The storefront at 45 West Park Square, across from Glover Park, will soon have its third concept in less than a year. Brasserie Genevieve, a French bistro from Gigi Rose and Salem Makhlouf, is taking over the space that held Asher & Rose Modern Grocers for most of 2026. Before that, it was Piastra for ten years.
The new tenant is going after the one thing the rest of the Square doesn't offer. Rose told the Marietta Daily Journal that the bistro will add a French dinner option to the Square, "where none exists." On a Square with this many places to eat, that one missing cuisine is a big part of the plan.
Here is how this one address has changed, using dates reported by Marietta.com and What Now Atlanta:
That's a ten-year run followed by a seven-month one. In between, the Square around this corner got much more crowded.
When the grocery concept closed, Lipman pointed to how many more places to eat and drink had opened near the Square. Marietta.com reported his count: roughly 28 food and beverage locations when Piastra opened in 2015, and about 43 by 2026. That's about 15 more places competing for the same dinner crowds in roughly a decade.
Marietta.com's own count is higher. It lists more than 60 restaurants within walking distance of the Square, not counting fast food chains. Either way, the Square now has far more choices than it did when Piastra opened.
A new place opening on the Square in 2026 is competing with dozens of others. Brasserie Genevieve's approach is to offer a cuisine none of them serve.
Rose and Makhlouf already run two restaurants on the Square, a short walk from the new space:
Running two places on the Square already gives the owners a feel for its foot traffic before they open a third. Rose put it simply in the MDJ interview:
"We're excited. This is our community. I mean, I love Canton, but we live in Marietta."
The restaurant is named after the couple's daughter, Genevieve.
The French focus comes from Makhlouf's background. The MDJ reported that his restaurant career started in 1999 at a French restaurant in Roswell, where he stayed until 2009. He described the job this way: "I was a bus boy, a server, the manager, you know, I did it all. And so I know every little thing about French food." He grew up in Tunisia, a former French colony, and speaks French.
"Now my dream is coming true about the French restaurant. I always wanted to open one," he told the paper.
According to the MDJ, the full name is Brasserie Genevieve French Bistro and Bar, and it plans to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The planned menu is mostly bistro classics:
Burgers and a kids' menu next to escargots suggest a bistro built for an ordinary Tuesday as much as a birthday dinner. That fits a Square where diners have plenty of other choices.
The opening plan matters most for planning a visit. The MDJ reported that Brasserie Genevieve plans to open for breakfast, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., the week before Thanksgiving. Dinner service and a wide selection of French wines are set to follow once the restaurant gets its liquor license.
Thanksgiving is November 26 this year, so the week before is the week of November 16. In September, What Now Atlanta had put the likely opening in December or January. The latest plan, reported in late October, starts with the morning.
So the French dinner Rose described will come in a second step, after the liquor license. Until then, Brasserie Genevieve plans to serve breakfast and lunch, with croissants and quiche on the west side of the Square.
Work on the building is moving along. The City of Marietta's Historic Board of Review agenda for November 2 included Brasserie Genevieve for exterior paint and storefront updates. On the Square, those cosmetic changes need the board's review.
From the sidewalk, 45 West Park Square looks like a single storefront. What Now Atlanta reported the actual space:
Area | Size or capacity |
|---|---|
Main level | 6,000 square feet, seating for 130 |
Sidewalk patio | 45 seats |
Bar | 30 seats |
Basement | 3,000 square feet |
Mezzanine | 1,200 square feet |
That's room for more than 200 seats in all, plus a private dining room that, according to the MDJ, can be reserved for events. Rose said she wants the room to feel clean, minimal and full of natural light, with heavy dark-wood tables and a mix of booths and regular seating. The space already has a commercial kitchen, a bar and outdoor seating along West Park Square.
For a group planning a holiday dinner or a family celebration, a private room on the Square with a French menu adds a new option.
The planned opening week comes right after the Square's holiday shopping kickoff. On Friday, November 13, from 4 to 8 p.m., the Georgia Symphony Orchestra's Marietta Square Holiday Cookie Crawl runs alongside Marietta Square Candlelight Shopping, which the symphony calls the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. Tickets for the Cookie Crawl are sold through the symphony.
If the plan holds, 45 West Park Square will be serving breakfast the next week, with dinner to follow once the liquor license comes through.
Marietta Square is our family's home turf, and a new chapter at an address like 45 West Park is the kind of change we love keeping our neighbors posted on. If you're thinking about living within walking distance of the Square, or just want to talk through which nearby streets put you closest to your morning coffee, The Carlson Orange Team would be happy to help. Talk to Your Real Estate Family.
