Tuesday, January 21, 2025

[EXCLUSIVE] Closures Continue with News Surfacing that Snooze will Shutter in West Midtown

Snooze an A.M. Eatery, a chain of breakfast and brunch restaurants, has decided to close its West Midtown restaurant.  Located in the street level of The Osprey residential development (980 Howell Mill Road), the eatery opened in September 2021 and was at the time the second of what are now seven locations in metro Atlanta for the Denver-based concept.

The restaurant will officially close at the end of normal service on Friday, January 31.  

West Midtown has been ground zero for restaurant closures over the past twelve months, but especially in the past 30 days, where West Egg Cafe, Cultivate and Culinary Dropout have all closed, with rumors of at least one more high-profile closure imminent.  Pancake Social, another breakfast spot, is still open but was put up for sale in DecemberWagamama, Superica, and Slim+Husky's also closed their West Midtown restaurants in 2024.    

Although Snooze did not detail the reasoning behind their closure, sources close to the restaurant tell ToNeTo Atlanta that the restaurant suffered from frequent vehicle break-ins - of both customers and employees - sometimes multiple times a day, from vehicles parked within the Osprey garage and in the surrounding area. 

According to one insider, Snooze took the surprising step of informing its staff well before the closure whereby all employees were offered employment at other Snooze locations and retention incentives to remain on board until the 31st.  

Following the West Midtown closure, Snooze will continue to operate six restaurants across metro Atlanta including those in Midtown near Piedmont Park in Midtown Promenade, in Chastain Park in the newly Trader Joe's-anchored Chastain Market shopping center, in Akers Mill Square near Cumberland Mall, in Alpharetta at the corner of Haynes Bridge and Mansell Roads near North Point Mall, in Dunwoody along Ashford Dunwoody Road across from Perimeter Mall, and in Buford in The Exchange at Gwinnett, a new mixed-use development near the Mall of Georgia.  

Also worth noting, Snooze has several upcoming events planned in partnership with Atlanta-based organizations Atlanta Pride and Giving Kitchen.  

A new event the restaurant will host starting January 25 - Atlanta Drag Brunch - will feature Atlanta drag queen Mona Lott and will take place monthly though March at the Midtown location.  10% of ticket proceeds will benefit Atlanta Pride.  More information and tickets can be found here.  

January 30 marks the third in a series of "Snooze After Dark" events where the restaurant reopens to serve breakfast for dinner, complete with food, drinks and a DJ, with all ticket proceeds donated to Giving Kitchen.  The upcoming event will also be at the Snooze in Midtown with tickets available here.  

Why do you think so many West Midtown restaurants are closing?  Did you ever visit Snooze in West Midtown?  What would you like to see open in place of Snooze in West Midtown?

Please share your thoughts below. 

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

West midtown commercially grew too fast. It’s horrible driving there as traffic is very congested due to poor infrastructure and only going to get worse with more large residential properties coming.

Anonymous said...

Simple answer: no one really wants to spend time in West Midtown.

Anonymous said...

Agreed, congestion and gridlock has ruined the area.

Anonymous said...

agree with other comments. It seems like it is confirmed here as well as Town Brookhaven: nearby apartments really don't sustain these places. Copious free (and safe) parking help.

Anonymous said...

Mixed use developments are, for the most part, a flop. It seems businesses located on ground floors of them receive no traction from residents. The WMT complexes, Town Brookhaven and The Keswick in Chamblee are all examples of where not to open a new business. With maybe the exception of Town Brookhaven, mixed use spots are tough with parking and hard to get in and out of.

Anonymous said...

Agree with other people here. My friends and I used to hang out in West Midtown a lot. That is no longer the case and hasn’t been for over a year. It has lost its appeal.

Anonymous said...

Yes they do. If you don’t, stay home

Anonymous said...

Opening a restaurant on the ground floor of an apartment building or office building is a tough way to earn a living.

Anonymous said...

A lot of places may be closing in West Midtown due to Rent prices and some due to safety. It makes sense if there was several break ins on cars, no one wants to deal with that on an ongoing basis

Anonymous said...

Howell Mill Rd was bad enough 20 years ago, let alone now.

Anonymous said...

Paid parking was another issue here.

Anonymous said...

Even back when the mill was still operating, the traffic was bad. My granny used to sit for hours behind other buggys waiting to get her ground corn for jonny cakes.

Anonymous said...

I go there all the time, and brought multiple people. This is heartbreaking!!

Anonymous said...

Even though it looks nice in Midtown, it's not. We moved from the complex across the street from the Osprey for the same reason. We'd lived there seven years but got tired
of our cars being broken into and the unhoused people sleeping on the sidewalks.

Anonymous said...

Rent is to high and it’s still the ghetto no matter how much they dress it up

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