NaanStop confirmed Wednesday that it has closed its Buckhead restaurant after a decade in business. The quick-serve Indian eatery was located at 3420 Piedmont Road, beside Chipotle and above Scoville Hot Chicken.
An email sent April 9 to existing customers called the move "bittersweet."
"While this decision was painful, it’s a strategic step forward. It allows us to focus on building toward our future and bringing NaanStop to even more communities," the update went on to say.
Brothers Neal and Samir Idnani ran a successful food truck by the same name in Los Angeles, moved to Atlanta in 2011, and opened the first brick & mortar location on Broad Street in Downtown Atlanta in August 2012. The Buckhead location debuted in October 2014 in a space that had then most recently operated as a "we buy gold" business. A third location in Atlantic Station came online in February 2019.
A location was planned for a space along Roswell Road in Sandy Springs and promoted at last year's "Food That Rocks," but ultimately did not come to fruition.
Quick-serve Indian fare has not taken off at nearly the same speed as Cava, Sweetgreen, or Raising Cane's have in their respective categories.
San Francisco-based Curry Up Now, another quick-serve Indian eatery, entered the Atlanta market in 2019 with a location in Decatur, and went on to open locations in Reynoldstown and Alpharetta, too. It's unclear how well the chain is doing overall, but another location planned for Interlock in West Midtown was cancelled, and the Apharetta unit, in a "jewel box" space on the Green at Alpharetta City Center, is still open but being marketed for lease. When Alpharetta opened in April 2021, it replaced Botiwalla, sibling eatery of Chai Pani, which had closed at the project in 2020.
Are you surprised to see NaanStop close in Buckhead? What would you like to see open in place of NaanStop in Buckhead? Do you think quick-serve Indian will ever be as big as quick-serve Mediterranean or Mexican?
Please share your thoughts below.
3 comments:
Not surprised. Single units, mom n pops are getting crushed by input costs, labor costs, rents ... eggs, rice, meats, etc... then throw in paying a decent wage so people will stay aboard... It's just too much. And, more people are packing a lunch for work, eating dinner at home.
They should open in Marietta. Those locations are the usual areas to be cool but traffic and parking sucks. Bring it to the Cumberland area where parking is free.
They were in the Buckhead location because there are some very large Indian employee companies in Buckhead. Including many across the street in Atlanta Tech Village.
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