After twelve years in business, Farm Burger Buckhead has closed. The 2,800 square foot restaurant, located at 3365 Piedmont Road in Tower Place, opened in 2011 and closed as of tonight, October 4th. When it opened, it replaced an old Atlanta Bread Company, and was just the second unit for the Atlanta-based chain that now operates eleven restaurants across four states.
Following the closure, Farm Burger remains open in Georgia in Decatur, Dunwoody, Grant Park, Virginia-Highland, Athens, in the Whole Foods Market in Midtown (14th & Spring), and in Mercedes-Benz Stadium downtown. The company closed an outpost in Peachtree Corners in 2020 at peak pandemic as restaurants were hit hard from extended closures and changes in dining habits. The company also operates restaurants in Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Opening in place of Farm Burger in Buckhead is a new outpost of Rreal Tacos, a growing locally owned taco joint. The first Rreal Tacos opened just off Peachtree Street - at Juniper and 6th - in Midtown in May 2015. Adrian Villarreal, formerly chef de cuisine at the Spence, drew on his upbringing in Monterey, Mexico to craft the menu for the fast casual taco spot. According to his LinkedIn, Villarreal left the restaurant in September 2021 at which time he was named Director of Culinary Operations for Rye Restaurant Group (General Muir, Wood's Chapel BBQ, West Egg Cafe, Fred's Meat & Bread,Yalla and Dirty Rascal).
Rreal Tacos specializes in tacos but also features tortas, burritos, burrito bowls, tostadas, quesadillas, salads, nachos, empanadas and more! The restaurant also features a selection of margaritas and mezcal-based cocktails, among other adult beverages.
Business partners and co-owners Damien Otero and Miguel Hernandez last summer opened additional units on Northside Drive in West Midtown and on Peachtree Boulevard in Chamblee. This year has already brought two new locations: Sandy Springs and Cumming, with another announced for downtown Lawrenceville with an expected opening in early 2024.
The new Buckhead outpost of Rreal Tacos puts it almost directly across the street from an existing Chipotle, but perhaps more interesting is its location between existing outposts of chain operators Bartaco (3802 Roswell Road) and Velvet Taco (77 West Paces Ferry Road). Real estate sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta that Texas-favorite Torchy's Tacos is again looking at the Atlanta market after pausing its plans during the pandemic.
According to a release announcing the Cumming opening and Lawrenceville lease signing, the owners have "explosive growth plans" for the concept. The restaurant literally has a tab on its website labeled "Seeking Locations" where it invites realtors and developers to submit potential sites for new locations.
"The Shumacher Group, Inc. and Steve Josovitz represented seller [Farm Burger] but guided both parties to a successful close."
Are you surprised to see Farm Burger close in Buckhead? Have you been to Rreal Tacos? Where would you like to see Rreal Tacos open next?
Please share your thoughts below.
16 comments:
This center has a gym that's been empty for a decade, mostly empty office buildings, two empty weworks, and a movie theater that nobody uses. That whole corner needs to be demolished and Trader Joe's needs to move and expand
They should turn the existing Trader Joe's into a needle exchange and shelter for all the junkies and homeless outside.
I always find the parking at that center to be annoying. Overall I think Farmburger has a good product, but a high price point (I know they use premium ingredients) coupled with the fact there are probably too many places to get a burger.
I doubt TJ's would relocate, but I can sure see more apartment homes going in.
I'm surprised they hung on that long. That center is indeed a ghost town, and they've already demolished the Kroger anchor across the street. Parking wasn't great, either. I love FB, but they only seem to close locations I care about.
This place serves one purpose and one purpose only and that is the lunchtime weekday worker crowd. I mean who in 2023 is going out to dinner in Buckhead? Buckhead's time has passed a long time ago. The real action is between Piedmont Park and south to I20. Nobody wants to go to Buckhead LOL!
Bummer. But I get to the Decatur one so... Agree that center needs to be bulldozed. Stupid design.
Lots of people go out to dinner in Buckhead. You apparently have never been to Buckhead.
I went to Buckhead for dinner twice last week, once for Fish Market and once for Pricci. Both were excellent (still).
I did not go south of Piedmont Park nor anywhere near I-20.
Many congrats to the rich guy who eats at Buckhead Life restaurants twice a week. You have made it, sir!
It was part of their Dine Around promotion they do each summer.
They give you a $25 gift card to use toward dinner. And at Pricci on Thursdays bottles of wine are half off. So don't exactly have to be rich. Probably the same you'd spend at a casual dining chain restaraunt except the service is better and the food is outstanding. Fish Market entrees are a couple dollars more than Red Lobster.
@anon October 7, 2023 at 4:17 PM
I used to live in Buckhead decades ago, but got out. Why would anyone want to live and/or dine there with all the rampant crime. Much better parts of the city to live and dine in than Buckhead. Buckhead's a dump.
Wherever you moved to is now a dump
I’ve always had great experiences at r real tacos. I’ve only been to the Chamblee location. It has a really nice vibe. Nice music, nice lighting, nice servers, open kitchen, nice patio. I’m not sure what they’ll do with the Farm burger space, I was only there once, and it seemed like very tight quarters a very small store I will say though it’s a good place to drop in after work if indeed, you work in Buckhead, just like others have stated, though be careful of the crime element when we see the Publix rise across the street I’m expecting it to attract the same Transient and homeless elements that the Kroger attracted. Maybe the homeless that frequent Publix at the Peachtree marketplace where Dick’s Sporting Goods is located and Target will start patronizing the new Publix. if they can control the crime and transient and homeless at the new Publix rising and Buckhead they will have a really good opportunity to bring up the entire shopping center a few notches. I think I read here that they actually renamed the center? Is that true? I learned so much from this blog. Thank you, Eli!
I stopped shopping in Buckhead altogether even though I live there because every time I went to the store I had to deal with beggars or scammers or water boys, even inside the stores. Not to mention the usual robbing crews that force you to keep your head on a swivel.
I never have these issues in Brookhaven, Chamblee, Sandy Springs, etc. APD is worthless and Buckhead will be a slum in 5 years. Thankfully I sold my place so I can get the hell out.
Rreal Tacos is horrible. It is the most bland food I've ever eaten. What's worse is that if you look at their Yelp reviews, a decent chunk of their 5 star reviews come from accounts in California where the only review the account owner ever posted was of Rreal Tacos. The business and owners are shady AF.
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