Monday, June 28, 2021

[Bravo!] El Azteca to Open Second Location in Sandy Springs

The owners of El Azteca have signed a lease to open their fourth location later this fall.  The new El Azteca is slated to open in September at Perimeter Town Center in Sandy Springs.  In the development, El Azteca will backfill original tenant Uncle Julio's which closed last spring as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on restaurants.  The two level restaurant space includes patio seating on both floors and spans 10,763 square feet.  

El Azteca has been an Atlanta institution for forty years, having first opened in 1981.  Today, the family owned group of restaurants includes outposts on Peachtree Street in south Buckhead, Roswell Road in Sandy Springs, and their newest, on East Clayton Street in downtown Athens, which opened last July.  The existing Sandy Springs restaurant, located in a freestanding outparcel of the Lowe's Home Improvement-anchored Hammond Springs shopping center, is less than two miles from the new location but is reportedly not being supplanted.  

Over the years, El Azteca has operated several other restaurants including one on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Poncey-Highland which today operates as El Ponce as well as one in Dunwoody Village that rebranded as  "Chupito's Azteca Grille." In Alpharetta's Bethany Village, a former El Azteca  reopened last month as Milton Tavern.  

Are you excited for the opening of a second El Azteca in Sandy Springs? Where would you like to see El Azteca open next?  What is your favorite Mexican restaurant in metro Atlanta?  

Please share your thoughts below.  

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is as exciting as a #11 Combo

Anonymous said...

I wish them well, having been an El Azteca customer for many years, but the rent on the that place has got to be pretty substantial, and that complex has been a bad luck charm for a lot of eateries in a relatively short time (Uncle Julio's, Figo, Rising Roll, that Philly-based sub shop that was open for 5 minutes whose name I don't remember.)

Anonymous said...

so lets see now... Casi Cielo down the street. Chuy's a few blocks away. Huey Luey's a few miles away. Cinco a half mile away at the mall. Willy's across the street. Taco Mac nearby. Eclipse de Luna across from the nearby mall. La Parilla opening a mile away. Superica opening nearby too. Los Hermanos and Chupito's both have solid followings in Dunwoody Village 2 miles away. La Botana is 3 miles away along 285. And El Azteca itself has a large place less than 2 miles away that you report is not closing. And so opening another El Azteca at a site that did not make it as a Mexican restaurant recently makes sense because????

Scrappycrow said...

You've missed a historical tidbit in talking about El Azteca's history in Sandy Springs! In the late '80s, they had two restaurants only a few buildings apart. If my memory serves, one was in what's Mellow Mushroom at 6100 Roswell Road, and the other was at 6080, where AT&T is now.

If my girlfriend and I went to one and it was full, they'd call the other one and see if there was an available spot and then we'd walk over.

Chips and Salsa said...

I stopped going to all El Azteca's after the one on Ponce killed a dude from their food.

https://creativeloafing.com/content-169970-widow-sues-restaurant

Anonymous said...

Funny you brought that lawsuit up. It was later reported that the wife of the deceased admitted to serving her husband ground beef the night before, which corresponded to the period of time it would take for the bacteria to severely affect someone. While many chose not to eat there anymore, most went back after the truth appeared.

Anonymous said...

@Scrappycrow - I remember that and they were both still there at least into the late 90s before they moved to their current location on Roswell Road with more deck space. We used to go to one of the neighboring locations most Fridays after work.

@Anonymous 6/29/21 7:28pm
LOL at listing Taco Mac and Eclipse de Luna as Mexican restaurants. There's enough examples to make your point without having to stretch to Mexican sounding names too!

Anonymous said...

Really liked Uncle Julio's. Miss them!! Hope El Azteca does well there. As someone else said this is a tough location. I know so many people that love Chuy's but I haven't had great food or service.

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