[CLOSURE ALERT] Corner Bakery Closes Another Cafe Leaving Only One in Atlanta

Corner Bakery has closed yet another Atlanta area location.  The bakery/cafe occupied a roughly 4,000 square foot space at Peachtree Square North (6050 Peachtree Parkway), a large shopping center anchored by Dick's Sporting Goods, and closed in recent days, according to a ToNeTo Atlanta reader.

The restaurant had temporarily opened and closed multiple times during the pandemic but there was reportedly no advance warning to the public of its permanent closure.  

The Dallas, Texas-based company still has a presence in Atlanta, though, as they operate from within Maggiano's Little Italy at 3368 Peachtree Road in Buckhead and in the Southern Building at 270 Peachtree Street downtown.  Rival bakery/cafe Panera, which has also closed several Atlanta area locations in recent years including those in Buckhead and Dunwoody, still operates 64 cafes around the state.  

Corner Bakery's closure in Peachtree Corners is the eighth closure for the chain in metro Atlanta since 2020.  ToNeTo Atlanta reported in August 2020 that the chain had closed their restaurant on Haynes Bridge Road in Alpharetta near North Point Mall.  Three locations within Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport that were at the start of the pandemic only "temporarily closed," were later confirmed to be permanently closed.  The company in March 2022 closed its cafe on the second floor of Lenox Square in Buckhead. Locations in Dunwoody near Perimeter Mall and in Akers Mill Square near Cumberland Mall closed in May and July 2022, respectively.  

Florida-based "bol" concept Bolay briefly replaced the Alpharetta outpost, but they closed, with the growing healthy eatery Original ChopShop now renovating the space with plans to open this fall. 

The Buckhead cafe in Lenox Square now serves as the relocated home of retailer Steve Madden while the former units in Akers Mill and Dunwoody reopened as new locations of Snooze an A.M. Eatery in August 2023 and March 2024, respectively.  

In 2018, the company's presence spanned 182 restaurants but it has dropped to just 100 units today.  

Atlanta-based Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm that owns or has an interest in more than two dozen primary franchised brands, sold Corner Bakery to Pandya Restaurant Growth Brands in October 2020, following Pandya's April 2020 acquisition of Boston Market.  At the time of the Corner Bakery acquisition, Pandya indicated that it saw opportunities for "strategic alliances between Corner Bakery and Boston Market."   

Those alliances never materialized and both concepts suffered.  

Corner Bakery filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2023.   Four months later, Pandya Restaurant Group — whose tumultuous tenure as owner of Boston Market has resulted in a plummeting unit count and multiple bankruptcy filings — sold Corner Bakery to SSCP Restaurant Investors for $15 million.  After less than a year under SSCP’s tutelage, Corner Bakery says it is turning the corner.  According to a recent Corner Bakery press release, its average unit volume grew by $200,000 over the second half of 2023. 

The Corner Bakery space is still marked as "available" on the center's siteplan but a source close to the property tells ToNeTo Atlanta a lease has been signed with Kumo Sushi & Ramen.  Kumo is a locally owned restaurant with one existing location in Cumming.  The new Peachtree Corners Kumo should open later this fall.        

Are you surprised to see Corner Bakery close in Peachtree Corners?  What would you like to see open in place of Corner Bakery at Peachtree Corners?  What is your favorite "bakery/cafe" concept?

Please share your thoughts below.