Fast casual seafood eatery calls it quits in Buckhead
Less than six month after opening, Atlanta-based Boneheads Grilled Fish - Piri Piri Chicken has closed its corporate-owned Buckhead "flagship." The restaurant and its secret "Buckhead Speakeasy" lounge opened in late April and closed yesterday. The restaurant opened in the street level retail space within the Eclipse condo building at the corner of Pharr Road and North Fulton Drive. Boneheads replaced Pan Asian eatery Aqua Bistro, which had been in the space since the building opened in 2005.
Sources say that Rob Barber, owner of Boneheads, spent close to two million on the buildout of the space.
Raving Brands, (now known as Big Game Brands), the restaurant's original owner, sold the concept to Rob Barber and his BH Acquisition, LLC in late 2009.
With a number of outdoor seating options, one would have thought the restaurant would have been set up for success given the warm weather that followed its opening. Sadly though, as predicted, the chain did not resonate well with locals and was reportedly never busy, even at lunch.
The nearly 4000 square foot space was papered up as of today with the Boneheads signage already removed. Workers were actively removing equipment from the restaurant earlier this afternoon.
This past July, I was first to report that the Boneheads in TOWN Brookhaven would close too. The franchised location closed a few days after my post, less than two years after first opening.
According to the Boneheads website, the chain currently has nine locations in six states. (The Buckhead location still appears as open and was number 10.)
The Boneheads site reflects there being a number of new locations in the pipeline. Boneheads are reportedly "coming soon" to Alpharetta, Little Rock, Arkansas, Oxford, Mississippi, Houston, Texas, Pensacola, Florida, Visalia, California, and Lahore, Pakistan.
What would you like to see replace Boneheads? Why do you think Boneheads failed? Did you ever visit their secret speakeasy?
Please share your thoughts below.