Wednesday, December 14, 2022

[EXCLUSIVE] Meats Being Replaced by Mexican in Sandy Springs

The new year will likely bring yet another new Chipotlane to metro Atlanta.  Newport Beach, California-based Chipotle Mexican Grill recently filed plans to convert an existing Arby's restaurant to a new Chipotlane equipped Chipotle.  

The new location is planned for 8753 Roswell Road in an outparcel of the Publix-anchored Dunwoody Place shopping center in Sandy Springs.  Fulton County property records indicate that Arby's opened in 2000 on a 1.1 acre parcel.  

Planning documents indicate that Chipotle plans to renovate the 2,570 square foot structure to suit their needs.  For those unfamilar, the Chipotlane is not a typical drive-thru, but rather a lane where meals ordered ahead of time may quickly be picked up without entering the restaurant.  Chipotle first introduced the Chipotlane in 2018 and brought the format to metro Atlanta in 2019 when it converted a former Boston Market in East Cobb

In the years since, the company has opened several more Chipotlanes in metro Atlanta including those in Austell, Loganville, Dawsonville, Hiram, Buford, Decatur, Dunwoody and recently, two in Marietta, one on Cobb Parkway near The Big Chicken and another on Windy Hill Road in a converted former Wells Fargo bank.   

A new location is expected to debut December 23 on South Cobb Drive on the site of a former IHOP.  ToNeTo Atlanta reported in July that Chipotle plans open in place of another former Arby's off Old Milton Parkway in Alpharetta.  In November, we revealed that the company also plans to open a new Chipotlane in Lawrenceville at the corner of Club Drive and Pleasant Hill Road on the site of a onetime Hardee's.  

According to Chipotle, "New restaurants featuring a Chipotlane open with approximately 15% higher sales compared to non-Chipotlanes opened during the same period."  

Chipotle currently operates 91 restaurants in Georgia.  

"With nearly 3,000 restaurants today and a long-term goal of having 6,000 locations in North America, Chipotle is continuing to learn and refine its approach to accelerate its Chipotlane portfolio judiciously."  

As for Arby's, it's unclear when the Sandy Springs restaurant will close but when it does, it will be the just the latest location to shutter for the Sandy Springs-based chain.  Inspire Brands, which owns Arby's and several other quick-serve and casual restaurant brands, is headquartered just five miles from the Sandy Springs restaurant.  

This past December, ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report on the imminent arrival of Raising Cane's to metro Atlanta with our report that the Baton Rouge-based chain was taking over what was then an operating Arby's on Buford Drive near the Mall of Georgia in Buford.  While sitework is taking much longer than planned, sources close to the restaurant indicate it's slated to open during the first half of 2023.  

In addition to the Buford, Sandy Springs and Roswell restaurants, Arby's has also in recent years closed restaurants on Peachtree Street in Downtown Atlanta and Spring Street in Midtown Atlanta.  The company also previously closed another unit in Sandy Springs at 6555 Roswell Road, just south of Abernathy Road. 

Are you surprised to see Arby's close another Atlanta area location?  Have you ever used a Chipotlane?  What is your favorite quick-serve restaurant? 

Please share your thoughts below.  

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

If you like undercooked chicken and old food sitting in bins during off peak times, then this is a reason to celebrate.

Anonymous said...

South Georgia based Sucheros has come to Alpharetta. Similar concept to Chipotle, but I find I like the food better, and they seem to doing well. They also offer margaritas, and I think, beer. They do the pick up drive up window, too...pick up after preordering on their app.

Anonymous said...

I just wish Chipolte would go back to being as good as it used to be. Some locations are ok but definitely a lot of bad ones out there. I remember when they opened that Arby's.....used to go there quite often when I lived in the area. Now if I want Arby's I go out of my way to go to the Hammond Rd location in Dunwoody. It is consistently good.

Anonymous said...

Chipolte is very hit or miss to me. I've been to them before and the ingredients were fresh and service was great. My last few visits have been less than stellar, not bad but nothing to get excited about, and the service hasn't been as good.

Part of what made the appealing is they were a cut above the competition. If they slide into mediocrity, they are just a more expensive Moe's.

Anonymous said...

That Arby's is actually pretty nice as far as Arby's go. I'm surprised that Arby's is closing restaurants in Sandy Springs since that's where their HQ is. There's a new Chipotle (and Jersey Mike's) going in at Rivermont Station on Holcomb Bridge.

Anonymous said...

moes is god awful disgusting. I remember back in their heyday it was somewhat good for a fast food restaurant, 20 years ago we used to order catering all the time and it seemed like a gourmet treat back then, but in the last 10-15 years they have absolutely lost their magic, moes has lost their mojo so to speak. just very disgusting stores and restaurants, everything at Moe‘s, yuck.

arguably chipotle is actually still in its prime. I see them as constantly reinventing themselves while keeping what’s true to their core very sacred. Every chipotle even in the off hours has such great turnover of food that by default it is always fresh. Fresh fresh fresh, real food, real ingredients, very healthy for you no matter what you choose on the menu.

Anonymous said...

its amazing that the public has conveniently forgotten how big numbers of people got sick from Chipotle's a few years back. Their PR firm has managed to erase that memory, when people avoided Chipotle altogether. Either that, or people are just dumb.

Anonymous said...

well then the same can be said for Tylenol and while you’re at it all the bagged lettuce in Publix and Kroger and don’t forget tomatoes at your favorite salad joint etc. etc. etc. if you actually follow chipotle you would know that more so than any other establishment they’ve actually made huge investments in ensuring it would never happen again. Huge investments in Suppliers and in every single store.

Anonymous said...

Too bad. We like that Arby’s, their health score is always 100. Not a Chipotle fan.

Anonymous said...

The Arby's is officially closed.

I wanted to indulge my every other month beef and cheddar addiction - sadly disappointed! Found this article that they are replacing Arby's with a restaurant most likely to give you food poisoning. Boo!

Unknown said...

The Arby's location is officially closed but still comes up on the app. Just an FYI.

Anonymous said...

😒

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