Monday, November 4, 2019

[CLOSURE ALERT] Chili's Out Cold at Lindbergh City Center

Chili's Grill & Bar has closed its restaurant on Piedmont Road in Buckhead.  The approximately 5,900 square foot restaurant, located at 2440 Piedmont Road at the Lindbergh City Center, opened in 2007 and closed quietly "about a week ago," according to an employee at another nearby location.   
When Chili's opened at the project, it joined a relocated LongHorn Steakhouse which moved from its longtime home on Peachtree Road where the chain got its start.  A Dunkin' [Donuts] was added on the other side of Chili's in 2014.  

Despite being located along Piedmont Road and accessible [for both staff and patrons] via MARTA, the restaurant seemed to suffer from constant staffing issues.  The restaurant received more than 150 reviews via review site Yelp.com, but had just a two star rating overall.  Of the ten most recently received reviews [late June to late August], seven were one star ratings and three were two stars.  Basically every review cited poor or inattentive service, short staffing, long waits and other disappointments.  

Chili's is the latest restaurant to close at the transit oriented development (TOD).  Prior closures have included Urban Flats, My Panini, Bobby G's Chicago Eatery, Hot Stix, FIVE GUYS and the Firkin & Lindbergh, among others.  

Dallas, Texas-based Brinker International owns both the Chili's and Maggiano's Little Italy brands and continues to operate several of each concept in Atlanta, including a Maggiano's on Peachtree Road in Buckhead and a Chili's on LaVista Road in Toco Hill shopping center.  

The Buckhead Chili's is at least the fourth to close in metro Atlanta over the years.  The chain previously shuttered restaurants on Holcomb Bridge Road in Peachtree Corners,  Northlake Parkway in Tucker and at Sugarloaf Mills in Lawrenceville, among others.  

Are you surprised that Chili's closed?  What would you like to see open in place of Chili's at Lindbergh City Center?  What is your favorite eatery at Lindbergh City Center? 

Please share your thoughts below.  

14 comments:

RichKnobSales said...

There is so much poor management of wait staff at Atlanta restaurants that it's a wonder that any of them survive! We sure won't go back more than twice if we get poor service. We figure once can be a bad day, but twice is an indicator.

If you hire good servers, treat them fairly, schedule them fairly, let them keep most of their own tips, then you'll have folks in a good mood who enjoy their jobs and will work with a smile and not a scowl.

Surly staff needs to be shown to the door. But so many places hire friends and family to run the front of the house and wonder why they are losing customers.

Anonymous said...

Not surprised. The entire Lindbergh area looks like a war zone lately. Cheap cash checking stores. Daiquiri bars. Cheesy clubs. This little piece of Buckhead may be the only location in Metro Atlanta that has gotten worse over the past 3-5 years.

Anonymous said...

It's always the same story with chain restaurants in Atlanta proper. The job market is swamped with people with bad attitudes that get jobs. I went to McAlister's Deli on 17th Street yesterday. Normally, McAlister's has good service. But leave it to an Atlanta location to hire the type of people that want a job, but don't want to be friendly. Maybe they think they're owed something? Here's an idea...maybe you're working there because you don't give a crap enough to do something better. Or is it because "the system" is holding you back? That's probably it.

Anonymous said...

did the Jimmy johns close too?

Anonymous said...

What's going on at Lindbergh City Center is a disgrace and it has been trending downward for many years. Places have been closing left and right there for years, now the mainstays Five Guys and Chilis have closed. Is Taco Mac next? It's amazing that Atlanta can't even accomplish something as simple as a transit-oriented development at Lindbergh. With all the people who live and work and commute in that area, you'd think that they could actually keep some places open. And that's even without the parking issues at local garages. No one is going to park there to go to a local business when they have to get a ticket, validate the ticket, then figure out how to use the broken machines to exit the garages. It's amazing that someone can't figure out how to make this area work. It's beyond disgraceful

Anonymous said...

I used to live over there 10 years ago. Back then it was a nice new development and the TacoMac was a destination nearly any day of the week for anyone who was still employed and had a few bucks for beer & a hamburger. Only went to LongHorn and Chilis maybe a couple of times and I feel those places were always trying to keep up with TMac. My list visit was 4-5 years ago and my impression was that the whole development has had its run but is struggling. Either high rents are forcing tenants out, or they can't hire and keep good employees due to the strong job market (likely both).

Anonymous said...

All of Lindbergh City Center including the Chili's site were bought by a very large real estate firm as of last month. Changes will be coming.

SB said...

Yes

Anonymous said...

Carjackings and other crime in the area is why most people stopped going to the area. Add the poor service and the sewer smell in both Chilis and Longhorn and you have a recipe for failure. The city closed a jail with great fanfare. Yes it was too large but the message sent was the city is soft on crime. Before new businesses can succeed we need better visibility of law enforcement and we need to clean house at city hall.

Unknown said...

I've noticed poor service at that Taco Mac for years. People there make it seem like you are bothering them because you want to be served.

Anonymous said...

While Lindbergh is technically "Buckhead", it is effectively "Buckass". Unfortunately, another example of the results of the ridiculous mania preceding the market crash ten years ago. Hopefully someone will come along with the vision and influence to seriously turn it around. It is one of the biggest unexploited opportunities in Atlanta.

Anonymous said...

That stretch of Piedmont Rd. is tough. Bad traffic, bad traffic control, difficult to access the businesses on it, and the vacant or underutilized lots around Lindbergh City Center are controlled by slumlords who refuse to sell into one of the best real estate markets in decades.

Anonymous said...

Couldn't agree more with the immediately prior comment. Good news is, there's a new Sheriff in town (owner of most of the site). Looking forward to seeing their plans unfold

Unknown said...

Mayor Bottoms has turned the city over to the bums and criminals. I wouldn't live in this area if you paid me. The few APD officers that haven't quit yet are unwilling or unable to do a damn thing

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