Tuesday, February 22, 2022

[UPDATE] Moe's No Longer Welcome at Cumberland Mall

A Moe's Southwest Grill located in the food court of Cumberland Mall in Atlanta will reportedly not reopen after being closed for more than a month.  The restaurant, located adjacent to Chick-fil-A, in what would seem to be a good location within the mall, first opened in late 2016.  The restaurant looks like it could reopen tomorrow, but a notice taped to the restaurant sneezeguard tells a different story.  The notice - a summons for dispossessory - starts the legal eviction process.   

The Cumberland Mall Moe's was owned by multi-unit franchisee Shahid Panjwani through his "Three Z, LLC."  In addition to the Cumberland Moe's, Panjwani owns the Moe's at 280 Cobb Parkway near the Marietta Diner, as well as others in Monroe and Braselton, among others.  Panjwani also previously operated a Moe's in the food court of North Point Mall in Alpharetta, but it closed a few months ago.  

Moe's, owned by Atlanta-based FOCUS Brands, says on its website that there are 682 Moe's in the United States.  The company reportedly has 95 locations in Georgia including twelve in Atlanta.  It's unclear how accurate any of the numbers are, however, as the Cumberland Mall unit and another Moe's at Phipps Plaza which closed in late 2021 both still seem to be included in overall store counts.  (Another Moe's in Vestavia Hills, Alabama which closed in January of 2021 is also still listed as if it's open.) 

Auntie Anne's (2) and Cinnabon, two other concepts from FOCUS Brands, each continue to operate separately owned franchise locations within Cumberland Mall.

Also, Charming Charlie, which closed all of its stores in 2019 after its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, only to reopen several, starting with Cumberland Mall in late 2020, is again closing.  Although the company has not made any official comment on its future, the Charming Charlie website indicates that the company is again closing all of its retail stores, about 40 in all, including Atlanta area stores at Cumberland Mall and at Atlantic Station.  The stores are currently offering 25 to 50% off all in-stock merchandise.  

Early March is likely to bring visible progress to the former Sears Auto Center at Cumberland Mall, too.  According to permits and well-placed sources, demolition of the former auto center could begin in as little as two weeks.  Plans call for Brookfield Residential, a division of mall owner Brookfield Properties, to construct a five story, wrap apartment project that will bring more than 300 apartments to the site.  The apartment community is slated to debut in early 2024.  

Are you excited for the changes planned for Cumberland Mall?  What would you like to see open in the former Moe's and Jason's Deli locations at the mall?  What is your favorite restaurant or retailer in Cumberland Mall?

Please share your thoughts below  

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been looking to set up a Mexican eatery at Cumberland Mall. That space is perfect: "Emo's Mexican Food"!!

Coolio said...

Awesome idea to put apartments there. Live/work/play literally. Even better: put a free trolley that goes around the area, maybe from as far as Parkway Pointe to The Battery, along Cobb Pkwy and thru Cumberland Mall and Akers Mill as pickup/drop off points.

Wait... I thought Kroger was supposed to be opening up something there? What happened to that? It fell through?

Anonymous said...

@Coolio, The Kroger was supposed to go into the former Sears, but that got nixed, so it's now a Planet Fitness, Dicks/Golf Galaxy and a Player 1 entertainment area.

BigRedDogATL said...

Guess someone didn't pay the rent as required.......

Anonymous said...

Goodbye to Moe's!

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