On the heels of last year's abrupt closure of more than a dozen Hardee's restaurants across Georgia, several of their former spaces have been leased to new and growing brands. Some of the former Hardee's restaurants remain vacant and available, but ToNeTo Atlanta has confirmed at least ten have new tenants signed or open.
Locally owned eatery Collard Green Cafe, currently located at 1880 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Tucker, plans to relocate to the former Hardee's at 1727 Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Tucker, about a half mile away.
Locally owned chicken joint Cozy Coop opened in June in a former Hardee's at 891 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell. The new location joins the existing Marietta/Kennesaw unit which opened in November 2022 in place of a former Zaxby's.
Dunkin' recently opened in place of Hardee's at 1700 Old Pendergrass Road in Jefferson in Jackson County. The donut and coffee franchise already has nearly 300 locations in Georgia and shows no signs of slowing down with several more in the works. Established in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1948, the company was acquired by Atlanta-based Roark Capital Group in October 2020, and was added to Roark's Inspire Brands portfolio. (Roark also owns Hardee's.)
The former Hardee's at 2520 Delk Road, just off I-75 in Marietta has been leased to IHOP. This marks at least the second former Hardee's that IHOP has converted following their Chamblee location in Chamblee Plaza more than a decade ago.
A lease has been signed with popular Guatemalan chicken restaurant Pollo Campero to replace the former Hardee's at 630 Buford Drive in Lawrenceville. The new restaurant, a corporately owned location, will mark Pollo Campero's fifth in Georgia, joining existing outposts at Northeast Plaza on Buford Highway in Brookhaven, on Pleasant Hill Road in Lawrenceville, on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross, and on Cobb Parkway between the Marietta Diner and The Big Chicken in Marietta. Die-hard Pollo Campero fans are known to board planes from Guatemala (and El Salvator) with specially prepared bags of chicken from the popular chain. This practice is so common that airlines like Delta have airport signage that names and limits the number of Pollo Campero bags any one passenger may travel home with.
Growing quick-serve burrito eatery Surcheros Fresh Mex in May opened in the former Hardee's at 104 S. Tennessee Street in Cartersville. The new restaurant marked the 28th in Georgia for the Alpharetta-based franchise.
In Loganville, where Hardee's closed their restaurant at 4360 Atlanta Highway, Caribou Coffee opened a new location this past March. The Minneapolis-based coffee chain also earlier this year opened new shops in Milton and Kennesaw and has plans to open another in Cumming soon.
The former Hardee's at 7940 Senoia Road in Fairburn reopened in April as a new Tim Horton's. ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report on the planned opening this past January. In addition to the Fairburn locations, Canada's Tim Horton's has also opened locations in Columbus and in Midtown near The Varsity. Other Atlanta area Tim Horton's are planned for Johns Creek, Suwanee, and Newnan.
Metro Diner, a Jacksonville-based breakfast, lunch, and dinner eatery, is opening in the former Hardee's at 3075 Atlanta Highway in Athens. The breakfast, lunch and dinner eatery currently has three locations in Georgia: Columbus, Augusta and at Tanger Outlets Savannah in Pooler, near Savannah. The company previously had a location along Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell but it closed in 2017 after less than a year in business. (The former Roswell restaurant is now a laundromat). Metro Diner also opened a restaurant in Macon in 2017, but closed it in 2019. By opening in Athens the company is finally fulfilling an earlier effort to open in the area. ToNeTo Atlantareported in 2017 that a Metro Diner was planned for E. Broad Street in Downtown Athens (in place of the longtime East West Bistro) but the company ultimately abandoned its plans.
What has your local former Hardee's become? What Hardee's replacement are you most excited about? Have we missed any backfilled for Hardee's in Georgia?
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