[CLOSURE ALERT] Popular Mediterranean Eatery Shutters in Chastain Park

Mediterranean fast casual eatery Sahara Cafe has closed its outpost in Chastain Park after nearly four years in business.  The restaurant, located at 4285 Roswell Road in the Publix-anchored Chastain Square shopping center, opened in June 2020 and closed as of February 19, according to co-owner Hussein Hussein.  A sibling location that opened this past September near North Point Mall in Alpharetta remains opens.  

ToNeTo Atlanta headquarters is a short walk from the restaurant and we quickly became fans of Sahara's falafel, hummus and other Mediterranean classics.  The unfortunate thing about restaurants today is that they have perhaps more challenges now than ever before and Sahara was not immune.  Despite opening during the pandemic and finding a following, the restaurant faced both internal and external challenges that ultimately led Hussein to decide to close it to focus his (and his wife Yusra's) attention on their thriving Alpharetta restaurant.  

"After assessing our options and a great deal of soul searching, my wife and I have made the difficult decision to close Sahara Cafe Buckhead, Hussein said in a statement provided exclusively to ToNeTo Atlanta.   We are eternally grateful to those who have supported us since our opening in 2020.  We had no idea when we signed our lease in October 2019 that just a few months later, as we prepared to open our first restaurant in Atlanta, the entire country would shut down and our business, like so many others, would be impacted.  We apologize for the abrupt nature of our closure but factors beyond our control made it necessary.  We hope you will visit us in Alpharetta and look forward to the possibility of returning to the area in the future" Hussein added.

The Buckhead restaurant received rave reviews from customers, earning an impressive 4.9 star rating on Google with 371 reviews and 4.8 star rating on Yelp.com with 132 reviews.  At a time when service seems about as foreign to many as Pepsi being served at Chick-fil-A, Sahara was a bright spot and offered service, selection, and value and its presence in Chastain Park will be missed.  

When Sahara opened it took the space of a former Starbucks which had relocated to a new building just north on Roswell on the site of a former Caribou Coffee.  There is no word yet on what may take the place of Sahara or when its 1,500 square foot space may be marketed for lease.  

Are you surprised by the closure of Sahara Cafe in Chastain Park?  Have you been to the new-ish Sahara Cafe in Alpharetta?  Who in Atlanta do you think makes the best falafel? 

Please share your thoughts below.