Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Bits & Bites

Goldberg's Bagel Company & Deli plans to open its latest location today at The Battery Atlanta at SunTrust Park.  The new restaurant will be the Atlanta-based group's seventh metro location and ninth overall, with two locations in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.  
Firehouse Subs has closed its restaurant at Woodlawn Point in East Cobb.  The 1,880 square foot restaurant reportedly closed "recently" in the Publix anchored center on Johnson Ferry Road.  Another Firehouse Subs closed this past October on Peachtree Road in south Buckhead and is expected to reopen soon as poke city

Amy's Hallmark Shop will be closing its store in  Cumberland Mall at the end of January.  The store, located on the mall's first floor in the Sears wing, is currently offering 30% off all in-stock merchandise with the exception of holiday/seasonal merchandise.  Following its closure, the chain will continue to operate locations at The Avenue West Cobb, Towne Center Prado in Kennesaw, and The Forum in Norcross, among other locations.  

Sperry Top-Sider is actively closing its store at Lenox Square in Buckhead.  The store, which opened in the popular Buckhead mall during the summer of 2013, is currently offering all in-stock merchandise at 50% off.  The sale is expected to continue through Christmas Eve, at which point the store will close for good.  Sperry previously had a store at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody which it opened in 2012, but it closed in 2015.  Despite attempts to broaden its appeal with the addition of hats, shirts, and other apparel in their retail stores, Sperry seems best suited to wholesale sales.  Their popular boat shoes have been sold for years through retailers such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's.  

Construction is now well underway on Porter Pizza & Brewery on Powers Ferry Road at Northside Drive in Sandy Springs.  The restaurant and bar is opening in place of the short-lived Bruegger's Bagels in the small center anchored by CVS Pharmacy.  Still months away from opening, owner Allen Porter reportedly hopes to grow the concept and "create a brewpub chain."  

The Taco Mac restaurants in Marietta on Dallas Highway and in Woodstock on Highway 92 will both be "deflagged" in January 2018.  Owner Rick Lindsay plans to close both restaurants January 29th and reopen them on January 30th as "Morgan's," which will reportedly offer a menu very similar to Taco Mac.  Both restaurants originally opened in 1998.  While it's not completely clear why the change is taking place, it's not the first time that a franchised Taco Mac restaurant has closed only to reopen soon after as an independent restaurant.  A former Taco Mac on Johnson Ferry Road in East Cobb today operates as Suburban Tap, another former Taco Mac on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs today operates as the North River Tavern.  A former Taco Mac on Mountain Industrial Boulevard in Tucker later operated as Barlow's Bar & Grill and eventually The Comeback Sports Bar & Grill before closing earlier this year.  As ToNeTo Atlanthas previously reported, a number of Atlanta area Mellow Mushroom restaurants have also "deflagged" over the years, dropping the Mellow Mushroom franchise and brand in favor of the independence of their own concept.

Entrepreneurs Morgan & Lisa Maclellan will celebrate the opening of their second Your Pie franchise Friday December 8th on Memorial Drive in Grant Park.  The quick-serve pizza eatery will open in The George, a new apartment complex at the corner of Hill Street and Memorial Drive.  In the coming months, Atlanta-based Farm Burger will join Athens-based Your Pie in the retail portion of the apartment complex.  The Maclellans opened their first Your Pie franchise in Perimeter Place in Dunwoody in 2015.  

A Circle K convenience store and companion gas station are planned for the site of a shuttered Taco Bell in Peachtree Corners.  The former Taco Bell, located at 6385 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard at its intersection with Jimmy Carter Boulevard, has already been demolished with plans for the new business to open during the first half of 2018.  

Starbucks' previously announced plan to close all of its 379 Teavana retail locations by the end of January 2018 might be delayed.  Judge Heather Welch of the Indiana Commercial Court of Marion County Superior Court No. 1  granted on November 27 a preliminary injunction preventing the Seattle-based company from closing 77 Teavana locations.  Indianapolis-based mall owner Simon Property Group, owns 78 malls in 26 states with Teavana locations, including Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza, Town Center at Cobb and Mall of Georgia in metro Atlanta.  All of the leases contain a “continuous operation covenant,” requiring Teavana to operate with a full staff and full stock of merchandise for the duration of the lease.  Indianapolis-based Simon sued Starbucks on August 21 following the company’s July announcement that it would close all its Teavana locations. Simon said Starbucks has no legal basis for breaking its leases.  A full report on the ruling can be found here 

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The franchisee at Your Pie in Dunwoody executed well when they opened but I must say they've done a terrible job recently with employee hiring and selection.
It all comes from leadership and there is no good team leadership in that location anymore and I go a lot less. Restaurants in North DeKalb have been struggling in general finding POLITE employees that actually show up to work, but if they want to make it in a space with a $7 ticket there is little room for error. I cannot imagine how poor Edgewood will be if they can't get training done in Dunwoody.

Anonymous said...

Not sure, but think Summits Wayside Tavern in Cumming & Snellville are "deflagged" Taco Mac's.

Anonymous said...

@ 12:51 AM Your comment is spot on, but that a problem many of these establishments face as the work ethic goes down and wage demand goes up. The entitlement class turns their noses up at these jobs. Sadly these are jobs that teenagers could do, but if you are a good student with any activities at all you don't have time for a p/t job. High school is your job.

jeff a. taylor said...

That East Cobb Firehouse did a steady biz, but it took FOREVER to get a sammich, which I guess is down to training. It was also fairly expensive for a sub. It will be interesting to see what goes in there.

Anonymous said...

Re: Deflagging. How many times have we seen a restaurant owner deflag to presumably avoid franchise fees, only to go under quickly? I remember when Three Dollar Cafe was a pretty good chain. Then they all deflagged and went out of business. I still go to the one on Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners, but it's just so so.

Anonymous said...

I would have loved if your first line was “Starbucks' previously announced plan to close all of its 379 Teavana retail locations by the end of January 2018 might be delayed … until the year 2027.”

Anonymous said...


Some of the Starbucks need to close. There are way too many of them. They are like mattress places and banks. Way too many.

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