The three remaining Folks Southern Kitchen restaurants closed March 23 which the company said was temporary, but new information suggests will be permanent. Folks, like other restaurants that have closed in recent weeks, was likely not the most financially stable and the pandemic seemingly accelerated the inevitable. The company filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Northern District of Georgia Monday.
The AJC Tuesday afternoon was first to report on the bankruptcy filing, but strangely did not reference it as chapter 7, a total liquidation, which it is. Unlike a chapter 11 filing, where the company seeks to reorganize and continue as a going concern, a chapter 7 filing basically means the company has no prospect of returning to normal operations and will instead have its assets, including its intellectual property, liquidated.
The company reported liabilities of between $500,000 and $1 million, and less than $50,000 in assets. Its creditors include American Express, Georgia Power and US Foods.
Folks Inc., with headquarters in Buford, has in recent years closed several Atlanta area restaurants including those in Douglasville, Gainesville, McDonough, and most recently, this past December in Marietta.
The restaurant is known for its southern fare and economical prices such as its three course meal for only $9.99, with what they claimed was Atlanta's best fried chicken.
Signage at the Woodstock restaurant located just off Highway 92 confirms that the closure is, in fact, permanent. The Tucker restaurant, located near the intersection of Northlake Parkway and LaVista Road, still displays a sign indicating that it's only temporarily closed, despite sources telling ToNeTo Atlanta that the property Folks occupies is already being marketed. The Hiram restaurant, the newest of the three, also displays signage that its closure is temporary. The Folks facebook page, unlike most other business pages, has not been updated in more than three and a half years!
Folks traces its history to 1978.
As the Folks website tells it:
"Folks, Inc.® was started in 1978 by Richard J. Pratt and Richard W. King with our first restaurant being in Chamblee, Georgia. Folks opened its doors December 2nd, 1978 and has been selling Atlanta's "Best Fried Chicken & Iced Tea" ever since."
In reality, that origin story is only half of the actual story. The first Po’ Folks restaurant opened in Anderson, South Carolina in 1975. The restaurant's name was inspired by the 1961 country music hit Po' Folks by artist Bill Anderson. Entrepreneurs Richard Pratt and Richard King became franchisees of the budding chain in 1978 when they opened in Chamblee.
In 1988, after peaking at more than 100 restaurants, the parent company filed for bankruptcy. Pratt and King's Atlanta area restaurants were thriving, so they rebranded as Folks [eventually adding Southern Kitchen], and continued to operate.
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| The former Folks in Marietta |
The Atlanta area operators once had a dozen or so units. Among the early locations were those on South Cobb Drive in Smyrna, Alpharetta Highway in Roswell, Buford Highway in what is now Brookhaven, and in Chamblee on Peachtree Industrial, where an Advance Auto Parts operates today.
Like Folks, Old Hickory House was once a multi-state, multi-unit southern restaurant chain. Today, there is just one remaining, a stone's throw from the Tucker Folks, at 2202 Northlake Parkway.
Are you surprised to see all Folks Southern Kitchen restaurants close? Do you think Folks has the best fried chicken in Atlanta? What would you like to see open in the former Folks restaurants?
Please share your thoughts below.