LongHorn Steakhouse took advantage of the long weekend to quietly shutter two Atlanta area restaurants. The Orlando-based chain which got its start in Atlanta closed restaurants in both Buckhead and Sandy Springs seemingly with no plans to reopen elsewhere nearby as they did with their new East Cobb location this past fall.
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| LongHorn Steakhouse in Sandy Springs |
The Buckhead restaurant is the latest in a string of closures at the project originally known as Lindbergh City Center, more recently renamed Uptown Atlanta, since 2019. Chili's, which opened at the project in 2007, closed its restaurant in November 2019. Atlanta-based Taco Mac had been in the development since 2006 but closed their restaurant in August 2021, citing "safety challenges in the parking garage" and the "recent uptick of crime in Buckhead," among other reasons for the closure.
The former Chili's today operates as "Uptown Test Kitchen," a facility meant to allow up-and-coming chefs to test and refine their concepts in a small, pop-up setting. The Taco Mac space remains empty.
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| LongHorn Steakhouse on Piedmont Road |
In Sandy Springs, LongHorn closed its longstanding location at 6390 Roswell Road, just north of the Aldi-anchored Cornerstone Square shopping center. Fulton County property records indicate that the building was constructed in 1969 with business records suggesting that LongHorn opened in the space in 1984.
Following the closures, the chain continues to operate several Atlanta area restaurants including those on North Druid Hills Road in Toco Hills, Akers Mill Square near Cumberland Mall, Hugh Howell Road in Tucker, and the aforementioned unit on Roswell Road in East Cobb, among others.
Are you a fan of LongHorn Steakhouse? What is your favorite casual dining restaurant? What would you like to see replace LongHorn in Buckhead or Sandy Springs?
Please share your thoughts below.
64 comments:
Blame urban blight for the Lindbergh closure.
What was the name of the Longhorn competitor with a similar concept that popped up late 80's. I remember there being one in the old IHOP building on Roswell Rd. just a little south of Wieuca. Was it Lone Star Steaks?
Are you maybe thinking of Lone Star Steakhouse? I completely forgot about them!
I'm a fan of Longhorn. My favorite place to get steak in that price range. Not surprised about Lindbergh - stopped going there awhile ago due to hassles in the parking deck. Sandy Springs closure is more surprising. I mainly go to the Tucker location which is pretty good. Toco Hills location used to be my favorite but it's not as consistent as Tucker. Really hope these locations don't close.
Damn, Buckhead is too ghetto even for Long Horn lol.
Western Sizzlin'?
I live near Piedmont and that road has always been a mess of jenky store fronts… someone needs to make the owner of that blighted Shoney’s building do something with it….
Nothing will go in the space on Piedmont, surprising that any businesses exist there at all. You forgot to mention that Five Guys also vacated the project a while back. Used to like Longhorn and Chili's. Too bad, so sad.
with getting news of the longhorn closings, I can hear ego nwodim saying...."cook my meat"
amen
Lindbergh is a disaster thanks to the low income housing mandates. Sketchy all over that area area now... Five Guys gone, Chilis gone, now Longhorn, more stuff will close. That Chevron in on Piedmont is scary AF.
I really like Texas Roadhouse in the budget steakhouse catergory. I will drive by several Longhorns and Outbacks to go to TRH. I wish there was one closer in than Cumming.
Yep, want to quickly wreck a city? Build "affordable" housing all over it.
Yo
They closed those stores because they are going bankrupt and when you trying to salvage a company, you cut off all the dead weight, which was basically those 2 locations. Has nothing to do with being ghetto. People just have many different options to choose from
Skeeters
Why do you suppose the Lindbergh location was dead weight? Because Buckhead is ratchet AF and hemorrhaging all businesses that aren't sketchy clubs or nail salons.
Anyone remember Wyolene's? It was a Longhorn spinoff that did barbeque. It was located in the old Arby's building on Peachtree in Buckhead. Didn't last long. Skeeter's was another Longhorn spinoff that featured steaks cooked over a mesquite charcoal grill (unlike Longhorn that cooks the meat on a griddle) As far as I know, there was only 1 Skeeter's location on N. Druid Hills, and it turned into Longhorn which is still there today.
People blaming "low income housing" for this either have a really short memory or just haven't lived here very long. A tremendous amount of run down apartments were torn down along Lindbergh Dr between Piedmont and 400 in the 2010s, if anything the average income of people living in that area has skyrocketed, even though that retail complex definitely isn't putting a lot of money into security or parking maintenance. The reality is that whatever section of the middle class values Longhorn probably just doesn't live around there anymore.
Chicken ,aren't you.. i never have any y problems in Buckhead except finding parking
Has nothing to do with it. You just see black people living im apartments and assume its public housing. Racism at ita finest.
Bring back Victoria Station
By federal government mandate, the Lindbergh project has section 8 housing. It's a fact, so you're suggestion of someone 'assuming' just went down in flames. As for the so called run down apartments that were there before, the tenants kept them up and did the best they could. There was rarely, if ever any crime there. There certainly wasn't hoards of suspicious looking people loitering around before the project was built like there is now. You can scream racism until you're blue in the face, but the facts speak for themselves.
@4:37 Lindbergh is literally the cheapest rental market in CoA because of how blighted and dangerous it is now.
I much preferred the hard working Mexican families who lived in the "run down" apartments that were torn down to a bunch of broke wannabe rappers on the DL getting into shootouts with other loser man-children who are net drain on society.
From a Wednesday FOX 5 story: "APD crime data shows the combined number of burglaries, assaults, robberies and homicides on Morosgo Drive have nearly tripled compared to this time last year." And that's with their new system that fudges the numbers.
I have literally never seen APD patrol Lindbergh. I have to believe the cops are working with the drug dealers and gangs who instruct them to ignore certain crimes in certain areas.
It's to the point where you now see homeless junkies walking into the "luxury" high rises near Lenox in broad daylight to buy drugs from the dealers who live and have stash houses there.
@Anonymous 5/30/24 9:38PM
Used to love the ribs at Victoria Station!
It’s not surprising with the Sandy Springs location service there was always really spotty.
Thanks for your sane and logical explanation.
“URBAN BLIGHT peepoe “ beez destroying the entire city!!! Admit to the problem so it can be addressed!!! Enough!
“Raycisss” beez REALISM!!!!
Unnustann dis, den fix it!
REALISM AT ITS FINEST
What's interesting is you're the one making the racist comments...
The Morosgo
/Lindbergh homeless problem is a giant issue that is being ignored by COA. Residents of the area can't even comfortably walk to local businesses. Not to mention the crime this generates!
It’s still racist. You’re saying that people who live in Section 8 housing cause crime. How do you know its the people who live in Section 8? Do you ask every single person? You’re still making an assumption and it’s still an ignorant and racist one. And you can say it’s not until you’re blue in the face.
Another racist.
And another racist.
Everything was good there!
Crime was all but nonexistent there before the section 8 crowd moved in. Take your blinders off. But you're too woke to look at the hard cold truth.
Guys, guys, guys....quit arguing! There's only one solution to the Lindberg problem.....
That's right, more Hookah Bars. That will reduce the crime problem. And anyone who criticizes Hookah Bars is racist.
I don't know anything about Atlanta, but thought Buckhead was supposed to be one of the nicer areas? Has it changed and gone downhill?
What happens in the parking lot that makes it dangerous? Are people getting robbed and cars stolen while they are inside eating?
Was the restaurant itself dangerous? Were people robbing them frequently or just stealing meat out of the cooler every night?
A majority of the housing in that area, including in the Kroger parking lot, is condos and townhomes, not rentals, not Section 8. Quit being racist. Maybe you should wake up and stop blaming the failure of every business on Earth on something else. You’re scared of people who don’t look just like you, you assume they are all on Section 8, and you assume people who need Section 8 housing are all criminals. Wake up to reality.
Whatever the reason for nice restaurants and businesses to close in any area of your city is just sad all the way around. Wherever the crime is rooting from we have to keep in mind that it impacts us all in a negative way. Atlanta is really changing for the bad...that I know. Our quality of life is being negatively changed. I am from Atlanta, born at Piedmont Buckhead. The last ten years have been eye opening. Hope you are reading this Mr. Mayor.
Lived in Buckhead 25 years. Not chicken of nothing. The fact is that area is just a hood rat area. Fact. And it started to go to hell when developers were mandated to lease 40% of projects to "low income govt asst" people. So you have someone paying $400 a month living next to someone paying $1400 mo.... Whores, drug dealing, shootings, fires.... The entire area is blighted now. Great job Government mandates !
Wrong. Those developments East of Piedmont are privately owned. The developments around Marta are on government (Marta property). It's a TOD developement. Totally different rules, regs.
Amazing how quickly all the people want to cry racism at everything on here.
No one is crying. Just stop being a racist and no one will say it. Pretty simple.
Saying an area is going downhill isn’t racist.
The restaurant was dangerous. Fresh hot bread was flying out of the oven, dipping itself in butter, and zooming into people’s mouths, leading to fatness and diabetes.
Wake me up before you go go!
Saying it is because of section 8 and hookah is racist.
Not TOD. Not wrong.
At 2:27, it’s not actually. Also, people are being called “racist” that never mentioned those things. Clown behavior.
I've lived in the shadow of the Lindbergh/Piedmont property that is now "Uptown Atlanta" all of my 70 years. It is considered TOD. I was involved in the neighborhood discussions which ultimately allowed it to be developed. One of the concessions is that the surrounding streets were cursed with so called "traffic calming" implementations as part of the project.
You are dead wrong in saying it isn't TOD. TOD includes work/live/play along with transportation access to other parts of the city, all of which UA possesses.
I used to eat here a lot and remember it was very popular when it first opened. I think the uptick in crime did it in. Wheter its bc of Affordable housing idk but bad actors definetly came in. People avoided the area all together.
I live in the area and it’s not the best near this area, but this boils down to the owners of Longhorn, Darden Restaurant Group, is closing underperforming stores.
Damn! I'm Nigerian and I think the area is ghetto. I guess that makes me racist too.
Right? I’m from Kenya and I think Nigerians are racist!
Well I'm the pot calling the kettle black! Everybody's a racist!
Get back in the pot, you’re still al dente.
I’ll take a pot of black coffee, if you’re offering!
I’m super blown Sandy Springs location is closed . I literally drove down there just now to see why nobody was answering the phone . This location was my spot especially when I didn’t feel like cooking. It was just open last week too .. I’m really blown .
Shocked about sandy springs location closìng.we have been eating there for years,since their beginning. They were always busy when we went there
BLown away by sandy apringsclosing of longhorns
So this is what happened to the project? What is to become of this area?
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