Dunwoody's High Street development is adding an award-winning Neapolitan pizzeria to its growing restaurant lineup.
Varuni Napoli, the pizza restaurant founded by Naples-born chef Luca Varuni, will open a nearly 3,000-square-foot location at High Street in Perimeter Center on Tuesday, August 5. Developer GID announced the opening on Friday, July 24.
It will be the brand's third Atlanta-area location, joining the original Morningside restaurant at 1540 Monroe Drive NE, which opened in 2014, and a second spot inside Krog Street Market that followed in 2017.
"The energy, walkability and sense of community at High Street make it a natural fit for our next location," Varuni said in the announcement.
What's inside
The restaurant will occupy a first-floor space at High Street. It includes a private chef's room adjacent to the kitchen available for events, bar seating, a covered patio overlooking The Green, and a takeout window next to the parking garages for pickup and delivery orders.
The menu will feature Varuni Napoli's signature Margherita and Bastardo pizzas along with Italian appetizers, desserts, and a wine and beverage selection, according to the GID announcement.
The chef
Varuni, a native of Naples, Italy, trained under maestro pizzaiolo Enzo Coccia at La Notizia in Naples. He first visited Atlanta to see his now-wife, LeAnn, noticed the city lacked traditional Neapolitan pizzerias, and opened the Morningside location with his brother Benedetto Varuni in 2014.
The restaurant has earned recognition including Best Pizza in Atlanta in a 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution reader poll, a spot on Atlanta Magazine's 75 best restaurants list in 2022, and a feature on Good Morning America's "United States of Pizza" competition in 2023.
High Street context
High Street, the 36-acre mixed-use development near Perimeter Mall and the Dunwoody MARTA station, broke ground in November 2021. Its first phase includes 598 luxury apartments, 90,000 square feet of loft office space, and 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space arranged around The Green.
Varuni Napoli joins existing tenants including Nando's PERi-PERi, Velvet Taco, Puttshack, The Hampton Social, Agave Bandido, and Cuddlefish.
Brooke Dewey, presenting a submarket report at the Perimeter CIDs' Envision Perimeter event in May, said High Street is "turning Perimeter into a lifestyle-driven destination, not just a traditional office market."
Upon completion of all phases, GID says High Street will encompass 672,000 square feet of Class A office space, a 400-key hotel, 400,000 square feet of shopping and dining, and 3,000 residential units in a project the developer has estimated at $2 billion.
Varuni Napoli opens Wednesday, August 5 at High Street, 200 Perimeter Center Parkway, Dunwoody.
