Wednesday, April 21, 2021

[CASE CLOSED] Popular Dinner Theater Agatha's Won't Reopen

Agatha's A Taste of Mystery has closed for good.  The popular downtown dinner theater has been closed since last March due to COVID-19's effects on its business and after a seemingly unsuccessful rescue campaign, will not reopen.  When Agatha's opened in 1988, it operated from 693 Peachtree Street, a freestanding building, where the new luxury high-rise Lilli Midtown stands today.  Agatha's current location was downtown at 161 Peachtree Center Avenue, where it occupied the street level of what was originally just a parking deck, but is currently under construction to be "topped" with a 345 unit luxury apartment building dubbed "Ascent Peachtree." 

"For 32 years Agatha’s A Taste of Mystery has been entertaining audiences with our unique comedy murder mysteries." Some of the theater's recent shows include "Ridiculous Beasts and Where to Kill Them," "The Spy Who Murdered Me," "Murder on 34th Street," "Murder....And Stranger Things," "Empire Records Strikes Back," and "How to Almost Get Away With Fifty Shades of Murder," among others.  

Agatha's downtown location likely hurt its prospects at continuing as a going concern given how hard hit the area was over the past year with many trade shows, concerts, sports games and other events were rescheduled, moved or cancelled altogether, and many downtown workers transitioned to primarily work from home schedules.  

This past July, Agatha's co-owner Ricky Warren started a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of raising $120,000 to help the business stay afloat.  Warren was rather transparent in sharing several of the expenses the funds would be used for: "Rent & Utilities for 6 months: $80,000,  Redesign cost for upgraded safety and guidelines and compliance: $6000,  PPE: $4000 and  Employee retention: $30,000."  A review of the site this week suggests the campaign fell well short of its goal having only received $10,600 in donations. 

"Through the years, Agatha’s has showcased many actors who’ve gone on to star in acclaimed and cult television shows like “Archer,” “Doc McStuffins,” Key and Peele, Stranger Things, Ozark, Army Wives, and countless other movies and shows. We’ve also been a mainstay for entertaining celebrities when they come to town, with stars like Evangeline Lily, comedienne and Oscar nominee Monique, some of the housewives of Atlanta, and Hugh Jackman to name a few. We’ve also hosted many important governmental agencies when they’ve needed a laugh, most notably the honorable Senator John Lewis."

The restaurant is currently liquidating all furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E).  

Did you ever enjoy a show at Agatha's? If you did, what was your favorite?  What longtime, but now closed Atlanta restaurant do you miss the most?  

Please share your thoughts below.  

10 comments:

Ham said...

Like a lot of people I have enjoyed visiting a few times, but like many it was just a few times. I am a little surprised with the increase in people moving into the downtown/mid-town areas that it would not attract more business. Who knows maybe the entire concept is just too 1990s.

Does anyone remember the train that ran from Underground Atlanta to Stone Mountain and back which featured a murder mystery? The audience could volunteer to participate and you would be sent a role to play. Also, many guest would show up in costumes of the 1930s Agatha Christie style.

Unknown said...

Agatha's was thriving before the Coronavirus! Just to 90s seriously? What a nice comments

Unknown said...

Agatha's was thriving before the Coronavirus!

Anonymous said...

One of our favorite activities as a family of 8. I am heartbroken it is closing. The acting (boy, I'll miss seeing them perform and ablib!) and scripts were great, they had the best coffee, and they scratched my itch to perform. Wish I'd known there was a GoFundMe; we would have pitched in.

Richard said...

Frosty the Dead Man. I was the killer ;)

Anonymous said...

whodahell wants to go anywhere that giant ghetto called atlanta??? the whole place will be closing in the near future...tragic, saddening, and maddening.

Unknown said...

I went twice for my birthday. I really enjoyed myself. I had so muchfun. The actors were awesome.

Anonymous said...

I bought tickets to an event here and never received a refund. It's sad that they didn't survive the pandemic, but stealing people's money is unacceptable.

Diane Sewell said...

I loved that place so much ! I took many out of town relatives and good friends there over the years, wonderful, one of a kind place… please re-open!!

Anonymous said...

Glad the performance has moved to Petit Violette.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...