Ask Atlantans which neighborhood is the hottest in town and Vinings might well be the answer. The area, northwest of Atlanta's downtown, is filled with historic buildings, including Pace House, which served as headquarters for Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in July of 1865.

Vinings' residents are young, hip singles and older empty nesters with plenty of disposable income, who have settled in Vinings due to its relatively affordable real estate and proximity to downtown.

Numbers back up why many are moving to Vinings. Last year Vinings' housing prices jumped approximately 57 percent and home sales rose by 21.5 percent, according to SmartNumbers, an Atlanta-based real-estate research company. That makes Vinings' ZIP code, 30339, one of a few in the country not affected by the current housing slump.

Given its boomtown status, one would think Vinings is ripe for new developments. And it is, depending on one's definition of Vinings.

Vinings proper is a tiny area where boundaries are clearly defined. Anything west of I-285 is not Vinings, and longtime residents claim that even anything west of the CSX railroad tracks is not Vinings.

The Grape, a chain of 18 wine bistros, has a location in Vinings Jubilee, the only retail-restaurant development in historic Vinings.

“There are more negatives than positives for a chain opening in Vinings,” says Nitesh Sapra, development manager at Wood Partners, the Marietta, Ga.-based firm behind Vinings Main, a retail-restaurant-residential development located just outside Vinings proper. Parking is scarce, and residents prefer independent or independent-feeling restaurants, Sapra says.

To benefit from Vinings' popularity, developers are simply building outside the boundaries and using the name anyway. Vinings Main, a 197,000-square-foot condo, office and retail development that opened this summer, is one example: It is located west of the track, though east of I-285. Ivy Walk, another residential-retail development, is also outside Vinings, on the west side of I-285.

Other developers have attached Smyrna, a suburb adjacent to Vinings, to the area and have dubbed the concoction “Sminings.”

Atlanta-based Focus Brands operates five restaurants in Sminings, including two Moe's Southwest Grills, a Carvel, a Cinnabon and a Schlotzsky's. All are performing well and benefit from the area's mix of residential and business traffic, says Mark Whittle, vice president of real estate at Focus Brands.

The Grape chose Vinings for its inaugural location back in 2000. The 1,800-square-foot, 75-seat restaurant just added lunch to meet popular demand, says Jeff Pendleton, vice president and director of operations.

Pendleton sees room for more chains, as long as the vibe is right. “You have educated diners here who are looking for an experience,” he says. “Whether it's a mom-and-pop or a national interest, it has to deliver a total experience.”

Hotlanta, anyone? Several pockets of the South's biggest city are seeing a resurgence in growth.

The Grape, a chain of 18 wine bistros, has a location in Vinings Jubilee, the only retail-restaurant development in historic Vinings.