Yogurtland has closed its outpost at TOWN Brookhaven in Brookhaven. The yogurt shop, one of three franchises in the Atlanta area, was previously for sale, but has closed instead.  The remaining locations, in Buckhead at West Paces Ferry Shopping Center and in Peachtree Corners at the Forum on Peachtree Parkway, remain open and are for sale as "keep or convert" from local broker Steve Josovitz of The Shumacher Group. 

All Yogurtland locations had closed in early March before reopening later but without the "self serve" option they and so many yogurt shops have been known for.  Customers, rather than paying 59 cents per ounce, were now charged flat prices depending on the size cup selected.  The cups were then filled by employees.  The lack of customization likely detracted from the appeal of the concept.  

The Brookhaven Yogurtland occupied a roughly 1,200 square foot space in the Costco/Publix/Marshalls/LA Fitness anchored center.  The space is not yet actively marketed for lease by Colliers who handles the center's leasing, but the fact that it closed rather than being sold indicates that there may be a replacement tenant already lined up.  

Are you surprised that Yogurtland closed in TOWN Brookhaven?  What is your favorite FroYo shop?  What would you like to see open in place of Yogurtland in TOWN Brookhaven?

Please share your thoughts below. 

CMX CinéBistro has closed its theater in TOWN Brookhaven.  The 760 seat, seven screen theater, which temporarily closed in early February due to a "small fire," and remained closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, has now been removed from the company website with sources telling ToNeTo Atlanta that it will not reopen.  CinéBistro is also noticeably absent from both the property website for TOWN Brookhaven as well as a recent advertisement promoting all tenants of the project.   

It's unclear how much, if any, renovation had been completed before all theaters shut down due to COVID-19, but with the company having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late April, they were likely in no position to continue to spend money when none was being generated.  

Over the past ten plus years, ToNeTo Atlanta has reported extensively on the disappointing number of tenant failures at TOWN Brookhaven.  Despite having suffered through more than two dozen closures - including 20 food concepts - CinéBistro's closure marks the first anchor to have shuttered in the mixed-use development.  At 31,710 square feet,  CinéBistro is the fourth largest tenant in the project, just ahead of Marshalls (28,000 square feet) but behind LA Fitness (45,000 square feet).  

CMX CinéBistro still lists its other two Atlanta area locations - Peachtree Corners Town Center in Peachtree Corners and Halcyon in Alpharetta - on its website, but both remain closed.  Industry heavyweights AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas have both in recent weeks started to reopen theaters, but there is no known timetable for when CMX will reopen its theaters.  

There was once talk of a CinéBistro being part of the upcoming Fuqua Development project The Exchange @ Gwinnett in Buford, but sources close to the development indicate that there is currently no theater linked to the project.  

The closure of CMX CinéBistro is at least the fourth closure at TOWN Brookhaven in just the past few weeks.  ToNeTo Atlanta reported previously on the closures of both Yogurtland and Which Wich, but Salon Red Kids closed too, shuttering for good as of August 29.  

Are you surprised that CinéBistro chose to close its Brookhaven location?  What upcoming movie are you most looking forward to seeing in a movie theater?  What would you like to see open in place of CinéBistro at TOWN Brookhaven?  

Please share your thoughts below.  

A new "COVID-ready" quick-serve restaurant will in the coming months make its debut in Atlanta.  Urban Wok, currently a single unit noodle and rice bowl concept from Minnesota, has leased the former Olive Bistro in TOWN Brookhaven in which to open their emerging concept.  Launched in October 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Urban Wok was created by former Chili's Grill & Bar manager Mark Toth. In a way, it's what one might get if they mixed Gusto, Chow Baby and Bolay into one concept. 

The nearly 1,300 square foot space that Urban Wok will occupy is small by design, as the restaurant's primary purpose is to pump out high volumes of takeout and delivery food.  Toth discovered that most of his revenue, roughly 80%, was generated from off-premise channels. So, ahead of mandated dining room closures, he shut down his small 50 seat dining room to focus on takeout and delivery, he told Nation's Restaurant News (NRN) in April.  

Urban Wok's opening in TOWN Brookhaven marks the return of a wok-centric Asian style restaurant following the 2012 closure of Stir Crazy after about one year in business.  

While other restaurants struggle to pivot to a primarily off-premise sales model, Urban Wok is thriving with Toth telling NRN that in any given week, the eatery has seen revenue up from 125% to 200%.

Meals at their existing location start at about ten bucks and are reportedly 30 percent higher when ordered via third party delivery services, according to NRN's report.  Online research indicates that Urban Wok is currently offered on DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and Toasttab, a service of toast, their POS provider. 

Artimus Hart is the Atlanta area franchisee who will be opening the Brookhaven location as well as potentially up to four more in the area in the months to come, according to a phone conversation he had Friday with ToNeTo Atlanta.  Hart tells us that he also plans to offer a couple of local craft beers and an oft-changing variety of "boutique wines."  The inside of the restaurant will also be updated from the prior occupant to include shiplap, subway tile and polished concrete, Hart tells us.  

According to Hart, plans call for Urban Wok to make its debut in Brookhaven in November.  

In addition to the Atlanta outpost, Toth plans to open additional Urban Wok locations in San Diego and Scottsdale, Arizona, among other markets. 

Urban Wok's opening in TOWN Brookhaven is a bit of good news for a project where, in recent weeks, as ToNeTo Atlanta has reported, anchor CMX CinéBistro has closed in addition to Yogurtland, Which Wich and Salon Red Kids.  

Are you excited for the opening of Urban Wok in TOWN Brookhaven?  What other types of restaurants would you like to see open in TOWN Brookhaven?  Where else in metro Atlanta would you like to see Urban Walk open?

Please share your thoughts below.  

Earlier this week Global Franchise Group (GFG), based locally in Sandy Springs, revealed redesigned logos for two of its six concepts.  Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery both received new looks in addition to a third logo that combines both brands for when there are co-branded units.  Following the lead of fellow franchise juggernaut FOCUS Brands, the two new logos are notably dull and unexciting and devoid of any character or emotional connection their prior looks possessed.  

Launched in 1977 at Perimeter Mall, Great American Cookies has gone though several logo changes over time, but none that resulted in anything as dull, boring and sterile as the one concocted this year.  Where once, like Moe's, the brand had a unique identity and immediate familiarity, the new logo looks forced and plain and the kind of logo a seven year old might use for her neighborhood cookie business.  

Marble Slab Creamery, launched in Houston, Texas in 1983, also had a unique, playful logo that was identifiable and had character.  Its new logo, clearly cut from the same cloth as the new look of Great American Cookies, now lacks all that once made it youthful and appealing.  Redesigns are great but, as Pizza Hut realized, sometimes the "OG" logo is best.  

"Global Franchise Group's mission is to champion our brands. Elevating and investing in the Great American Cookies and Marble Slab experience is a perfect demonstration of that commitment," said Paul Damico, CEO of GFG. "These brands are nostalgic, popular and category leading. They now have a future defining vision that will set them far apart from the competition, delight our customers and empower our franchise system."   

Damico was named CEO of GFG in April after stepping down as CEO of Chicago-based quick-serve Mediterranean eatery Naf Naf Grill.  Damico joined Naf Naf in 2017 after stepping down as President of FOCUS Brands.  [FOCUS Brands is owned by private equity firm Roark Capital Group which owns a stake in Naf Naf.] 

While GFG's goal may have been to "elevate" their brands and "set them far apart from the competition," several comments on Facebook from "fans" tell a different story.  

One comment, that was "liked" nine times reads: "Not a fan of the new logo at all, the old logo could have been maybe vamped up if you pleased but the bright colors were so fun and happy. This is just dull and drab. Somethings are just better left alone!" 

Another "fan" (or maybe former fan?) writes: "Let’s start a petition!! GO BACK TO THE OLD LOGO !! The new one is boring and sucks 😭" 

A response to the petition comment from another disappointed person reads: "Plus it looks cheap like $1 isle at DG cheap 😢" 

One comment, from a woman who identified herself as a 10 year manager of a Great American Cookies said of the change:  "I am afraid this is a huge mistake, my two year old Grandson associates our logo to our store to our cookies, this is what all the customers look for when coming to our counter, i am not a fan of the new one." 

There is no doubt the logos of both Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery could have used an update but the new changes made are just not beneficial. 

What do YOU think of the redesigned logos of Great American Cookies and Marble Slab Creamery?  Are you more or less inclined now to purchase products from either franchise?  What recent redesign either mentioned above or not do you think was done best? Worst?

Please share your thoughts below.  

Schlotzsky's has closed its restaurant near Cumberland Mall in Atlanta.  The restaurant, across from Akers Mill Square at 2980 Cobb Parkway in Cumberland Festival, had been in business for more than a decade before closing within the past month.  The Cumberland outpost was one that within the past year received the company's redesigned look and branding reflecting the concept's "Schlotzsky's Austin Eatery" brand imaging and decor.  The restaurant was also paired with a Cinnabon, a sibling concept from parent company Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands.  The restaurant was corporately owned and managed by FOCUS Brands.  

Strangely, in the case of Schlotzsky's, signage at the restaurant indicates that the closure is "temporary," and that "we will open again," despite the fact that all FF&E has been removed from the restaurant, all permanent signage has been removed from the exterior, and its listing has been removed from the Schlotzsky's website.  Additionally, the 2,546 square foot Schlotzsky's space is marked as "Restaurant Available" on the marketing flyer for Cumberland Festival.  

It definitely seems like this year's "temporarily closed" is last year's "closed for renovations."  

The closure of the Cumberland outpost is at least the fourth Schlotzsky's in close in metro Atlanta over the past few years.  Locations in Tucker on LaVista Road, Dunwoody in Perimeter Village shopping center and in Norcross along Holcomb Bridge Road, among others, have all closed in years past. 

For area customers still seeking Schlotzsky's or Cinnabon offerings, the deli shop remains opens at The Terrace at Windy Hill at 3000 Windy Hill Road, and Cinnabon remains opens in the food court at nearby Cumberland Mall. 

Are you surprised that Schlotzsky's closed its Cobb Parkway restaurant?  Are you fond of the changes made to Schlotzsky's: their logo, brand and menu?  What would you most like to see open in place of Schlotzsky's in Cumberland Festival?

Please share your thoughts below.  

The owners of Storico Fresco Alimentari e Ristorante in Buckhead and Forza Storico on the Westside plan to open a third concept later this year in Buckhead.  The new business,  a sibling of sorts to the popular pasta eatery, will be a wine bar and cafe and will open in Buckhead Village Distinct (BVD), the project most recently known as The Shops Buckhead Atlanta, according to sources familiar with the plans.  In Buckhead Village District, Storico will occupy the roughly 1,600 square foot corner space at 3059 Peachtree Road, adjacent to Dior, where Corso Coffee spent more than a half million dollars building out their shop in 2014.  

Sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that the Storico team - Pietro Gianni, Stephen Peterson and Mike Patrick - have been conceptualizing Storico Vino for several months and had at first explored opening the shop in Buckhead Exchange where Storico Fresco is located.  Talks later moved BVD where the Storico team worked with new project owner Jamestown (their landlord on the Westide) to open there instead.  

There had been talk earlier that Erik Maier and Kelly Wallace of Young + Hungry planned to bring their Upbeet concept to the former Corso space, but the deal never came to fruition.  Sources indicate that plans are still in the works to bring an Upbeet to Buckhead, but its unclear where or when it will happen.  

Storico Vino will reportedly feature a large, covered, heated patio with seating for dining al fresco, two things lacking from prior occupants of the street-side space.  Sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that the menu will feature light bites, meat and cheese boards and Storico classics like pastas and Italian sandwiches.  

Reps for Storico told ToNeTo Atlanta Thursday that while they could not confirm the plans, details of the group's next venture would be forthcoming, potentially as soon as next week.  

Are you excited for the opening of Storico Vino in Buckhead?  What other types of shops or restaurants would you like to see open at Buckhead Village District?  What is your favorite type of pasta?

Please share your thoughts below  

Local restaurateur Gary Lin plans to bring one of his popular intown restaurants to Alpharettta.  By mid-November, Lin hopes to have Hai Authentic Chinese, his authentic Szechuan restaurant, open along Windward Parkway, not far from Costco.  The new restaurant will open in suite #440, a 2,400 square foot space, formerly Swagat Indian Cuisine, between Big Peach Running Co. and Saigon Cafe in The Plaza at Windward, 5530 Windward Parkway.   

Hai Alpharetta will be the second restaurant Lin will have opened during the COVID-19 pandemic.  This past June, Lin opened Wei Authentic Chinese Cuisine on South Marietta Parkway, not far from the Marietta Square.  

In addition to the existing and upcoming Hai locations as well as Wei, Lin is also involved in several other Atlanta area Chinese restaurants including Urban Wu at the Disco Kroger shopping center in Buckhead and Hao Chinese Cuisine off Camp Creek Parkway in southwest Atlanta.  

Authentic bao, a popular Asian pastry bun filled with meat or vegetables, is a mainstay on the Wei menu in Alpharetta but Lin tells ToNeTo Atlanta it will not be part of the Hai menu.   

Are you excited at the idea of a more authentic Asian offering in Alpharetta?  What is your favorite Szechuan dish?  What other types of cuisines would you like to see open in Alpharetta?  

Please share your thoughts below. 

The owner of Silvano Pizza in Buckhead Village will soon [officially] reopen his restaurant as "Sauce," described on newly installed signage as a Pizza Bar, Restaurant & Lounge.  Located at 25 Irby Avenue, the building in which Sauce is opening has been several restaurants in its more than 50 year history, having had the most success as a spot for barbecue.  

In recent weeks, however, life returned to the space as Betti had the building painted, new scenic artwork added to the exterior to make diners feel like they were somewhere other than Buckhead and additional outdoor seating was added, too.  

Sauce "soft opened" Friday, with plans to celebrate with a "grand opening" October 1.  For now, Sauce will be open Thursday through Saturday from 6 PM until 2 AM, with plans for it to be open six nights a week after its grand opening.  Despite zero mention of it on its website or Instagram page, Sauce will, like Fe before it, offer hookah in addition to food and drink.  Hookah, a heated/vaporized tobacco product, offers operators tremendous profit potential, but also tends to attract large, and at times unruly, crowds. 

The conversion of Silvano to Sauce marks the second such conversion in Buckhead in just the past year.  Flying Crust, also offering pizza, opened last summer on Roswell Road.  Earlier this year, Flying Crust became Hide Kitchen & Cocktails.

Longtime ToNeTo Atlanta readers might liken the moves made at Hide and Sauce to one of the most outrageous "restaurants" we have ever reported on: Scenario.  Located in north Buckhead in Chastain Park, Scenario claimed to be a restaurant, but was in reality a lounge & nightclub.  Scenario has since closed and its space is today home to Pho Dai Viet, a Vietnamese restaurant and a welcome addition to the community.  

The fact that both Hide and Sauce are primarily hookah lounges masquerading as restaurants, brings to mind one of the most notorious businesses in Buckhead: Instanblue aka Blue aka Lucca.  Located at 264 Pharr Road in the street level of the Eclipse condo building, Lucca, its most recent name, tends to attract droves of people and traffic on the weekends and has been the scene of several shootings in recent months. Lucca, along with neighboring "restaurant" Copper Cove [Bistro] both offer hookah in addition to food, and both seem to ignore social distancing policies set forth by government officials.  

It would be unfair to assume that the behavior and shenanigans present at Blue, Copper Cove and Hide would follow at Sauce, so we waited until Monday, after the businesses first weekend, to publish this post.  

Patrons of Sauce illegally parked on Irby Avenue, lining the road from Early Street to Roswell Road, and remained at the business long past its 2 AM closing time.  The crowd, while small in comparison to what we witnessed at Lucca the prior week, was still incredible considering the business was both new and not yet publicly promoting their hookah offerings.   

While Sauce and other nearby lounges and bars might in years past have been able to skirt the rules and laws, new luxury highrises such as Hanover Buckhead Village, which opened in early 2018, and The Irby and Gentry, which opened earlier this year, will no doubt make things difficult for such businesses to continue to operate as they do today. 

What are your thoughts on the proliferation of hookah joints in Buckhead?  Are you a hookah fan?  What is your findest memory of the "old" Buckhead Village?

Please share your thoughts below  

The brand that invited riders to "never coast" was apparently doing just that.  Flywheel, which had for the past decade been riding the wave of cycling popularity, will reportedly close all of their remaining studios, according to several sources close to the fitness company.  In Atlanta, the New York-based business had two studios, one in Buckhead Village District (fka The Shops Buckhead Atlanta), the other at Regions Plaza (1180 West Peachtree Street) in Midtown.  The company previously operated a third area studio at Avalon in Alpharetta but it closed last year as part of what was then an 11 studio nationwide closure.  

In 2017, Flywheel launched their own "Home" stationary bike to compete with Peloton.  The following year, Peloton sued Flywheel claiming Flywheel copied its at-home bike technology and infringed on its patents.  The case was settled this past February when Flywheel admitted that it copied the technology and agreed to "stop infringing Peloton's patented technology."  Flywheel in turn shut down the virtual classes that were connected to its in-home bikes. Peloton announced after their legal victory that it would let Flywheel customers swap out the $1,500 bikes for a used Peloton bike for free.  

Enter COVID-19.  

Just weeks after the settlement with Peloton and about two months removed from an announced plan to be acquired by Town Sports International, the pandemic caused the company to temporarily shutter all of their studios.  Flywheel reportedly laid off 98% of its 1,200-person staff. Town Sports, owner of New York Sports Club and other chains, dropped its plans in April to buy Flywheel and this past Monday declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  

ToNeTo Atlanta first got wind of struggles at Flyhweel in 2019 but things seemed to have quieted down.  This past weekend, things escalated again with several Atlanta based instructors posting to their personal social media accounts that Flywheel was shutting down. The news went unconfirmed and nearly ignored until today when it was reported that Flywheel had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in New York late Monday and reportedly plans to wind down all operations. 

One could make the analogy that Flywheel is to Peloton as Blockbuster was to Netflix.  Flywheel had a good thing going and did not seem to innovate (or replicate as the case may be) until it was too late.  

At its height, Flywheel operated 42 studios across the country.  As of this week the company's website indicates it operated only 26.  SoulCycle by comparison operates nearly 100 studios, including outposts at the Shops Around Lenox in Buckhead and Ponce City Market while Peloton has already surpassed 100 retail locations worldwide with one location open at Lenox Square in Buckhead and a second coming soon to Avalon in Alpharetta. 

Are you surprised to see Flywheel closing all of their studios?  Are you a former Flywheel customer who now prefers Peloton or SoulCycle?  What would you like to see open in place of the Flywheel in Buckhead? 

Please share your thoughts below  

Healthy quick-serve eatery Sweetgreen will soon make its long awaited Atlanta debut.  The D.C. born and now Los Angeles-based eatery has secured space in Ponce City Market for their first metro restaurant.  Established in 2007 by then recent Georgetown University grads Nicolas Jammet, Nathaniel Ru, and Jonathan Neman, the company has since grown to more than 100 units across the country.  

The menu at Sweetgreen is a mashup of sorts between Wildleaf and Flower Child, with a variety of salads and warm bowls but also "plates" which feature assorted proteins paired with a variety of grains and vegetables.  We tried Sweetgreen this past fall on our visit to Hudson Yards and found our salad quite good and surprisingly not outrageously expensive.   

Sweetgreen joins several local and national players in the healthy salad/bowl-centric restaurant category that have existing locations open in the Atlanta area.  

Among the local operators are Upbeet on the Westside and Wildleaf with two locations in Buckhead (temporarily closed due to COVID-19) and a third coming soon to Coda in Midtown.  

Chopt entered Atlanta in late 2018 at Toco Hills and has since opened  locations in Buckhead and Midtown too.  A fourth Chopt is expected to open late next year in the Publix-anchored Perimeter Marketplace shopping center along Ashford Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody.  

Flower Child, developed by True Food Kitchen creator Sam Fox, also entered the Atlanta market in 2018, with locations in Buckhead and Sandy Springs, and as ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported in April 2019, Flower Child plans to open a third unit in the market at Westside Provisions District. 

In addition to what building permits indicate is a confirmed lease at Ponce City Market, sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that a second Sweetgreen is planned for Colony Square in Midtown.  The restaurant would occupy a space outside of the planned food hall where Shake Shack was previously slated to open.  The Ponce City Market Sweetgreen location is reportedly targeting a "spring 2021" opening followed by Colony Square in the summer/fall of 2021.  The initial two locations are the first of "several" that that are reportedly planned for metro Atlanta in the next couple of years.  

Have you ever been to Sweetgreen?  What is your favorite salad shop?  Where else in Atlanta would you like to see Sweetgreen open?

Please share your thoughts below.  

In a surprise pandemic era move, a discount store in Douglasville is closing.  Bargain Hunt, purveyor of overstock, discontinued, damaged and other excess merchandise will close their five year old store on Douglas Boulevard in Market Square, not far from Arbor Place Mall. The store, which opened in August 2015, is one of more than a dozen that parent company Essex Bargain Hunt operates in Georgia.

The Douglasville store is currently offering 10% off all in-stock merchandise, reportedly with plans to up the discount another 10% off in a week or so and continue to increase the discount as their October 15 closure date approaches.  

When Bargain Hunt opened in Douglasville, it replaced Office Depot.  The siteplan for Market Square shopping center indicates that Atlanta-based Aaron's will open in place of Bargain Hunt once they close.  Following its Douglasville closure, Bargain Hunt will remain open across Georgia in such cities as Kennesaw, Griffin, Fayetteville and Rome, among others.  

Are you surprised to see Bargain Hunt closing in Douglasville?  Have you ever been to a Bargain Hunt?  What is your favorite "deal" store in metro Atlanta?

Please share your thoughts below.  

The California Dreaming restaurant in Duluth has closed.  The restaurant, located at 1630 Cross Pointe Way, with visibility from I-85, was located off exit 109, Old Peachtree Road.  The restaurant temporarily closed as of March 18 and has not posted to their facebook page since an Easter message on April 11.  ToNeTo Atlanta was unable to find any formal announcement of the closure, but the Duluth location has been removed from the company's website and "yelpers" report that it has closed. 

California Dreaming is part of Charleston-based multi-concept restaurant group CentraArchy Restaurants.  The closure of the Duluth location comes about a year after the company abruptly shuttered its Kennesaw outpost at 745 Chastain Road, not far from Kennesaw State University.  There was talk after that closure that CentraArchy would reopen the restaurant with a new concept and menu, but there is no indication that there was ever any truth to that idea.  The property is currently being marketed as a "Ground Lease, BTS [Build to Suit] or Strip Opportunity." 

Following the Duluth and Kennesaw closures, there will be just one California Dreaming left in Georgia on Washington Road in Augusta.  In addition, there are also California Dreaming restaurants in Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Surfside Beach, South Carolina, as well as  Spanish Fort, Alabama.  

In metro Atlanta, CentraArchy Restaurants continues to operate New York Prime in Buckhead and Joey D’s Oak Room in Sandy Springs.  The Tavern at Phipps in Buckhead remains temporarily closed. 

Are you surprised by the closure of California Dreaming in Duluth?  Did you even realize there was a California Dreaming in Duluth?  What is your favorite CentraArchy Restaurants concept?

Please share your thoughts below.  

For the second month in a row, a longtime Atlanta area McDonald's restaurant has abruptly closed.  Following last month's closure of the McDonald's at 1305 Powers Ferry Road in East Cobb and at 2460 Jett Ferry Road in Dunwoody, the McDonald's at 5025 Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners has also closed.  According to ToNeTo Atlanta readers, there was no advance warning of the closure which occurred earlier this week.  Signage at the restaurant indicates that it closed as of September 15. 

Despite the speed at which the restaurant was "de-commissioned," the Peachtree Corners (Norcross) location is still listed on the McDonald's corporate website as open, and its phone number has not yet been disconnected.   

Gwinnett County property records indicate that the roughly 4,400 square foot Peachtree Corners restaurant, situated in a freestanding outparcel of the Ingles-anchored Jones Bridge Square shopping center, was built in 1997 and sits on just over an acre.  

A few miles away, on Holcomb Bridge Road, a former Burger King restaurant closed in 2019 and remains vacant.  

The pandemic has caused many consumers to avoid inside dining and pushed many to use drive-thrus (most Chick-fil-A restaurants are still closed to inside diners) and other contactless purchasing methods.  To see McDonald's and other fast food restaurants close so many restaurants is a bit surprising, but perhaps is like we've seen with other restaurant groups: the result of them "right-sizing" their networks and shuttering under-performing units.  

ToNeTo Atlanta has reported on ten quick-serve restaurants that have closed in metro Atlanta since April, and real estate sources say more are likely by year end.  The closures, which include Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's,  Hardee's and Boston Market, could present opportunities for restaurants looking to expand in metro Atlanta and who value the drive-thrus they would inherit.  This list, while small, includes the likes of industry heavyweights Starbucks and Chipotle but also local upstart gusto!, among others.  

Are you surprised to see so many fast food eateries close Atlanta area locations?  What is your favorite quick-serve restaurant?  What would you like to see open in place of McDonald's in Peachtree Corners?

Please share your thoughts below.  

Adding to the surprises of 2020, trading cards, specifically sports trading cards, are having a moment, and at least one shop is looking to hit a home run with their new brick & mortar store.  The Card Shop, slated to "soft" open next Friday, September 25, is at 2280 Cheshire Bridge Road, across the street from the old Landmark Diner, Jr.  The shop, owned by husband and wife Danny Coleman and Michelle Coffey, is the sibling of the owners' adjacent business, Premium Kicks.  

As Coffey sees it, sports trading cards and sports memorabilia share a customer base with sneakerheads, so it seemed only logical to extend the business to provide more options to their current and potential patrons.  The Card Shop will, like Premium Kicks, buy and sell, and offer a wide variety of brands, prices and themes.  The store will have its own exterior signage, but will only be accessible via a separate door in Premium Kicks.  

The Card Shop will feature new and old cards from a variety of sports (sorry, no Pokemon or Magic here, but Stamp & Coin has you covered) and will also feature a curated and constantly changing assortment of memorabilia and collectibles.  Cards, as Coffey told ToNeTo Atlanta Friday, will be the focal point of the store.  The store will sell new packs and single cards and will buy from the public, as well.  A photo shared on the shop's official Instagram page shows that they will also offer tons of Funko Pop! figures too. 

For those unfamiliar with the current interest in sports trading cards, one analyst calculated the sports card market to be worth more than $5 billion, and that is likely low.  This past August, a 2009 rookie card of Los Angeles Angels star centerfielder Mike Trout sold at auction for nearly $4 million.  The same card was sold in 2018 for only $400,000.  For those who pinned their hopes and dreams on beanie babies paying for their college education or first home, the better play today may be in sports cards.  

Almost 20 years ago, there were several card shops and collectible stores around metro Atlanta.  For collectibles, there was Field of Dreams (Lenox Square, North Point Mall, Gwinnett Place Mall, Town Center at Cobb, etc.) and for cards there were several, including Sports Section in Avondale Estates and another in the stand-alone small tower building near Kroger Toco Hills which still has baseballs in its windows.  There was even a shop, Distant Replays, dedicated to throwback apparel and accessories.  The store started on East Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead, adjacent to the current Al's Cafe Agora, but later moved to Cumberland Festival near Cumberland Mall.  The store closed for good more than a decade ago.  

The opening of The Card Shop, while clearly looking to ride the wave of renewed interest and popularity in cards, will also mark the return of an independently owned store to intown Atlanta where collectors young and old can see what's out there and perhaps snag an Ian Anderson rookie card that will in a few years be worth a small fortune.  

Are you excited for the opening of a card and collectible shop in Atlanta?  What is your most prized piece of sports memorabilia?  Are you as shocked as we are by what some cards are currently selling for?

Please share your thoughts below.  

PNC Bank has closed its Tucker branch in an outparcel of Briarcliff LaVista shopping center.  The branch, located at 4855 Briarcliff Road, is situated across from both Northlake Mall and Briarcliff Village at the intersection of Briarlciff and Henderson Mill Roads.  Signage posted to the branch's front door indicates that it closed permanently as of 3PM on Friday September 18.  The branch had previously been (and still is, according to the PNC website) closed "temporarily."  The Pittsburgh-based bank will still have a presence in Tucker with their larger branch on Main Street in downtown Tucker.  

In 2002, RBC Centura acquired Eagle Bancshares, Inc., parent company of Tucker Federal, bringing to an end the local institution.  A decade later, PNC Bank completed its $3.45 billion acquisition of RBC Centura.

The longtime flagship Tucker Federal at 2355 Main Street in downtown Tucker became an RBC, and later PNC, and continues to operate as one today.  Many of the employees of the shuttered Northlake branch were reportedly offered positions at the Main Street branch.  

Newly released data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) shows that Bank of America had the greatest market share in Atlanta in 2020, holding just over 22% of the city’s deposits as of June 30. The newly created Truist, formerly SunTrust and BB&T, had the second-highest market share this year, with just over 21% of deposits.  Wells Fargo, ranked third in metro area deposits, with  about 20% of deposits in 2020, a roughly 2% increase from 2019. 

PNC also edged up slightly to a nearly 2% market share in Atlanta, good for ninth place overall.  The report indicated that as of June 30, the bank operated 60 branches in Atlanta.  

Recent closures put PNC on track to close almost 160 branches this year and 120 more in 2021, William Demchak, the bank's chairman and CEO, said last week at the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference. 

It's unclear what if any plans PNC has for their now former site, but at least one ToNeTo Atlanta reader is hoping a recent trend of credit unions taking over former banks continues at Northlake with potentially a new Delta Community Credit Union.  

Georgia United last year relocated their LaVista Road branch to a former BB&T branch next to the Northlake Library, while in Dunwoody, Georgia's Own Credit Union is actively renovating a former Fidelity Bank.  In Sharpsburg, another former Fidelity Bank branch is being renovated to become a new location of The Southern Credit Union.  

The former PNC Northlake branch has access off both Briarcliff and Henderson Mill Roads and is in the shadow of Northlake Mall, where Emory Heathcare is expected to bring nearly 2,000 jobs in the coming years. 

Are you surprised by the closure of PNC Bank at Northlake?  Where do you do the majority of your banking?  What would you like to see open in place of PNC near Northlake?

Please share your thoughts below.  

In an unfortunate COVID-19 related move, Nancy's Pizzeria in Buckhead has permanently closed.  The restaurant had been "temporarily" closed for several weeks and was thought to be reopening, but ToNeTo Atlanta confirmed Monday that its closure is in fact permanent.  The 4,500 square foot Buckhead outpost, 2625 Piedmont Road in Buckhead Crossing, originally opened in November 2017. 

While less than three years is not an overwhelming life for a restaurant, both Nancy's fared better than fellow Chicago-based deep dish pizzeria Gino's East which closed in Poncey Highland last spring after less than six months in business. 

Buckhead area residents who crave deep dish pizza still have at least one other nearby option in Rosati's Pizza on Wieuca Road in north Buckhead near Chastain Park.  

Chicago-based Nancy's Pizzeria still has several Atlanta area locations open including those on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Midtown, Ashford Dunwoody Road in Dunwoody, Mansell Road in Roswell and off Camp Creek Parkway in East Point.  The chain also has a restaurant on Dogwood Drive in Conyers and earlier this year opened another on Chapel Hill Road in Douglasville.  

Are you surprised to see Nancy's Pizzeria closed in Buckhead and Johns Creek?  What is your favorite place for deep dish pizza in metro Atlanta?  What would you like to see open in the two now former Nancy's Pizzeria locations?

Please share your thoughts below.  

Brooklyn Bagel Bakery & Deli, a popular New York-style bagel joint, is expanding intown.  According to a Facebook announcement Monday, the restaurant's second outpost will be at Ansley Mall, 1544 Piedmont Avenue. “It’s official! We are opening a second location in Ansley Mall shopping center!”  While the announcement did not specify an exact location, the online Ansley Mall property flyer indicates that the local bagel joint will open in place of Panera Bread.  Despite the Ansley Mall Panera Bread showing as "open" on all online platforms (including the Panera website), a phone call to the eatery confirms it is permanently closed.  

The opening of Brooklyn Bagel at Ansley Mall will mark the return of a local bagel joint to the longstanding neighborhood center after a more than two decade absence.  Many native Atlantans still fondly remember the legendary "The Royal Bagel" which held court in Ansley Mall from 1974 until its closure in 1997.  Coincidentally, Brooklyn Bagel opened their doors in 1997, and in the two plus decades since, has become a popular neighborhood spot for OTP bagel lovers at their eatery on Haynes Bridge Road in Johns Creek.  

It's worth mentioning that Brooklyn Bagel shouldn't be confused with and is not in any way related to "BB's Bagels [also known as Bronx Bagels]," another popular OTP bagel joint with one location on McFarland Parkway in Alpharetta.  

Brooklyn Bagels' foray ITP, if successful, could provide those who yearn for the days of The Royal Bagel, The Highland Bagel  Company and Bagel Palace, all once popular intown bagel joints, some relief.  

Bagel Palace closed at Toco Hills shopping center in 2018, saying at the time plans were to reopen nearby in the future.  More than two years later, those remain the plans.  ToNeTo Atlanta spoke Friday afternoon with Bagel Palace owner Manny Klein who indicated that he has essentially hit the "pause button" on a planned reopening at Shamrock Plaza.  That reopening, which ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report on this past May, would have put the bagel shop in a portion of a former Blockbuster Video in the Publix-anchored center across from North DeKalb Mall and would have also been quite expensive, as it would require extensive build-out to become a restaurant.  

Klein tells us that he still has equipment in storage and would still like to reopen, but does not want to rush into anything.  As Klein sees it, COVID-19 is still very much a real threat to the restaurant industry and so for now he is sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to improve and hopefully for the right space to be available.     

In addition to the aforementioned bagel joints, several others exist around metro Atlanta, more today than perhaps ever before.  

Goldbergs Fine Foods (fka Goldberg's Bagel Co. & Deli), easily the largest and perhaps most well-known local shop, has seven locations across metro Atlanta (plus three at Hartsfield-Jackson).  Other smaller operators like Bagelicious, The Bagel Hole and Emerald City Bagels have each found their own niche and their own supportive neighborhoods in East Cobb, Cumming and East Atlanta Village, respectively.  Other popular joints include 101 Bagel Cafe, with locations in Duluth and in Atlanta near Cumberland Mall, and The General Muir, near Emory University. 

While Jews won't be able to "break the fast" of Yom Kippur at Brooklyn Bagel Ansley on Monday, in view of the fact that they are taking over an existing and relatively new bakery, Brooklyn Bagel should easily be open before the end of the year.  

Are you excited for the return of a local bagel joint to Ansley Mall? What is your favorite bagel eatery in metro Atlanta?  What is our favorite bagel/cream cheese combo?

Please share your thoughts below.  

Healthy quick-serve eatery Sweetgreen appears to have secured its third Atlanta area location.  Permits filed Friday with the City of Atlanta indicate that Sweetgreen will open in Buckhead at Lenox Square.  At the mall, Sweetgreen will open in place of ATL Taco, around the corner from True Food Kitchen.  ATL Taco, itself a replacement of sibling eatery Bantam+Biddy, closed last October after just over a year and  a half in business.   

The permit filed with the City of Atlanta indicates that nearly $800,000 will be spent converting the roughly 3,800 square foot space.  

The menu at Sweetgreen is a mashup of sorts between Wildleaf and Flower Child - both already in the Buckhead market - with a variety of salads and warm bowls, but also "plates" which feature assorted proteins paired with a variety of grains and vegetables.  We tried Sweetgreen this past fall on our visit to Hudson Yards in New York City and found our salad quite good and surprisingly not outrageously expensive.           

Established in 2007 by then recent Georgetown University grads Nicolas Jammet, Nathaniel Ru, and Jonathan Neman, the company has grown to more than 100 units across the country.  As of this past September, when the privately held company completed its latest round of financing, the company was valued at $1.6 billion, a full 60 percent higher than just ten months prior.  

In addition to the Lenox Square and Ponce City Market Sweetgreen locations, sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that a third Sweetgreen is planned for Colony Square in Midtown.  The restaurant would occupy a space outside of the planned food hall where Shake Shack was previously slated to open. (Shake Shack founder Danny Meyer is an investor in Sweetgreen.)

When Sweetgreen opens at Lenox Square, it will be a stone's throw from Apple's fancy new two story "flagship" store which is expected to open at the front of the mall before the end of the year.  

Have you ever been to Sweetgreen?  What is your favorite salad shop?  Where else in Atlanta would you like to see Sweetgreen open?  

Please share your thoughts below.