UPDATED: Kirkwood Bar & Grill: Closed

The opened-then-closed-then-reopened Kirkwood Bar & Grill is now closed again.

The closure of the restaurant at 1963 Hosea L. Williams Dr. NE, follows owner David Johnson's failure to bring his lease current with Southeast Holdings LLC, which filed a lawsuit against him for back rent.

In July he agreed to a series of payments on a schedule through Oct. 15 that would have brought it current, but he failed to do that leading a default judgment on Sept. 24 for the $31,000 in back rent he owed and subsequent seizure of the property.

John Turpin, an Inman Park-based developer and builder and principal of Southeast Holdings, told East Atlanta Patch the property is being marketed to potential tenants.

"We're really looking forward to finding the right fit and we are committed to Kirkwood as a neighborhood," Turpin said, adding anyone who is interested in putting together a proposal for the site may e-mail him at johnbturpin@gmail.com.

On paper, he said Johnson's prior business acumen and management experience suggested the Kirkwood Bar & Grill would be a success.

But that hasn't turned out to be the case.

On Thursday, Turpin said that chapter is over and that the focus now is finding a new tenant, one that will be in better keeping with the Kirkwood community.

"We're working hard on moving forward," he said.

Ideally, Turpin said he'd like to have the property leased by the start of 2013.

The property is fitted as a bar and any new tenant would likely operate it as such. But Turpin stressed any new tenant will be chosen with the neighborhood's needs in mind.

"We're looking to put something that's family- and community-oriented," Turpin said.

The eatery had been the source of controversy in the Kirkwood community for nearly a year.

Neither Johnson nor his attorney, Alan I. Begner, could be immediately reached for comment Wednesday or Thursday.