Thursday, July 21, 2022

[UP IN SMOKE] Dunwoody BBQ Joint Now Closed, Available For Lease

Memphis BBQ Co. has closed in Dunwoody. The restaurant, located in Ashford Place (4764 Ashford Dunwoody Road), opened in 2014 and closed at the end of dinner service July 20.  Memphis BBQ Co. was created and owned by Pitmaster, World BBQ Champion, and 2017 Barbecue Hall of Fame inductee Melissa Cookston.  A native of Mississippi, Cookston also operates a second Memphis BBQ in Horn Lake, Mississippi, a city in Desoto County, about a mile south of the Memphis metro.  A third location in Fayetteville, North Carolina previously closed.  

The Shumacher Group is marketing the Dunwoody space for lease and indicates sales have reached close to $3,000,000 and that the roughly 7,200 square foot space rents at $18,000 monthly, "all in."  The listing also indicates that the owners of Memphis BBQ Co. spent almost $1,000,000 to open the restaurant, converting the space from Firkin & Gryphon, a British pub.  (Before Firkin & Gryphon, the space had been Smokey Bones, a Darden Restaurants BBQ concept now owned by Sun Capital Partners.) 

The restaurant is described as "fully equipped turnkey" with the lease also including the sale of 2 Southern Pride 700 Smokers that "cost approximately $35,000 to $40,000 apiece" as well as all furniture, fixtures, equipment, and lease rights with landlord [Regency Centers] approval.  Would-be buyers are invited to keep the business a restaurant or convert it to retail, office, medical or professional use with landlord approval.  

The business is priced at $445,000.

Memphis BBQ Co. marks the second restaurant to close in the Dunwoody shopping center in just the past sixty days.  ToNeTo Atlanta reported June 1 that Wild Wing Cafe closed its roughly 7,400 square foot restaurant in the center as of May 31.  The twin closures leave the center co-anchored by Harbor Freight Tools and Chili's Grill & Bar.  

Are you surprised to see Memphis BBQ Co. in Dunwoody close?  What type of restaurant would you like to see open in place of Memphis BBQ in Dunwoody?  Who in metro Atlanta do you think makes the best barbecue?

Please share your thoughts below.  

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was a cute little center when it opened. It had Barnes & Noble and Pier 1, I think. It seems like just about everything but Chilis is doomed there now.

Anonymous said...

It was a great family restaurant!! Very sad to see it go. We loved the barbecue!

Anonymous said...

i’ve only been there once and everything was mediocre except the baby back ribs were very good. If they really did spend $1 million to convert from the pub to the current concept then their general contractor really took them for a ride. there is no way that build out cost $1 million, it seems like when they converted it they took a step backwards. Regarding Chili’s, I commented on a previous post that there are signs on the door that indicate they are now a to go only operation. You cannot go to that Chili’s and dine in, they only have to go, from such a large restaurant. It’s almost like they are pushing for this location to fail. given the new construction nearby in the Publix anchored center with many restaurants, and the new lazy dig and bww out parcel restaurants at perimeter mall, and the new pf changs and other new in line restaurants at perimeter mall I would think this shopping center could use a complete overhaul to attract a new type of tenant or restaurant. A new restaurant called the dunwoody diner from the people behind in Marietta Diner would be a perfect concept for the Second (3rd) generation wild wings space or even the barbecue space. Although we have North Italia opening any day now and another new italian concept next to taco mac at the refurbished center That used to be called Perimeter place, I would still invite the return of romanos Macaroni Grill. I would also invite the return of Houston’s to the area. I am glad that PF Changs is staging a come back!

Anonymous said...

And before Smokey Bones it was a Grady's American Bar & Grill....

Even though it's only a block away from both the Walmart shopping center and whatever the new center replacing the PF Chang's/McCormick & Schmick's is called, it's a block the wrong way. Unless you're going into or coming from Dunwoody you're not going to run into it. Too many other places that come before it if you're looking for a place to eat in the Perimeter area.

The restaurants in that center seemed to do fairly well (Macaroni Grill was always busy, Chili's as well, everything except Wild Wing) yet there's pretty high turnover.

Sandi said...

Would love to see a vegan bbq restaurant there. Grass VBQ would be perfect!

Timmyg said...

Never cared for it. Too smokey flavor and they wouldn't give you end cuts (burnt part)
Next concept please...

Anonymous said...

Trader Joes! Or Raising Canes!

Anonymous said...

The space is too close to Publix and Walmart therefore Trader Joe’s will not consider, also the space does not have the drive-through capability therefore raising canes would not consider. trader Joe’s would be good in the former Kroger space at Cambridge Square in Brookhaven, that said I’ve been told by one of the proprietors that a west coast grocer is strongly considering that space for entry into the Atlanta market, for now Spirit Halloween has popped up in the empty Kroger. I know the landlord is really looking to attract a class tenant because they’ve made a great investment or partnered in installing I think about four high tech electric vehicle goal recharge stations. I like sprouts and wish they would place a sprouts in that location. Brookhaven needs a homegrown local bagel shop. That would be good in the former Starbucks space.

CloseOTP said...

GIVE UP ON TRADER JOES. We should just be happy the ones they have are open. Sandy Springs TJs is not far.

Anonymous said...

I live near Trader Joe’s and don’t understand what everyone loves about it. They have great deals on flowers and I find their fruit and veggie prices comparable to any other grocer. I can just never see past all that frozen stuff and the junk food when I go which is rare. Overall, I’m not sure why it’s such a coveted store by everyone!

Anonymous said...

Is Lucky Markets trying to open stores in Georgia? Or Vons? Good!

Anonymous said...

Bring back Steak and Ale or Bennigan’s! Or what about Fuddruckers? Trade Joe’s can make it work , unless someone works there no one knows what they want to do.

Anonymous said...

I’m trying to think what West Coast grocer is being alluded to. Vons (Safeway) and Lucky (small NoCal chains) wouldn’t be coming. There really aren’t any West Coast Grocery chains that are big enough and growing to expand this far from home, or have a niche that would differentiate them from what’s here already. An Amazon grocery store might be considered West Coast, but Whole Foods is very close to there so I don’t think it would be that.

Anonymous said...

The Whole Foods is on Roswell and as a Dunwoody resident that is pretty far! I would agree though since Publix is in the new shopping center not sure how well it would do.

Anonymous said...

Whole Foods Chamblee is less than a mile from there

Anonymous said...

So very sorry they are gone. We loved it and there aren’t many choices for Bar-b-q. Community is our next choice. We also loved Hammock’s and don’t know many seafood places. Would love another bar-b-q or vegetables like Roasters.

Anonymous said...

We were so surprised and sorry Memphis closed! We really liked everything they had and Shane’s had closed,too. We like Community Bar B Q and will now try City Bar B Q. Would like to see another good bar b que place or a meat and vegetables like Roasters.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed Memphis BBQ but it was always rather empty. I would bring friends from out of town and they always complimented this restaurant. I also thought that corner was very dark and damp looking. Not very appealing! Maybe if it was a little more open and bright, people could actually see it. Good luck to whatever company tries that location next!

Anonymous said...

Burnt ends were all over the menu….

Dunwoody Native said...

We live right by there and used to at least pick up food from Memphis about once a week, and we always loved it. Although I always missed Macaroni Grill and some of the others, we'd also go to the Wild Wing regularly during football season, especially before COVID, but Wild Wing never rebounded after COVID, and the service became atrocious.

However, we stopped even picking up food from Memphis when my wife's car (and another in the same parking lot) got broken into at 7PM on a weeknight, about 6 months ago, while she stepped inside for two minutes to pick up an order. It was literally in view of the Dunwoody City Hall and police station, but that didn't matter. It scared the hell out of her and the damage to her car came out to right at $10K. Some of the parts are even still on backorder due to supply chain issues (Range Rover that needed new glass, rear leather seat, door interior trim, exterior paint, etc.). They saw a very small shopping bag of used kid's clothes in the backseat that my wife was taking to donate to my son's school, and that was enough for them to totally destroy her car. It does make me chuckle to think about how they must've felt when they opened the bag to find a bunch of used kid's school uniforms, though.

Regardless, as a native of the area in my late-forties, and someone who used to hang out at Perimeter Mall in high school, it's really sad to admit, but I try hard not to go anywhere near Perimeter Mall or anywhere else near there on Ashford Dunwoody anymore, especially after dark. I fear it's going down the same path as crime-ridden Buckhead. Forget for a minute that the area is usually gridlocked in traffic, but you can't even drive anywhere near Perimeter Mall with your windows down without risking getting a contact high from everyone driving around there while smoking weed without a care in the world about getting into any trouble. Not to mention some of the wonderful lyrics my 9-year-old son hears blaring from the vehicles around there. In particular, the apartment complexes in the area behind Walmart seem to be a mecca for ne'er-do-wells (and don't even get me started on that Exxon station across from the mall).

I'm also skeptical of the long-term viability of the massive new High Street mixed-use project on the other side of the mall from us. I'm fearful that being directly across the street from a Marta station will turn it into another Atlantic Station. Yay! More shootings!!!

Anyway, this is the first time that we're actually considering moving away from the area to Alpharetta (or even Sarasota, Florida). All of the overbuilt apartment complexes on Ashford Dunwoody have definitely contributed to its decline, and, while decidedly inconvenient and frustrating, until the Dunwoody Police get a handle on the crime, which will probably never happen in this new era of acceptable lawlessness, we'll spend our family's money in other areas of North Atlanta (like Alpharetta).

Anonymous said...

VBQ is not BBQ 😅🤣

Anonymous said...

GOOD

Anonymous said...

Or Mick's

Anonymous said...

I agree. It did always seem empty. The owners certainly needed to lighten the atmosphere in there. I don't know what these other commenters are talking about...their ribs were excellent and I loved their smoked wings. I think the major problem was they could not keep consistent wait staff.

Anonymous said...

Pretty pretty please move to Sarasota and never come back. Bye.

Anonymous said...

Deeply Hurt that MEM BBQ closed.
Lived in ATL since 1988, and came from hometown of Memphis. Simply the BEST BBQ in the ATL Area. Everyone else is faking it. I’ve tried them all. Ever had their BBQ Spaghetti? 😋

Don’t know what I’m going to do now. ☹️😞

MF said...

Didn't realize until now that Mayor Deutsch comments here.

Anonymous said...

Horrible people to work for by the way

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