Fledgling chicken & waffle franchise Bruxie has quietly closed its one Atlanta area location in a surprise move to no one. The restaurant, located in perhaps one of the most challenging, yet likely expensive spots in metro Atlanta, opened this past March and closed in recent days, according to locals in the area.
The chicken and waffles concept was created and based in California, where the majority of the chain's other locations are, save for a separate Georgia franchise, which opened in March 2023 on East Broad Street in Athens.
Neal Starling, a multi-unit FIVE GUYS franchisee, was behind the Chamblee Bruxie and reportedly had a franchise agreement signed for the development of at least eight units in Georgia and Alabama. The Chamblee unit's failure suggests he may not be opening others.
To open a new-to-market chicken joint in the bottom of an apartment building with limited visibility, a hard to read logo, challenging parking, and without a drive-thru, with Chick-fil-A and Zaxby's both already in the market, was beyond foolish.
According to the Bruxie website, where if you dig deep, you can still find a listing for the Chamblee restaurant, Starling is still involved with the brand as its Director of Development. Noticeably missing from the website is Rich DeAugustinis, a more than 30 year veteran of The Coca-Cola Company and a Chamblee resident who from January 2023 to March 2024 was Bruxie's Director, Strategic Initiatives.
The roughly 2,900 square foot second generation restaurant space is again available for lease.
Are you surprised that Bruxie closed in Chambee? Did you ever visit Bruxie in Chamblee? What would you like to see open in place of Bruxie in Chamblee?
Please share your thoughts below.
18 comments:
I saw Bruxie but honestly didn’t know it was a chicken & waffle place just by the name & there isn’t really much parking there so I’m not especially surprised to hear this
Now that Chamblee has become hip, restaurants are everywhere. Plenty of housing available, but by the time you pay rent it’s beanie weenie 3x daily.
On a quick side note, the Publix on Peachtree Blvd isn’t doing much either.
Not surprised. Went once and it simply just wasn’t good. Their BBQ sauce was bad too. Wonder if something else will replace it.
How do you know about the Publix? Any other details?
Never went, but mostly because we just don't eat out as much as we used to now that it's around $15-20 per person at many places. There is/was a trend in Atlanta that just doesn't work: the cute looking place that has the exterior look of something you'd see in a walkable town. Very few parts of Atlanta actually have anyone walking around. This is not Manhattan. If parking is not really obvious to find, the restaurant is probably going to struggle. So I think this location is not good. Maybe an Edward Jones Tax office or similar would do well there.
Agreed. I was hoping I’d like it, but the chicken was dry and relatively flavorless. It was a one and done.
We live nearby and tried it several times. The food was good, but service was slow and it was too expensive for what you got.
No, I was just saying that to get people to keep complaining about it. I like to ruin things.
This is the main reason. Food just can't good. Customers will seek out good food. It was almost unbearable to eat.
Food was not good and significantly overpriced
We do not need any more "brown food" restaurants in Chamblee.
We went there one time. The food was great but service was insanely slow. There was one couple in there when we got there, we placed our order and 42 minutes later we got it. For a counter order restaurant, that wait is unacceptable.
Only “white food”
What is a “brown food” restaurant?
I think there may be another place going in that spot, Mosaic?
"Brown food" is when everything is deep fried and potato or bread based. Everything on your plate is brown and unhealthy.
The service there was terrible. I'm not at all surprised they closed.
My family and I loved it! The waffles were the perfect texture, and the chicken had a lot of flavor. The cold brew was also some of the best I’ve ever had.
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