Tuesday, March 10, 2020

[SLICED!] Jimmy John's Joins Growing List of Sandwich Shop Closures

Jimmy John's has closed at Toco Hills Promenade in Atlanta.  The popular sandwich chain, which opened at the Publix anchored center in early 2013, reportedly closed over the weekend after seven years in business.  The restaurant's nearly 2,000 square foot space is still marked as open and occupied on the Toco Hills siteplan from property owner Edens but the location has been removed from the Jimmy John's website.  

The closure of Jimmy John's at Toco Hills is now the third sandwich chain franchise closure in metro Atlanta in just the past five days. ToNeTo Atlanta reported March 6 that Lenny's Grill & Subs closed its location in Sandy Springs after less than two years in business. The following day we reported that the Sandy Springs outpost of PrimoHoagies, which had weeks earlier been listed for sale, opted instead to close, shuttering their restaurant after less than a year in business.  

Jimmy John's had by far the best location of the three shuttered sandwich shops and also the most name recognition. Launched in 1983, Jimmy John's today has nearly 3,000 locations, including more than sixty in Georgia.  This past fall the company was acquired by Sandy Springs based Inspire Brands, owners of Arby's Buffalo Wild Wings, Rusty Taco, and Sonic.   

Jimmy John's closures are rare, but do happen, such as the one that shuttered this past fall on Piedmont Road near the Lindbergh MARTA station.  

As we have reported previously, the former The Local Pizzaiolo restaurant at Toco Hills was quickly backfilled by a new location of Bezoria, a Mediterranean fast casual restaurant.  The Jimmy John's however is smaller with a less prime location and no patio which provides for a smaller pool of replacement options.  

In neighboring Toco Hills shopping center, Iron Age Korean Barbecue, BurgerIM, and Yumbii all last year announced plans to open new locations.   None have opened and little to no work has been done to renovate/build out the spaces despite both BurgerIm and Yumbii promoting Spring 2020 debuts.  


Duck Donuts, located in Toco Hills Promenade, eventually opened this past December more than two years after we first announced their planned opening.  

Update: Readers told us and the website confirmed that Jimmy John's also closed their short-lived Chamblee location at 5485 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard across from Chamblee Plaza.   

Are you surprised that Jimmy John's closed at Toco Hills?  What is your favorite sandwich shop?  What would you like to see open in place of Jimmy John's at Toco Hills?

Please share your thoughts below 

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a shame since it was a good option, but I'm not surprised. I've never seen it as busy as the line for a pubsub at Publix. The employees were far from enthusiastic but the quality was always good. Maybe it's not so "Freaky Fast" when you consider traffic in the area and trying to find parking in the center.

Anonymous said...

I'm mad as heck. The next nearest one is either in Emory or Ansley. Penn Station and Jersey Mike's arent enough sandich shop variety for this area. I too have noticed very little activity on Yumbii and Iron Age. Guess I'll have to ride my alligator through the orange groves on my way to get a Publix sammich.

sugarfoot said...

I would speculate that, without a drive-thru, that location could not generate much traffic.
They also closed one in Duluth in a former Starbucks location that was simply on the wrong side of Peachtree Industrial.
I do not think a couple of Jimmy John's closing is anything to worry about. The stores I go to, on opposite sides of the metro area, (Buford and Smyrna), usually have vehicles lined up out into the street. They have nailed it with a good quality product, and very fast service.

Anonymous said...

Good. We shouldn't be supporting Jimmy Johns anyway as the founder is a proud big game hunter. He's posed with elephants, cheetahs, and other beautiful creatures that he is fond of killing. Screw that man.

John P Anderson said...

It's important to note that this was one of the few (if not the only) corporate Jimmy Johns stores. The idea behind this location was to create a store that would market to future/potential franchisees. While the official corporate office is listed as being located in Champaign, IL, the brand was purchased by Atlanta-based parent company of Arby's and Buffalo Wild Wings, Inspire Brands last September. It's likely that the new ownership has been evaluating certain loss leading locations. I've had my fingers crossed for a Firehouse Subs to come to this part of town for a while. Toco Hills might be a great location - or the old Krystals on N. Druid Hills by I-85.

Greenwave said...

I'm very glad Duck Donuts is open. All I care about now is Iron Age. I really wish they would hurry up and open. It's already March.

Wanda S. Gould said...

They should be closed down for several different reasons. One being,the owner kills exotic and extinct animals for his own glory.
#2. For lying about building a house for a winning contestant out of their delivery range.
Close them all down.

Cody Cargle said...

Honestly good riddance to Jimmy Johns why would anyone go to a sub shop just for cold cuts only and not any hot subs or other choices, you can get cold cuts a lot cheaper at the grocery store, plus I prefer hot subs, and the original owner of Jimmy Johns I heard is a man who hunts wild game killing elephants, rhionoceros, and other wild animals, so therefore karma to the business in general, it’s sad for the employees but Subway, Firehouse Subs, Jersey Mike’s, Which Wich and other sub shops in Metro Atlanta will hire them, but anyways if anyone hasn’t noticed most of the sub shop closures are places like this, and not Jersey Mike’s and Firehouse Subs, that will tell you right there who makes a better sandwich, I mean Which Wich is more unique than Jimmy Johns even! 😂 I mean Subway has become the new Blimpies Sub, while Firehouse is now Quiznos, Jersey Mike’s is how Firehouse used to be when it first opened, and Which Wich is just another universe all together in its own class! 😁

Anonymous said...

Toco Hills is looking great lately!

Anonymous said...

To Cody Cargle: TLDR

Anonymous said...

One other thing to note the Jimmy John’s in Chamblee on PIB also closed at the same time… I miss Primo hoagies but even myself as a regular customer it was never convenient , Out of the way, terrible parking, and the employees were never trained properly, other than that they really did have the best hoagie in Atlanta.

Cody Cargle said...

Anonymous on March 14, 2020 at 7:45 PM What does TLDR mean? 😂 It’s about time you spelled my name right dumbass! 🤣

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