Uncle Julio's Mexican from Scratch has now confirmed that its two previously "temporarily closed" Atlanta area restaurants are in fact closed permanently. The restaurants, located along Peachtree Road in south Buckhead and on Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs, both still display COVID-19 related temporary closure signage, but both have also now been deleted from the restaurant's location listings, and old links to the respective Atlanta area locations now indicate that both are permanently closed.
ToNeTo Atlanta researched the status of both locations ahead of our recent exclusive report on the closures of two local Ted's Montana Grill locations, one of which was neighbors with Uncle Julio's. At that time, both locations were still listed on the company's website as "temporarily closed," but alas something must have changed earlier this week. The Peachtree Road location (as well as the Ted's next door) were due to close later this year to make way for a new Shepherd Center development and expansion. The closure in Sandy Springs, the newer of the two units, having opened in late 2009, was unexpected.
The Sandy Springs closure is especially sad when you consider that it had been among the most consistent tenants in the Perimeter Town Center project. Asian concept R Rice, cupcake shop Gigi's, and pasta joint FIGO, are all long gone with Uncle Julio's and its roughly 7,000 square foot space the only original tenant left in the center. ToNeTo Atlanta first reported March 7, just ahead of the pandemic, that Primo Hoagies, which had replaced Gigi's, had called it quits after less than a year in business.
According to a cached message from the Peachtree Road Uncle Julio's location's website, the restaurant was seemingly still hawking their gift cards until very recently.
"While we are closed, we're still offering gift cards during this time to purchase for friends, family, or yourself for a future date when we are open again."
Following the Atlanta closures, the next nearest Uncle Julio's to metro Atlanta would be about four hours away in Brentwood, Tennessee. At least five other locations including those in Orlando, Florida, Raleigh, North Carolina, and three in Illinois, all remain "temporarily closed."
Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity from L Catterton purchased then 29-unit Uncle Julio's in late 2017 to "accelerate growth." If all other locations remain open/reopen, the chain will have 35 units across eleven states.
Are you surprised to see Uncle Julio's completely leave the Atlanta market? Between Uncle Julio's and Chuy's. which did you prefer? What would you like to see open in place of the Uncle Julio's in Sandy Springs?
Pleas share your thoughts below.
11 comments:
I never got a chance to try either location. there are enough mexican places in town.
DON'T buy gift cards to restaurants.
I went there once. Not impressed. It's only redeeming value was proximity to the office.
I use to looooove their food. But then they changed their menu around a few years ago (ex: started putting lettuce in their guacamole) and I never went back.
Fun fact about Uncle Julios. In the 90s, their executive chef worked for Pappas Brothers. The group that brought us Pappadeaux and Pappasitos. He spun off in Texas and opened Uncle Julios. The menus between Pappasitos and Uncle Julios were carbon copies...from the bar to the grill to the sides and the price points that high quality tex-mex came with.
RIP Julio. Go see the original at Pappasitos on Windy Hill in Smyrna.
Sad to hear Uncle Julios closed. Switched to the Perimeter location once that opened. Always enjoyed their food and had great experiences. Definitely preferred Uncle Julios over Chuys. Only went to the Perimeter Chuys once (after hearing great reviews) but wasn't impressed with their food or service. Have to find another Mexican place.
Try Superica in the Avalon, similar to Uncle Julio's and absolutely incredible
Not surprised about the Sandy Springs location. It's squarely in the office district with tons of dining options. With most everyone working remotely, it must be a ghost town!
We moved here from Texas in 2000 and Uncle Julio's and Papasito's (both born in Texas) were a the best TexMex in town. Really sad to see Julio's go. It was festive, approachable, and the food was good. I remember when there was always a wait to be seated. That hasn't been the case in the last few years. Guess we'll have to drive all the way to Marietta to Papasito's. Nothing else in Atlanta compares.
Um, Superica is not similar to Uncle Julio's. Two completely different restaurants. Superica is by far, much better.
I only went the Buckhead location a couple of times and both times, we had very slow service, even though the place was practically empty (at lunch time). It took over an hour to get our food both times. While I am sad for the employees that are out of work, I am not too surprised to see that it has closed. It is a shame that both locations closed.
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