101 Bagel Cafe has closed its location in Ashford Place (4780 Ashford Dunwoody Road) not far from Perimeter Mall. The bagel shop occupied a roughly 1,800 square foot space in the center that recently welcomed Sushi Kingdom to a onetime Romano's Macaroni Grill space.
The eatery reportedly closed "temporarily" as of June 30, but multiple sources close to the center and eatery indicate the closure is permanent.
ToNeTo Atlanta readers will recall that 101 Bagel Cafe originally opened in 2012 as a franchise of Florida-based The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., a company that claimed to have the capability to create "Brooklyn-ized water." In 2018, owner Tony Yang ditched the franchise and launched "101 Bagel Cafe" in its place. Yang, along with business partner Rob Miller, later opened another outpost in Duluth in early 2019 followed by more recent expansion into East Cobb (April 2022), Dunwoody (December 2022) and Milton (March 2023).
101 Bagel Cafe proudly claimed to feature products with a "101% satisfaction guaranteed."
The bagel shop closed their Akers Mill cafe this past July and their Duluth location this past February. The Akers Mill location was advertised as permanently closed while the Duluth closure was supposedly only temporary despite it being closed now for 4+ months.
It's unclear what led to the rash of closures, but a ToNeTo Atlanta tipster suggests that there may be financial and tax issues going on behind the scenes putting pressure on the business.
The corporately owned East Cobb location and franchised Milton location both remain open, for now.
Given that the Dunwoody location has closed before the completion of its lease, it may be some time before a replacement can or will be found. While residents wait for the dust to settle, Desi District, a new Indian eatery, is confirmed and will be under construction soon in the former Chili's. A lease for the former Memphis BBQ Co. is reportedly "close," according to a source familiar with the center's leasing efforts.
Are you surprised to see 101 Bagel Cafe close its Dunwoody location? Who in metro Atlanta do you think makes the best bagel? What would you like to see open in place of 101 Bagel Cafe in Dunwoody?
Please share your thoughts below.