Wednesday, October 17, 2018

[EXCLUSIVE] Chopt Planning November Debut in Buckhead, Scores Third Atlanta Location

Chopt Creative Salad Co. plans to open in Buckhead's Tuxedo Festival shopping center Monday, November 15, according to sources familiar with the restaurant's plans. (The restaurant's opening is subject to change but current plans are for the 15th.)  The new healthy eatery will open in a corner unit in the center located at the corner of Roswell and Piedmont Roads near Chastain Park.  The Buckhead outpost replaces a former Regions Bank and joins fellow food offerings Zoës Kitchen, Marcello's, Duck Donuts and Menchies in the busy center. 
A City of Atlanta inspector vehicle on site at Chopt last week 
The New York-based chain's first Atlanta area location opened this past June in Toco Hills shopping center.  In addition to the two restaurants, Chopt also opened a commissary in DeKalb county.  The [dedicated] commissary kitchen is meant to service the chain's current and future restaurants in the Atlanta area. The kitchen is located in the converted office space at 3795 Presidential Parkway, alongside Stone Summit, not far from Regal Cinemas Hollywood 24. 

ToNeTo Atlanta has learned that Chopt will open their third Atlanta area location in spring 2019 in Midtown's Ansley Mall, at the corner of Monroe Drive and Piedmont Avenue.  The salad joint will supplant Atlanta-based Moe's Southwest Grill in its 2,920 square foot space.  The Moe's at Ansley Mall opened in 2003 and was one of the first franchised units in metro Atlanta for the chain which started on Peachtree Road in Buckhead in 2001. 

Barring any structural changes, the Ansley Mall Chopt would be the chain's smallest in metro Atlanta after Tuxedo Festival (3,012 square feet) and Toco Hills (3,140 square feet.)

Real estate sources confirm that a lease with Chopt has been executed by property owner Selig Properties, but attempts to obtain confirmation from Moe's, Chopt and Selig on the transaction were all unsuccessful.  Moet's closure is "imminent," according to industry sources.  

The current Moe's at Ansley Mall 
One local source reports that representatives from Moe's have been inquiring about availability in nearby centers in an effort to relocate the quick serve burrito chain. 

This deal marks the third time in which a salad eatery has supplanted a local Moe's franchise.  Houston-based Salata, which bills itself as "The Next Generation Salad Bar," last year opened a number of new locations in metro Atlanta.  In Atlantic Station and in Sandy Springs the chain replaced existing Moe's restaurants.  In East Cobb, Salata opened in place of an Uncle Maddio's Pizza, a struggling concept started by a pair of Moe's veterans. 

Chopt is being far more selective in the spaces and neighborhoods they target than Salata, which already has six units open with a seventh coming soon to the new Fuqua Development Peachtree Corners Town Center project on Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners.  

Have you tried Chopt in Toco Hills yet?  What is your favorite salad joint?  Where would you like to see Chopt open next?

Please share your thoughts below.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Today is Moe's last day!!!

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