Saturday, January 20, 2018

[Open & Shut] Jefe's Closing in TOWN Brookhaven, Red Pepper Taqueria Opening

Jefe's Tacos & Tequila will close for good tomorrow, Sunday, January 21, after just under a year and a half in business.  The restaurant, a sibling eatery to Kaleidoscope on Dresden Drive, opened in September 2016 in place of Noche, which had occupied the space since early 2011, shortly after TOWN Brookhaven opened.  Noche closed abruptly on October 5, 2015 along with all other Here to Serve restaurant concepts amidst a liquidity crisis.   


Many locals felt that not enough was done to differentiate Jefe's from its predecessor, and that as an imitation, it fell short.  Others lamented that despite being closed for months ahead of their opening, little was done to the interior, with the one major change being that the previously open patio was enclosed, something many saw as a boneheaded move.  

Doug Gross and chef Joey Riley, who owned Jefe's, also own Kaleidoscope, which they opened on Dresden Drive in 2010 and expanded into the former Yoforia space next door in 2015.



Jefe's confirmed their closure via a brief Fcaebook post earlier this afternoon. 

"To all of our wonderful friends and family, we would like to take a moment to thank you all for your amazing support over the past year and a half. We would also like to inform you that after some very serious consideration, we have decided to sell the restaurant. This Sunday evening (tomorrow night) will be our last service as Jefe’s Tacos and Tequila. We can’t begin to stress how difficult it was to make this decision but we are comfortable in the knowledge that we are leaving the restaurant in the very capable hands of Red Pepper Taqueria. We hope that you all will join us on Sunday evening and help us say goodbye."

Red Pepper Taqueria will open in place of Jefe's in the coming months.  The first Red Pepper opened in late 2011 at Briar Vista shopping center at the corner of LaVista and Briarcliff Roads.  The restaurant opened in place of what had been the last remaining Artuzzi's restaurant, a failed Atlanta based Italian franchise.   A second location opened on Piedmont Road in Buckhead in 2013.  The Buckhead location opened in a restaurant space that had been plagued by failed concepts.


Given that Red Pepper is already established in the area, hopefully it finds success where Jefe's did not.   

Red Pepper owner Mimmo Alboumeh tells ToNeTo Atlanta that he hopes to be open in four to six weeks.  

Are you excited for the opening of Red Pepper Taqueria in Brookhaven?  Why do you think Jefe's was unsuccessful?  What is your favorite place for tacos in Atlanta?


Please share your thoughts below  

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, shocked. Always enjoyed the food and service here. Never saw it packed but I mainly went for brunch. Whats the story?

Anonymous said...

I didn't think the food was very good. Red Pepper is a lot better.

Amy said...

Red Pepper is great - ate there actually last night but if they plan to open in 4-6 weeks, does not sound much different either...

Anonymous said...

Their food was not that great. It was really bland. Red pepper is way better. Excited for it to be coming to Town Brookhaven.

Anonymous said...

I think it's pretty hard to make a terrible taco, but theirs were pretty bad. So excited about Red Pepper!

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