Chili's Grill & Bar has closed its longstanding Dunwoody restaurant (4784 Ashford Dunwoody Road) in the Ashford Place shopping center. The restaurant closed permanently as of 8 PM on August 15, a little ahead of the restaurant's normal 10PM closing time.
Owned by mega restaurant operator Brinker International (NYSE: EAT), Chili's was first established in Dallas, Texas in 1975, and today includes more than 1,600 restaurants globally. Brinker has in recent years closed several Chili's in metro Atlanta including one in June at the Avenue West Cobb in West Cobb, in Alpharetta in late 2021 and another at the Lindbergh City Center near Buckhead in late 2019.
The company previously closed a unit on Northlake Parkway in Tucker. A "Chili's Too" near the food court at Sugarloaf Mills in Lawrenceville previously closed, became a Shoney's (yes, that Shoney's!), but is today vacant. The Lindbergh City Center location recently reopened as Uptown Kitchen, a pop-up and test kitchen of sorts for local chefs and would-be restaurateurs via Chow Club ATL. The former Alpharetta Chili's reopened this past December as an outpost of breakfast eatery First Watch, while the former Tucker outpost today operates as Hudson Grille.
Chili's is the third junior anchor restaurant tenant to close in the center in just the past fourteen months following the June 2022 closure of Wild Wing Cafe and the July 2022 closure of Memphis BBQ Co.
ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported June 2023 that Sushi Kingdom, a new all you can eat (AYCE) sushi restaurant, is opening "soon" in the former Wild Wing Cafe. The Memphis BBQ Co. space remains available.
It's been a bit of a mixed bag for Dunwoody restaurants in recent weeks.
ToNeTo Atlanta reported August 10 that Breakers Korean BBQ closed at the front of Perimeter Mall, while Doc B's, already delayed from a planned 2023 opening at the front of the mall, is now pushed again. Grana, the pizza restaurant from Chef Pat Pascarella opened August 2 at Ashford Lane, while a new outpost of popular Szechuan Chinese eatery Wok Provisions opened August 11 at Perimeter Village.
A Dunwoody outpost of Snooze an A.M. eatery, slated to replace the former Corner Bakery at Sterling Pointe along Ashford Dunwoody, has been pushed from a planned 2023 opening now to an early 2024 opening.
Following the most recent closure, Chili's continues to operate more than 40 restaurants around Georgia including those in Buford, Kennesaw, Snellville, East Cobb, Toco Hills and in Alpharetta near North Point Mall, among others.
Are you surprised to see Chili's close in Dunwoody? Did you realize Chili's still existed? What would you like to see open in place of the former Chili's in Dunwoody?
Please share your thoughts below.
19 comments:
I guess not enough people wanted their baby back ribs………
Past two years there has always been zero cars parked around that dunwoody Chili’s, making you assume the restaurant is closed. I even looked into it a couple of times, and could not determine whether it was open or closed. Very weird. Don’t they train the restaurant managers, when the restaurant is doing really well you have the employees park very far so that you leave the closer parking spaces for paying customers, when there’s no business, it’s very silly to park far away cause then people think you have no customers and then think about why is that? When there’s no customers and you’re in a m Sharon downturn, the employees should all park at front to show activity
Sort of sad to see them close had some of good times there over the years. However, haven't eaten there in a while and I guess neither has anyone else.
M Sharon downturns don’t last too long, but no more chicken crispers in Dunwoody.
of the new restaurants that have opened in Dunwoody, I predict Grana will not last long. Overpriced, over-hyped, high rent, staff shortages, and competition will doom that place. And, the food is just very so-so. Nothing to write home about. The Grana on Piedmont never appears crowded, either.
Wow, that one anon thinks about the parking habits of Chili's employees a bit too much.
Too far out from Perimeter and just too far in Diawoody to gain any traction. RIP in pieces 90s nostalgia.
It's said that another restaurant near the perimeter mall has to closed I hope the workers will be find another h
Job
We tried to eat at Chili's a few months ago. Parking lot was exactly as other person described. Just a few cars, dimly lit restaurant. I was early so I went up to see if the place was actually open. It was open but only a few tables had people. There were some people waiting for to go orders and I knew I should have bailed when they mentioned how long they had been waiting. When my friends arrived, I warned them about possible delay. A family with toddlers came in about 10 minutes after us and I felt bad for them but they put their name in as well. After another 20 minutes, we gave up and went down the street to a very busy Lazy Dog and got right in. It's a shame the staff wasn't honest about the timing.
Chili's, Applebee's, a lot of people aren't eating at those type of places any more.
@August 17, 2023 at 4:19 PM
Those type of places actually do quite well in Podunk, USA. But this of course lowers and limits the P/E ceiling until Big Contemporary Options ultimately roll into town and turn off their lights.
Grana is great, and on the weekends it’s busy and turns twice.
How does this have anything to do with PE? Kids still have to take it. Weird!
Get rid of the big chains, follow Buckhead, Brookhaven and now Chamblee
A lot of great memories and good times at the Dunwoody Chili's from the late 90's to pre-covid. Never seemed to bounce back after lockdown lifted. Used to be a great female manager who worked at this location for a long time and she ran a tight ship, she left many years ago and it went in decline soon afterwards.
How 'bout a fried fish place (Captain D's). All other meats are represented. Fried fish would be a good change.
Mrs P’s pierogies!
Used to go to that Chili's all the time when I lived in the area. But it never was busy when I was in there.... hardly any customers
Lived very close to this place for Many years. Applebees, Brio, MCormmicks, PF Changs,Outback Steak,WWC, Memphis BBQ & Chili's all are in close proximity - Gone !
Specially that Waterside PF Chang looks nice. I think the rent was too high to make any profit from these stores. Food was very avg
I saw the Fall of these places & the rise of that Indian restaurant (where applebees was). I remember that the restaurant manager told me during the new year week they closed the restaurant because their entire pantry was gone & need to get the supply. This was during end 2020
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