Viva Chicken has closed its two Atlanta area restaurants in Kennesaw and Alpharetta. The quick-serve rotisserie chicken restaurants opened in late 2022 and early 2023, respectively, and closed earlier this week, according to ToNeTo Atlanta readers. By Thursday evening, all permanent signage was gone and the majority of the restaurant's interior furniture and equipment had been removed.
The chain's Kennesaw restaurant was located at Barrett Corners (1131 Ernest Barrett Parkway), a strip center developed on the site of the former Sweet Tomatoes. The restaurant officially opened October 26, 2022. Viva Chicken occupied a 3,000 square foot space in the center also home to eateries Five Guys and Maple Street Biscuit Company. SITE Centers, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) purchased the roughly 18,700 square foot center in April 2023 for $15.6 Million. The Viva Chicken space is not yet marked as available on the SITE Centers website.
In Alpharetta, Viva Chicken occupied a roughly 2,600 square foot space in Alpha Soda Center (11760 Haynes Bridge Road). Space was added to the existing outparcel to accommodate the Viva which officially opened March 1, 2023. Viva's neighbor, Newnan-based butcher shop Cleaver & Cork, occupied a 3,000 square foot space in the center, but they closed both it and their East Cobb location earlier this year. In an unfortunate twist, SITE Centers also purchased the roughly 14,600 square foot Alpha Soda Center for $9.4 million in May 2023. The site plan does indicate the Cleaver & Cork space is available but has not yet been updated to reflect the Viva Chicken vacancy.
Viva Chicken is a fast-casual restaurant which specializes in Peruvian rotisserie chicken. Chef Bruno Macchiavello, a native of Peru, and business partner Randy Garcia, opened the first Viva Chicken in the Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte in 2013.
Following the twin Atlanta closures, the chain will operate fourteen locations in North and South Carolina as well as a single unit in St. George, a city in southwestern Utah.
Did you ever visit Viva Chicken? Are you surprised Viva Chicken closed its Atlanta area restaurants? What would you like to see open in place of Viva Chicken in Alpharetta and Kennesaw?
Please share your thoughts below.