Friday, June 1, 2018

[UPDATE] Taco Mac Silently Shutters CNN Center Outpost

Taco Mac quietly closed its restaurant at CNN Center in Downtown Atlanta after ten years in business.  The 10,000 square foot two story restaurant, which opened in May 2008, was located on Georgia Dome Drive, adjacent to Philips Arena and CNN Center and across the street from the Georgia World Congress Center.  The restaurant closed on April 30, reportedly without warning.  


A restaurant representative supplied ToNeTo Atlanta with the following statement with regard to the closure.  


"After careful review, we have made the decision to not renew our lease and to close our Philips Arena location as of April 30. With Philips Arena closing for over six months for remodeling, we decided that it did not make sense for us to renew our lease and remain open during this extended period of time. Like all Atlanta sports fans, we remain huge fans of the Atlanta Hawks and look forward to seeing their new home. In the meantime, we will focus on growing our presence in Atlanta and will work to relocate every Philips Arena team member to a nearby Taco Mac. We encourage all of our guests and Brewniversity members to visit our nearby Metropolis, Virginia-Highland, Lindbergh or Decatur Taco Mac restaurants to continue to enjoy our award-winning wings and the most craft beer on draft in Atlanta."

A sign posted to the restaurant's window directed would-be patrons to their Metropolis location on Peachtree Street, about three miles away.  

The CNN Center Taco Mac had not been reviewed on Yelp.com since September 11, 2017 when Juan V left a one star review that began with "Horrible Service." and ended with  "I am never coming back."  Overall, the restaurant had a cumulative two star rating out of 45 reviews. 

Dantanna's Downtown had opened in place of the former Jocks & Jills at CNN Center in early 2009 and remains in business there and at their original location in Buckhead but closed in Sandy Springs earlier this year.  

ToNeTo Atlanta reported in early March that Taco Mac had been purchased by a group of businessmen, all of whom are partners in Fresh Hospitality, a Nashville-based restaurant investment company.  Last month, ToNeTo shared news that Taco Mac was returning to Marietta and Woodstock after a four month hiatus.  Both Taco Mac restaurants originally opened in 1998,  and in January 2018 converted to "Morgan’s Sports Grill," a similar concept created by franchisee Rick Lindsay.  This past Wednesday May 30, the two restaurants reopened as Taco Mac. 

Are you surprised that Taco Mac decided to close at CNN Center?   What would you like to see open in place of the former Taco Mac at CNN Center? Have you noticed any changes (good or bad) since Taco Mac was purchased?

Please share your thoughts below    

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

They need to close the Midtown location. Terrible service.

Anonymous said...

They screwed up their wings recipe years ago. I haven’t been back since 2011 when I was stuck downtown due to a snowstorm.

Anonymous said...

Once again, in that part of Atlanta, along with a growing number of other parts of Atlanta, it’s da “teens” an “yoofs” causing major decline and business flight! Face the reality.....then fix the reality.

Anonymous said...

I was there a couple of months ago and the service was horrible. It was obvious they were terribly understaffed. So this news is no surprise.

Anonymous said...

Not surprised at all. Awful service at this location as well as Midtown/Lindbergh. I used to frequent Taco Mac, but haven't been in months and don't really plan on it with all of the newer sports bars popping up around Atlanta.

Anonymous said...

I used to be a Taco Mac faithful customer, but even I admitted that the CNN location was terrible. They were always understaffed during events which resulted in really long wait times despite empty tables scattered about the restaurant. Also, during events, they incorporated "special event pricing" which meant that everyone was served the same size draft beers for an elevated event price. Brewniversity members, who had tallied enough credits to normally qualify for the larger mug (4oz bonus) were treated like everyone else.

The only good part about this location was the dedicated entrance into Philips. It was nice to get to the arena early, enter before anyone was in line and then be able to exit into the Taco Mac (they gave you a wristband) and you could then re-enter the arena through the dedicated entrance without having to wait in the long lines that would form as the event was close to starting. They also let you order your food to go and bring it with you to your seat at the event.

Recently, Taco Mac changed their beer pricing and now the prices are a little much. $8 for a draft beer is pretty normal over there now but I think that's too high. It's not like the food is great - people go for the beer, so I think they are making mistakes that could ultimately spell their demise.

Anonymous said...

For a number of years, I worked near this location and as others pointed out service was all over the place.

Sometimes very good and other times, what a way to waste a lunch hour just to get a burger or wings. Food quality and quantity was never consistent.

They did have lots of flat screens with every sporting event that could be broadcast on..

The staff must of worked about one day and then left. Never saw the same folks.

One lunch, issues were bad enough to ask for a manager to assist with the issue and that was a long wait as well.

The reason for the closure seems weak, since there is CNN Center staff, other events around the area including the GA Aquarium and Football venue.

Several years ago Wendy's closed their doors and CFA expanded.

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