The bigger, badder, BIG Chicken is expected to reopen Thursday May 11th after a multi-month, multi-million dollar renovation. Among the changes at the landmark restaurant are the addition of both a gift shop and custom artwork. The Big Chicken renovation project is part of KFC’s bold goal to remodel roughly 70% of its approximately 4,200 U.S. restaurants by the end of 2017.
The Flying Biscuit Cafe has officially reopened in its new home on Collier Road in Howell Mill Village shopping center. The breakfast eatery closed its location in Paces Ferry Plaza this past August and had originally intended to reopen late last year but was apparently delayed in their permitting and build-out.
Niecy's Cafe has closed. The restaurant, which opened n 2015, was located on Lower Roswell Road in East Cobb but according to local sources never seemed to take off. According to a notice from the restaurant, Niecy's last day in business was March 28th.
Harbor Freight Tools plans to open a new location in Canton. The new, approximately 20,600 square foot store will open in a portion of a former kmart store. Harbor Freight will join Ollie's Bargain Outlet, also in a portion of the former kmart, and a Goodwill, as anchors of the center on Marietta Highway.
Just days after closing their Dunwoody restaurant, Applebee's has also closed their Johns Creek / Suwanee restaurant. A ToNeTo Atlanta reader tipped me off to the closure of the Applebee's on on Johns Creek Parkway, just off Peachtree Parkway, in Johns Creek / Suwanee. The closure has since been confirmed by a company representative. The freestanding restaurant was located in an outparcel of Johns Creek Town Center.
The Tile Shop plans to open their fourth Atlanta area location later this year in Buckhead. The store is opening in place of the former Hancock Fabrics, next to HomeGoods, at Buckhead Crossing shopping center. The roughly 11,000 square foot space was vacated last summer when the Hancock filed for bankruptcy and was last utilized as a seasonal Halloween store this past October. Plymouth, Minnesota based The Tile Shop operates over 125 locations nationwide including existing Atlanta area locations in Dunwoody, Kennesaw and Buford.
Mae's Bakery owner Beth Castro has sold the business. Castro opened Mae's during the summer of 2012 in Lenox Village, a small shopping center set of Lenox Road, in Buckhead. Despite its small space, only 1,500 square feet, Mae's carved out a nice niche in the community with fresh pastries and exquisite cakes. While the retail portion of the business did well, Castro shrewdly diversified the business into both wholesale production for other restaurants as well as both movie and television production sets. The new owners, Kim & Milton Woodward reportedly plan to continue the business as is. Steve Josovitz with The Shumacher Group represented Castro in the sale.