Tin Drum Asian Kitchen will later this month open its first new location in metro Atlanta in more than six years. The Atlanta-based is bringing its Asian fare and boba teas to a newly constructed center along Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw.
Steven Chan opened the first Tin Drum near Georgia Tech in 2003. In the years since, the chain has gone through multiple ownership changes and several attempts at expansion beyond Georgia.
Chan sold the business to private equity firm BIP (now 10 Point Capital) in 2012, who added it to their other restaurant holding, Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and looked to grow the concepts.
A new Tin Drum opened at Ashley Park in Newnan in April 2017, while one that opened in Johns Creek in August 2017 was closed by September 2019. The company also opened a new location in Decatur at the Whole Foods-anchored North Decatur Station in early 2019.
Tropical Smoothie, which had grown to nearly 900 locations, was sold in 2020 (and again in 2024) while Tin Drum has remained relatively small, with eleven locations, all in Georgia.
In 2020, Chan rejoined the business and acquired a 25 per cent stake and sought to return the concept to growth.
The restaurant has significantly expanded its menu in recent years and now includes far more than the Asian noodle bowls that originally defined the concept. Newer offerings include sandwiches, wings, bento boxes, ramen, and appetizers like firecracker cauliflower, as well as milk teas (boba) and Vietnamese iced coffee.
The restaurant's menu includes recipes influenced by the cuisines of Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India.
The first location to open following Chan's return was in the Savannah suburb of Pooler near the Tanger Outlets, in August 2022.
An expansion into the Houston market which was announced in 2019 and was to include a minimum of five units was significantly delayed by the pandemic, with the first location not opening in August 2023. Unfortunately, that location did not perform and closed less than six months later.
The chain also once had locations in both Oldsmar, Florida and Birmingham, Alabama, but those locations closed several years ago. Additionally, the company signed a development deal with CANUSA Enterprises in 2013 to open a total of seven Tin Drums in Nashville, but none ever opened.
The new Kennesaw restaurant is slated to open Saturday June 28, and will be followed by another opening at 3705 Village Way in Braselton later this fall.
Are you excited for the opening of Tin Drum in Kennesaw? When was the last time you dined at Tin Drum? Are you a fan of the menu additions at Tin Drum?
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