It's a mixed bag of news for fans of Willy's Mexicana Grill as we wrap up 2023. A source close to the locally-owned chain tells ToNeTo Atlanta that the Willy's Mexicana Grill on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs is closing at the end of the year. The restaurant, which opened in 2015, occupied a roughly 1,700 square foot space in the Trader Joe's-anchored Sandy Springs Plaza shopping center. Signage installed this week confirms the closure is planned for December 31.
Willy's, started by local restaurateur Willy Bitter in 1995, predates both Moe's Southwest Grill's existence and Chipotle's entrance into the Atlanta market. Overall, the company has had great success in selecting sites but does occasionally shutter stores. By our count, the Sandy Springs closure is just the sixth restaurant the company has ever closed in its nearly 30 year history. Prior closures have included units in Buford at the Mall of Georgia, Sandy Springs (Dunwoody Place), Ponce de Leon (Midtown Place), Downtown at Georgia State, and earlier this year, a location in Columbus.
In happier news, Willy's is again expanding their Howlin' Willy's Hot Chicken concept and will open the first stand-alone unit of the growing sibling brand in a nearly 1,700 square foot space between California Closets and Chopt in East Cobb. The new hot chicken joint is taking the remaining portion of the former California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) in Pine Straw Place at the corner of Roswell and Johnson Ferry Roads.
The East Cobb Howlin' Willy's does join an existing Willy's Mexicana Grill in the shopping center, but will mark the first time the sibling brand has not operated from within a Willy's. ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported on what was then an initial test of the concept within the Willy's at Briarcliff and Druid Hills in Brookhaven in 2021. In the years since, additional Howlin' Willy's were opened within Willy's in Hapeville and in Midtown near Piedmont Park.
Pending permitting and build-out, plans call for the new Howlin' Willy's to open during the first half of 2024.
Are you surprised to see Willy's again close in Sandy Springs? What is your favorite place for burritos in metro Atlanta? Have you tried Howlin' Willy's Hot Chicken?
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