up so Dunwoody knows what’s there. The only way to do that was to cut a large planned apartment building out of the plan. And High Street agreed almost on the spot!

I think that’s amazing. It says a lot about the conversation between our city and a company that seems to have unlimited money.

What Is High Street Planning Next?

Mark said High Street is also hunting for a major tenant, a big name retailer that would create more pull. He used Living Spaces as an example. If Living Spaces weren’t already building in front of the Ravinia, a store like that could anchor High Street.

Phase 3 could bring something Dunwoody doesn’t have yet. Mark said they’re talking about another hotel, and it would be “upper upscale,” a higher level than anything currently in Dunwoody or the Perimeter.

“They’re looking at Buckhead hotel style rates at that one hotel,” Mark said. “It’s one of the things that we just don’t have to offer.”

For context, High Street is a roughly $2 billion, 36-acre project near Perimeter Center Parkway and Hammond Drive. Phase 1 brought about 600 apartments, office space, and around 150,000 square feet of retail around a central lawn. Mark confirmed the apartments filled up quickly.

I hope High Street hits every one of these goals, because Dunwoody needs High Street to succeed.

Discover Dunwoody Is Moving to High Street

Discover Dunwoody is putting its money where its mouth is.

Mark and the team move into their new High Street office in the middle of November. It’s in the office building at the far end of the development, a building that’s been there a while and was folded into High Street.

Here’s my favorite detail. “Our podcast studio is the center of the new office,” Mark said. “We quite literally built the office around the podcast studio.” That’s the new home of Dunwoody Dialogues, and Mark invited me to come guest host, so a crossover episode might be coming.

They’ll let things settle through December, then host a welcome event in January. Mark is hoping Mayor Deutsch stops by. He joked that she might want to call it her new office.

Also, I tried to take the original “Everything Will Be OK” sign the last time I visited. I was stopped. Mark says I can have it now. If you’d like to own a tiny piece of Dunwoody history, I’ll keep you posted.

How Do You Park at High Street?

High Street’s parking is easy once you know the trick. The first visit is the hard one.

I compared High Street’s next Phase 2 to Atlantic Station, because Atlantic Station is built on top of a giant parking deck. That’s what they are talking about doing now that the layout is opened up. Mark’s point is that you park once and walk everywhere. “You don’t need to run back and forth to your car,” he said. And it’s outdoors, which makes it a good complement to Perimeter Mall. “The mall and High Street work well together,” Mark said. Ashford Lane is the same way. Those are both great options to visit after indoor shopping at Perimeter Mall.

Mark gave me his go-to route for Rosetta Bakery. Coming down Perimeter Center Parkway from the Ashford Lane side, skip the first light into High Street. Take the next entrance, the more nondescript one before Velvet Taco. Turn right, then right again into the parking deck. It’s covered, and you walk straight out to Varuni Napoli and Rosetta Bakery. An escalator takes you up to Agave Bandido and everything else.

Mark also made a great point about us Dunwoodians. We’re used to places like Dunwoody Tavern, where you pull into a regular surface lot and see the door from your car. The first time you park in a deck, you might walk a couple hundred extra feet of slight confusion. After that, it’s terrific. Even better than surface lots in many cases.

Dunwoody Needs to Get Used to Parking Decks

I’ll say what Mark was too polite to say. Dunwoody complains about parking decks.

People say it about High Street. Ashford Lane has a parking deck too, and I hear the same thing. I kind of understand it. But look at the businesses we have now, the really nice ones. A lot of them come with a parking deck. That’s the way it’s going to be.

Here’s my take, and you can quote me on this. The really nice areas are going to have parking decks, and Dunwoody is just going to have to get used to that.

I also think Mayor Lynn Deutsch and council were smart to push High Street to open up. Right now it can feel intimidating. People drive past, see the walls, and think, “That’s High Street, but I don’t know how to get in there.” So they go somewhere else.

Compare that to Town Center in Peachtree Corners. There’s one obvious entrance, it opens up, and you can see everything behind it. That’s what High Street needs.

What Is Ashford Lane Doing Right?

Ashford Lane was the first of these new destinations, and Mark usually recommends it and sends visitors there first.

“Ashford Lane has been very successful with their new green space and great restaurants,” Mark said. He rattled off Culinary Dropout, Taco Mac, and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Mark said he can’t get anywhere near Jeni’s without his wife saying they have to go. “We could take 20 minutes to go through everything that’s at Ashford Lane,” he said.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is there too. More on that one in a minute.

Full disclosure, I work with Ashford Lane on their events, so I’m a little biased. But Mark brought it up first, and it’s the oldest of these spots, and it’s only a few years old. CTO Realty Growth bought the property right after COVID and redeveloped it around a big community lawn. Marketing director Autry Graham described it to me on Podcast 344 as “a little bit of a taste of Beltline” brought to the Perimeter.

If you live in Dunwoody and you haven’t been to an event on that lawn, go. That’s exactly the kind of showing up I’m talking about.

Is Campus 244 Worth Finding?

Yes, and Mark admitted it’s “harder to find, arguably.”

Campus 244 has CT Cantina & Taqueria and Stäge Kitchen & Bar, which Mark called “great options.” It’s also home to the Element Atlanta Perimeter Center hotel, which opened in November 2024.

Here’s a tip for business owners. Mark said there’s an open restaurant space at Campus 244 right now. “If you’re looking for a place for a restaurant in Dunwoody, go check that place out,” he said.

Campus 244 is all reimagined from what it used to be, and I think it’s coming on strong. Its buildings also face 285, which matters for a reason I’ll get to with the gateway signs.

What’s Next for Park Place?

Park Place is the sleeper of the group, and it’s got some of the best restaurants around.

“Park Place is a ton of openings,” Mark said, and EDENS, the property management group there, “is really starting to lean in” on what’s next. Park Place is also home to McKendrick’s Steak House, a Dunwoody mainstay.

EDENS is a big deal. The company has been around since 1966 and owns more than 100 open-air shopping and mixed-use centers across the country. They design their places to get people coming back 3.5 times a week and staying around 5 hours. That’s not a company that sits still, and I’m excited to see what they do with Park Place. Some of the Park Place restaurants are coming on the podcast, so stay tuned.

Developers Are Betting on Dunwoody’s Older Shopping Centers Too

It’s not just the brand new projects. Developers are pouring money into older centers around Perimeter Mall too.

Mark mentioned the empty spaces and properties around the mall area where someone brand new could come in. And Perimeter Mall keeps turning slices of its parking lot into standalone restaurants, like Lazy Dog and, soon, Saints + Council.

Another example is a few minutes away on Ashford Dunwoody Road. Kroger is redeveloping most of the old Walmart at Perimeter Village. City Council approved the plan in July 2026. It’ll include a gas station and a drive-thru pharmacy, and the owner, Kimco, is working on leasing the rest of the space. It’s not just Spirit Halloween either. They just signed a nice new gym.

These developers are pouring money into Dunwoody. They see how well everything else is doing, and they want in. That’s good news for anybody living in Dunwoody, and for anyone looking at homes for sale in Dunwoody.

When Will Saints + Council Open at Perimeter Mall?

Probably not as soon as you think.

Saints + Council is building its second location on a Perimeter Mall outparcel, next to Lazy Dog. When I said I’d heard they were opening early 2027, Mark didn’t hesitate. “That ain’t happening,” he said.

I’d heard middle of the year, and Mark said that’s still on target. Then he added that it could slide into the fall, because everything seems to take longer than expected.

When I talked with founder William Pitts on Podcast 336, I learned he used to be the general manager at Café Intermezzo in Dunwoody. That’s a great Dunwoody story. If you missed that episode, go back and listen.

Adega Gaucha Is Bringing a Second Brazilian Steakhouse to Dunwoody

Watch out Fogo de Chão. Dunwoody is getting another Brazilian steakhouse, and it’s going in right next to the action.

Mark called it “exciting news.” Adega Gaucha is opening on the ground floor of Twelve24, the office tower that houses Insight Global’s headquarters at 1224 Hammond Drive. That’s over by Park Place, near the Chick-fil-A on Hammond. In Mark’s words, they’ve officially “put their stake in the sand.”

The planned opening is December 2026. It’s taking over the former Iron Hill Brewery space, with about 8,000 square feet, seating for more than 250 people, and an outdoor patio.

Here’s why this one matters. It’s Adega Gaucha’s first location in Georgia and its first outside Florida. Of all the places they could have picked, they picked Dunwoody.

“Dunwoody is exactly the kind of community where we believe Adega Gaucha can thrive,” CEO Ricardo Oliveira said.

It’s also a short walk from the Dunwoody MARTA station. That’s Mark’s location point in action.

Mark and I also tried to remember what you call the guys who carve the meat tableside. We landed on gauchos. Mark joked that he doesn’t speak “Brazilian.” It’s Portuguese, Mark.

Where to Take Someone You Want to Impress for Steak in Dunwoody

If you need a nice steak dinner in Dunwoody, Mark gave me four great options.

• Fogo de Chão: Mark’s pick for a meat lover. You flip a little card to green when you want more, and the meat comes out on skewers and gets sliced right at your table. “Great salad bar, great salad bar,” Mark said. “I’m not just saying this.”
• McKendrick’s Steak House: A classic steakhouse in Park Place with great service. “I have a number of friends that swear to this day by McKendrick’s,” Mark said.
• Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: “Extremely good,” Mark said, and it’s at Ashford Lane.
• The Capital Grille: Mark’s favorite for a business lunch, because it’s quieter and you can actually have a focused conversation.

Mark had a smart way to choose. Fogo de Chão is great if you’re worried about awkward silence, because there are always servers coming by the table. The Capital Grille is better if you need a real one-on-one conversation.

Next year, there will be a fifth answer when Adega Gaucha opens.

Rosetta Bakery, Varuni Napoli, and More New Openings

Mark brought his usual list of what’s new.

• Rosetta Bakery (Rosetta The Italian Bakery) is open at High Street.
• Varuni Napoli is at High Street too. Mark said to check out both.
• Beyond Juicery + Eatery is open at The Shops of Dunwoody, over by Big Play ATL.
• Burn Boot Camp is open at The Shops of Dunwoody too.

Mark admitted he was reading from his notes on that last one. He suggested I get the Burn Boot Camp folks on the podcast, and I’m going to try.

Mark also counted 53 new restaurants in Dunwoody in the last four years. “We’re about to have more of them open,” he said. That number is wild to me. It’s one restaurant almost every month for four years straight.

What’s Taking Living Spaces So Long?

Living Spaces is getting closer to opening, and Mark expects real news next month.

If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, it’s the huge building near 285. Mark put it this way: it’s “quite literally in the front yard of the Crowne Plaza Ravinia.” It sits at Ravinia Parkway and Ashford Dunwoody Road, facing 285. “You can’t miss it,” Mark said.

I told Mark it feels like it’s taking forever. He said they’re getting closer, and he emailed the project manager the morning we recorded. “Come back next month,” Mark said. “I think I’ll have some new information on Living Spaces at that point.”

Here’s the background. Living Spaces is a California furniture company, and the Dunwoody store is a two-story showroom of about 110,000 square feet at 11 Ravinia Parkway. City Council approved it in February 2022. The same lot had been approved in 2019 for a hotel, retail, and a parking deck. Council spent time protecting a row of mature oak trees along Ravinia Parkway.

Will Dunwoody Get a Gateway Sign Coming In From I-285?

Yes, and it’s tied to Living Spaces.

Part of the Living Spaces approval included space for a Dunwoody gateway sign at that corner. Living Spaces agreed to put in up to $125,000 toward it. According to the City of Dunwoody, the final gateway sign, on Ashford Dunwoody Road at I-285, will be installed as part of the Living Spaces construction.

Here’s what I didn’t realize. Discover Dunwoody spearheaded the whole gateway sign effort after two surveys found visitors didn’t know they were in Dunwoody. The plan covers 16 sign locations, and installation started in September 2024.

My take? Go bigger. When you’re on 285 and look up at the Perimeter, you see Living Spaces and Campus 244. I’d love to see a giant DUNWOODY on the side of one of those buildings. When you drive past Peachtree Corners, you know exactly where you are because it’s written right across the bridge.

Mark loved it. “It’s good for branding, frankly, as a marketer,” he said. “We’re not just Perimeter Mall, we’re Dunwoody.”

That line pretty much sums up this whole episode.

Why Do Dunwoody Hotels Cost More Than Sandy Springs?

Because you’re near more stuff. Mark had the numbers.

“The hotels in Dunwoody, our ten hotels, have a thirty dollar higher average rate than Sandy Springs,” Mark said. “You pay a little more, but you don’t need an Uber.”

His point is that you save money because you’re not paying an Uber to get across the street to a restaurant. MARTA is right there too.

When I asked for the priciest hotels, Mark named the AC Hotel Atlanta Perimeter, the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia, the Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center, and Le Méridien Atlanta Perimeter. He said rates move up and down with demand. For the record, Mark likes the AC. That’s the one with the rooftop bar.

Dunwoody has seen an explosion of hotels since COVID, just like everything else around Perimeter Mall. Mark said Dunwoody had somewhere around five to seven hotels in 2020, and it’s at 10 now. The Element opened in 2024, and the AC is new. If he’s a little off, Mark said to blame me.

Le Méridien, the Crowne Plaza, and the Marriott are all running holiday specials right now. Mark said you can find them on discoverdunwoody.com.

Why You Should Try a Dunwoody Staycation

Not enough Dunwoody families take little staycations.

One of the most fun things my co-host Justin Dike and I ever did with the podcast was at Le Méridien. They asked us to throw a party in their lobby, and in exchange we got a free night’s stay. We had a whole bunch of people there, and we got rid of the kids for one night. It was great.

Le Méridien has a different, eclectic feel, with weird, eclectic art. It’s just different from any other hotel I’ve been to. Mark explained why. The hotel opened as a W, and W hotels are cutting edge. “Le Méridien fits into that without a doubt,” he said.

If you’re hosting family for the holidays, or you just need a night off, look at the local holiday packages first.

Dunwoody on the Big Screen

Dunwoody is showing up in movies now too.

Mark plugged a Dunwoody Dialogues episode with Bridget and Tony Charles of Taylormade Film Company. Tony founded the company in 2017, and Bridget has lived in Dunwoody for more than 20 years.

Two of their films were shot here. Office Secrets was filmed in Dunwoody, and The Friendship Vow was filmed entirely in Dunwoody. Both are on Prime Video, so you can watch them tonight and try to spot local places.

Dunwoody restaurants helped make it happen. One production grew from about 20 cast members to roughly 100 cast and crew. Maggiano’s and Olive Garden adjusted catering orders on short notice to keep everyone fed. Local hotels were even used for boardroom scenes.

Mark also has Yael Lindenboim, owner-operator of School of Rock Dunwoody, coming on Dunwoody Dialogues.

More From Discover Dunwoody

Mark always brings a few extras.

• Atlanta Magazine: Look for the December issue. Perimeter, meaning Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, gets featured every December, and Atlanta Magazine is based right here in the Perimeter.
• More events: Discover Dunwoody is running new software to find more events for its website.
• Free Dunwoody DUN stickers: Pick them up at NFA Burger, the Dunwoody library, City Hall, or E. 48th Street Market. If you can’t find them, stop by the Discover Dunwoody office and Mark will give you a stack for your friends.
• Instagram: Follow @discoverdunwoody.

People are already gearing up for the holidays. Home Depot has Christmas decorations out right next to the pumpkins, and there’s already Christmas music playing at the mall. Discover Dunwoody has the holiday events updated at whatsupdunwoody.com/events.

Dunwoody Has to Meet It Halfway

Here’s what I keep coming back to after this conversation.

The big shopping centers took what Dunwoody already had and ran with it. They put a lot of money behind it. These are companies with deep pockets, sinking real money into our city, and they’re changing how the rest of Atlanta sees us.

But they can’t do it without us. The offices fill these places at lunch. What they need is more Dunwoody residents showing up at night and on the weekend.

So give them a try. Go to an event on the Ashford Lane lawn. Park in the High Street deck, even if you hate parking decks. Find Campus 244. Try the new spots at Park Place. Take a staycation at one of our hotels.

I’ve been showing up for Dunwoody every day for a long time, and I believe in this. Dunwoody isn’t just known for Perimeter Mall anymore, and that’s good for everyone living in Dunwoody.

Connect With Mark Galvin and Discover Dunwoody

Mark Galvin is the Chief Marketing and Operating Officer of Discover Dunwoody, the official destination marketing organization for Dunwoody, Georgia. He’s on the podcast every month, and he knows more about what’s happening in Dunwoody than just about anybody.

• Website: discoverdunwoody.com
• Instagram: @discoverdunwoody
• Dunwoody Dialogues: on Discover Dunwoody’s YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook
• Holiday hotel specials: discoverdunwoody.com

Mark will be back next month, hopefully with that Living Spaces update.

What Is What’s Up Dunwoody?

What’s Up Dunwoody is a local media platform created by REALTOR® Matt Weber, focused on living in Dunwoody, moving to Dunwoody, and staying connected to the community. It began as a podcast and has grown into social media content, local guides, and two of the largest Dunwoody-focused Facebook groups where residents share recommendations and stay in the loop. Matt has expanded slightly outside of Dunwoody and now covers the entire top end of the Perimeter through his Top End ATL channels.

Matt is a Dunwoody REALTOR® who helps people navigate buying, selling, and moving in the area. Stay in the loop with local updates, listings, and insights by signing up here: whatsupdunwoody.com/email

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