[UPDATE] Super Chix Bringing "The Last True Chicken Sandwich" to Georgia

A Texas-based chicken chain is entering the Georgia market with a location planned for The Avenue Peachtree City in Peachtree City.  Super Chix, which started in Dallas in 2014 and was until 2015 a concept in KFC-owner Yum! Brands' portfolio, has since grown to ten locations with dozens more planned.  In Peachtree City they will open in a 3,805 square foot space in the mixed use project that was previously home to an Atlanta Bread franchise.  Super Chix bills itself as a "premium fast-casual dining experience: "We are the anti-chainy chain." 

[EXCLUSIVE] This Is Where Whataburger Will Open Their First Metro Atlanta Location

In February we reported on Whataburger's planned Atlanta area debut and we were blown away by the excitement!  The wait is almost over!  ToNeTo Atlanta is pleased to confirm that the first Atlanta area Whataburger is destined for Kennesaw.  Planning documents indicate (and a source close to chain confirms) that Whataburger will open a new restaurant at 705 Townpark Lane, just off Chastain Road, on the site of a former O'Charley's restaurant.  

[EXCLUSIVE] Food Terminal to Open New Kennesaw Restaurant in 2022

A new location of Food Terminal is planned for Barrett Pavilion in Kennesaw.  The new restaurant will open in place of the former Joe's Crab Shack which shuttered in the 7,930 square foot freestanding building (2501 Cobb Place Boulevard) in 2019.  The new Kennesaw outpost will ultimately be the fourth for the growing Malaysian restaurant chain which opened their first restaurant along Buford Highway in Chamblee in 2017. 

[EXCLUSIVE] Mexican Restaurant to Open in Place of Shuttered Rafferty's in Kennesaw

One local restauranteur is forging ahead with his expansion plans despite the ongoing pandemic.  Juan Carlos Velasquez, founder and owner of Zama Mexican Cuisine & Margarita Bar has leased the former Rafferty's in Kennsaw's Barrett Pavilion with plans to open a new Zama location in its place later this fall.  The 6,500 square foot space will be the largest Zama to date and is currently being completely gutted following Rafferty's July closure after more than 25 years in business.  

[REPORT] Chick-fil-A Progressing With Planned Bank Conversion Despite Negative Community Sentiment

Chick-fil-A on August 16 filed a permit with the City of Atlanta for a new restaurant along Cheshire Bridge Road at the edge of what is today part of the City of Brookhaven.  The roughly half-acre  site, 2419 Cheshire Bridge Road at Sheridan Road, was for several years a Regions Bank before the Birmingham-based financial institution shuttered the branch in late 2019.

[TAPPED OUT] Taco Mac Departs MARTA-Anchored Lindbergh Project

Taco Mac has closed its location in the MARTA-adjacent Lindbergh City Center, citing "safety challenges in the parking garage" and the "recent uptick of crime in Buckhead" among other reasons for the closure.  The Atlanta-based chain had operated the location at 573 Main Street since the project debuted in 2006 and was the longest-running, continuously operating restaurant tenant in the development.   

[CLOSURE ALERT] Wade's Wanes in Smyrna

Just over four years after opening, Wade's Fine Eatery & Good Time Emporium in Smyrna has shuttered.  The restaurant, located at 1061 Concord Road, closed at the end of dinner service on Sunday August 15.  Sources close to Wade's tell ToNeTo Atlanta that the business and the real estate it occupies were sold to an unidentified restaurateur who plans to reopen the restaurant under a new name in the near future. 

[EXCLUSIVE] Vulgar Vegan Hopes Your "Fat Azz" Will Support Them in Dunwoody

A new restaurant from the owner of Vulgar Vegan is "coming soon" to Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody.  The restaurant, a sibling of the brand's original location in Stockbridge, is slated to open in the coming months in the mall's first floor food court, across from Chick-fil-A, in the space previously occupied by Dairy Queen.  

[EXCLUSIVE] Salad Spot Sweetgreen Scores Space at Star Metals

ToNeTo Atlanta has learned that Sweetgreen will open what will be its fourth Atlanta area outpost at Star Metals in West Midtown.  The new eatery will occupy a 2,700 square foot space at 1050 Howell Mill Road between wagamama and Savi Provisions in the street level of the new mixed-use development.   

[CLOSURE ALERT] Longtime Lebanese Restaurateur Calls it Quits After Nearly Four Decades

Nicola's Restaurant, a popular Lebanese eatery, has closed.  Located at 1602 LaVista Road, Nicola's has been a neighborhood mainstay since Nicola H. Ayoub opened it in 1984.  Nicola's featured live belly dancing and a menu full of Middle Eastern favorites.  Prior to the pandemic, the restaurant was open throughout the week but as of this past March, its operating hours were reduced to only Fridays and Saturdays from 5PM to 10:30PM.  

[UPDATE] Chick-fil-A is Moving to "Holy" Land in Marietta

Chick-fil-A continues its push to renovate and/or rebuild many of their freestanding Atlanta area restaurants.  ToNeTo Atlanta has previously reported on renovations of the chain's Marietta and Smyrna restaurants as well as complete rebuilds of more than a dozen others.  The latest outpost slated for replacement is the Chick-fil-A at Marietta Trade Center (170 South Cobb Parkway), not far from The Big Chicken.  Here, Chick-fil-A will fly the coop and reopen about a half mile away in an outparcel of the onetime Kmart turned American Freight Appliance-anchored center near the corner of Roswell Road and Cobb Parkway.    

Bits & Bites [Commercial Real Estate News Atlanta]

Red Phone Booth plans to hold its grand opening this coming Friday, August 13.  The new Buckhead outpost is the sibling of the Downtown location by the same name.  "Fitting of a 1920s inspired speakeasy, Red Phone Booth is unbeknownst to passersby, with only an antique London red phone booth to mark its location. While the phone booth is operational, members and their guests know that dialing a secret phone number provides access to the clandestine cocktail bar and cigar lounge."  The nearly 7,000 square foot space features a 24 foot-long walk-in humidor, nearly 50 pages of cocktails and a state-of-the-art air filtration system. 

[EXCLUSIVE] Japanese Eatery wagamama to Make Atlanta Debut at Star Metals

A new-to-market restaurant is joining the growing roster of tenants at Star Metals on Atlanta's Westside.  wagamama, a London-based Asian restaurant specializing in Japanese cuisine, has leased the roughly 3,600 square foot space at the corner of 11th Street and Howell Mill Road, according to recently installed signage.  The new Star Metals outpost will be wagamama's first location in Atlanta and just its seventh location stateside.  

[UPDATE] Wei Brings Authentic Chinese to Buford

Wei Authentic Chinese quietly opened last week in Buford.  The restaurant, a sibling of sorts to the restaurant by the same name in Marietta, features a more diverse menu than its Cobb county relative but still has several favorites.  Whereas Wei Marietta leans heavily to Szechuan offerings, Wei Buford's menu is fairly evenly split between food of Northern China, Szechuan, Cantonese and "American Chinese" preparations.  The original Wei opened last June on South Marietta Parkway, just off the Marietta Square.