[EXCLUSIVE] Bezoria Returning to Alpharetta and Looking to Grow Again

Local Mediterranean eatery Bezoria Mideast Street Eats is returning to Alpharetta.  Three years after closing its restaurant at The Atwater (2685 Old Milton Parkway) across from Avalon, Bezoria is opening a new restaurant at 3325 Old Milton Parkway, less than a mile away.  

The new Bezoria shares space with an existing Shell gas station and convenience store.  The original Alpharetta outpost opened in April 2017 and closed as of September 27, 2021.  Local Asian-Mexican taco shop Yumbii opened in the former Bezoria in April 2023, but it was closed by December.  The space sits vacant today.  

The Atwater Alpharetta outpost was at the time of its opening the second unit for the local chain after the original location on Peachtree Street in Midtown which debuted in 2014.  A location at Cumberland Mall in Smyrna debuted in early 2018 followed by a unit along Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth in April 2021.  The Midtown restaurant closed at the end of 2019 to make way for the new 903 Peachtree high rise apartment tower.           

The new Bezoria Alpharetta and its 3,375 square feet will not only be larger than the former 2,200 square foot space, but will also provide the Mediterranean restaurant its first drive-thru, a feature left from when a Burger King operated from the building more than a decade ago.  Another key difference at the new location is that it's situated at a signalized intersection.   

Interestingly, the Burger King closed in 2014, followed by the Shell in 2016, with the entire 1.9 acre site marketed for sale and later planned to be developed into medical office space.  Ultimately, those plans failed to materialize, and the gas station reopened as a Shell around 2022, with the former restaurant space being marketed for lease since.  

According to Bezoria co-founder Yogi Patel, the drive-thru lane will for the time being function as an "order ahead" lane for customers who place orders via the company's app and other platforms for fast and easy food pickup.  

The new Bezoria, which is franchisee-owned, will also debut the restaurant's new branding and introduce a new ordering process which will be more Panera-like and less Chipotle-like, where customers order at the counter. Their food is then prepared and delivered to their table.  

The Alpharetta restaurant is currently on track for an early to mid-November opening.  Shortly after that, the first out of state Bezoria will open in North Olmstead, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.  

Developed by business partners Yogi Patel, Imtiaz Ramzan, and Nasser Amer, Bezoria seemed to be hitting its stride just ahead of the pandemic with several locations in the pipeline. 

In February 2020, Bezoria announced significant expansion plans that included plans to open five Atlanta restaurants in 2020 and 20 across the state within the next three years.  Starting in 2021, the chain hoped to grow beyond the Peach State, with a focus on neighboring states, with the ultimate goal of having 50 new restaurants across the United States by 2025.  Those plans, which included locations in Toco Hills Buford and Atlantic Station were derailed by the effects of the pandemic, and only recently has the group started to chart their next growth path.    

Alpharetta and North Olmstead are the beginning of that effort, but Patel and his partners have their sights set on additional growth both in and around metro Atlanta and Ohio as well as other markets.  

Are you surprised to see Bezoria return to Alpharetta?  Do you think that Bezoria will have better success in their new location?  What is your favorite Mediterranean quick-serve eatery?    

Please share your thoughts below.