Medley Was Built for Staying Put, So Arrive on Foot

For years, the corner of Johns Creek Parkway and McGinnis Ferry Road held a former State Farm office campus with close to half a million square feet of empty offices. About 350,000 square feet of it came down. A smaller office building was kept and renovated, and the rest of the 43-acre site is now Medley. Its public ribbon cutting is at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, in The Plaza.

Every storefront around the central square is a restaurant or bar. A bar is built around a tree that was there before construction. A trail runs in from City Hall, and the developer has planned a year of events to keep people on the plaza after dinner. Most of what Medley offers in its first month assumes you'll stay a while.

A Square With Only Food and Drink Around It

The $560 million project, built by Toro Development Company, adds about 164,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space. At its center is a 25,000-square-foot plaza. A week before opening, the North Atlanta Star toured the site with founder Mark Toro. Asked where he would stand to see the place as he had imagined it, he gave a short answer.

"The plaza."

Toro told the paper that one idea came from his honeymoon at Madrid's Plaza de Santa Ana, where restaurants line the square and their outdoor tables spill into a shared public space. At Avalon in Alpharetta, which his team also developed, some of the spaces facing the plaza went to clothing and other retail. At Medley, he kept every plaza-facing space for food and drink, so restaurant patios line all four sides.

The Tree Bar shows the same thinking. Its counter wraps around a mature tree that was saved when the State Farm campus was redeveloped. The idea came from a bar Toro had seen in Idaho. He told the North Atlanta Star he expects the Tree Bar to host music and other activities at least three days a week, weather permitting.

The plan relies on people being nearby during the day as well as at night. Boehringer Ingelheim has already moved its U.S. Animal Health headquarters to Medley, leasing about 73,000 square feet. The paper reported that Toro wants those employees to meet colleagues and eat lunch without getting back in their cars. Medley is also one piece of the city's larger 192-acre Town Center plan, which ties housing, businesses and offices to parks and pathways.

Who Opens First Around the Square

Trader Joe's has been open since June 11 at 1000 Medley Blvd. It was the city's first Trader Joe's and keeps daily hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. When Medley announced its opening schedule, it also listed Shake Shack, which now has its own date. Its other restaurants for the Oct. 29 opening were these:

• Sit-down dinner: Rena's Italian Fishery & Grill, 26 Thai Kitchen, Lily Sushi Bar, Minnie Olivia Pizzeria
• Drinks and a late table: STIR, Tonic House, CRÚ Wine Bar & Bistro
• Morning and midday: Summit Coffee, The Nest Cafe, Five Daughters Bakery, Playa Bowls, Knuckies Eatery
• Something sweet on the walk back: Cookie Fix, Amorino Gelato

Shake Shack opens at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at 2100 Medley Boulevard, the day after the ribbon cutting.

The shops and services scheduled for the opening are Sephora, High Country Outfitters, BODYROK, Kontour Med Spa, Moop's Boutique, Clean Your Dirty Face, The Commodore, Sugarcoat, Hollow Oak, Drybar, Burdlife and Petfolk. Moop's is a 990-square-foot second location for an Alpharetta boutique, timed to open Oct. 29.

Some names are still to come. 13 Hub Lane, Fadó Irish Pub, CT Taqueria, Warby Parker, Northern China Eatery, Fogón and Lions, and Tabla were announced as later arrivals without individual dates. On the Oct. 22 tour, the North Atlanta Star noted that some restaurants won't open until after the ribbon cutting, so a few patios may stay empty through the first weeks.

Walking In From The Boardwalk

A trail into Medley is already built, which is what makes the "stay a while" plan workable from the first day. A new elevated trail runs for nearly a mile along a creek and through the woods. Urbanize Atlanta reported in April that it links with both The Boardwalk at Town Center and Medley. The same report said a connection to the existing Johns Creek Greenway is still coming.

The city's Boardwalk at Town Center page describes how to start from the City Hall end:

1. Park in the public lot at Johns Creek City Hall.
2. Take the path beside City Hall's main entrance onto The Boardwalk.
3. Pass the amphitheater, terraced seating and pond overlooks on the 15-foot-wide elevated trail.
4. Head north. The city describes the trail running about a mile from Johns Creek Parkway toward McGinnis Ferry Road, and Medley sits at that corner.

There's a practical reason to walk in as well. The city's project update dated Aug. 28, 2026, lists storm drainage, culvert work, retaining walls and utility relocation for the McGinnis Ferry Road widening, with completion expected in spring 2028. That work borders Medley's northern edge and will be there long after opening month.

If you drive straight in, Medley's FAQ says the property has surface parking and structured garages. Its directory map also shows a parking garage and a valet concierge. Rates and policies are best confirmed on Medley's website before a busy weekend. The complimentary valet advertised for opening week covers only the ticketed preview.

A Calendar That Keeps the Plaza Busy

A plaza ringed by patios only works if people keep showing up, and the schedule is built for that. Toro Development Company plans about 100 community events a year, with weekly and monthly programming continuing into 2027. The first five weeks also include an event at the City Hall end of the trail.

The city's Diwali Celebration takes place at the south end of the trail, at The Boardwalk. Walking there from a Medley restaurant, or ending a Boardwalk evening with gelato on the plaza, puts the trail to use as the link between the two ends of the Town Center.

The rink's date has moved. An early-October roundup listed Nov. 23, but Medley's rink page now gives a grand opening of Nov. 27, 2026, and a closing date of Feb. 7, 2027. Regular hours are posted as follows:

• Monday through Thursday: 3 to 10 p.m.
• Friday: 3 to 11 p.m.
• Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Sunday: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

On weekdays the rink opens at 3 p.m. and stays open until 10 or 11 p.m., so skating fits into the same evening as dinner on the plaza.

The next phase is already planned. Encore is set to add 408 apartments, more retail and a 150-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel anchored by Chops Lobster Bar. For this fall, the main address to know is 2140 Medley Boulevard, where the plaza fills in one restaurant at a time.

If you'd like to talk through what Medley and the rest of the Town Center plan could mean for your own plans in Johns Creek, Latoya Carter is glad to help. Let's Connect.