[ALERT] "ATL's Friendliest Biscuit" to End Operations in Grant Park

Intown residents will soon have one less option for genuine hospitality and affordable food.  Boyd Baker of Howdy ATL biscuit cafe has announced he will be closing his Grant Park eatery after three years in business.  

"It's been 3 YEARS since we opened our doors in the old Grant Park Coffeehouse space. My kids and I thought we could bring some tasty coffee, warm biscuit sandwiches, baked goods, and lunch treats to Grant Park that would make the neighborhood happy, as well as the folks at the zoo. There was nothing around and lovely people to please. We've run out of energy and time to make the business work unfortunately. ​ We have met incredible neighbors and zoo folks over those 3 years," the announcement read in part.    

Baker, an Atlanta native, had worked in restaurants for several stretches of his life, including as a barista at the beloved The Dessert Place and manager at the equally beloved and dearly missed Gorin's Ice Cream and Sandwiches in Athens.  

After years as a freelance writer, Baker refound his love for food and baking during the pandemic and joined the team at Waller’s Coffee Shop in Decatur where he worked in the kitchen for a year and honed his skills and developed some recipes.

He would go on to bake for neighbors, ultimately giving him the confidence to put a plan together that would become Howdy, "ATL's friendliest biscuit."  

A Kickstarter campaign was launched in 2022 with the goal of raising $9,300.  The effort ultimately raised more than $16,000 from more than 120 backers.

Howdy opened at 753 Cherokee Avenue, across from Zoo Atlanta in Grant Park, in May 2022.    

"Of course, after 6 months, we had Bennett's/Ollie's Market move 3 blocks to our south. That's life. ​ 3 months later, we had Grant Park Coffeehouse return three blocks to our north with their relationship with the neighborhood of over 10 years. A few months later, the wonderful team over at Green Beans ATL showed up on the other side of the park - more competition.  That means that all of us are sharing the same audience and it's tough to grow and make money."

Howdy's food and beverages were incredibly reasonable with three buck biscuits and nothing costing more than nine dollars.  The restaurant also had a stellar 4.8 star rating on Google with nearly 500 reviews.  Ultimately, the restaurant was catering to a small market.   

"For 2.5 years I worried every night about how to pay the rent. My staff always got paid, and I always paid my suppliers. I, unfortunately, didn't get the same treatment. Though many of you have met me - and I've LOVED serving you (it's tattooed in my heart) - I haven't made a regular paycheck ever," Baker added.  

"Our lease was for 3 years with an extension of 2 years at 10% rent increase. I realized after last year when profit from the biz was about $30k and taxes were about $7k that I couldn't physically keep it going. Working 70+ hours a week for $24k isn't anyone's dream scenario. Our rent is 2x the national average and our landlord doesn't want to sublet the dining room to help keep us alive in just half the space we've been serving you from. I've looked at every possible option I can imagine but we'd need to spend more money building a kitchen just to do something more than what we hoped - and that might not work with our landlord's plan, considering 2 neighbors above.  All this to say (and more than willing to share more if you have small biz interest) that we'll be closing HOWDY at the end of July - hopefully Sunday, August 3rd."

"If you have interest in the business (you're probably smarter than me), just reach out and we can talk. I know there are solutions we just never saw.  Wish we could keep this small, family biz alive, but I guess we need to make room for someone else or a chain restaurant to come through and serve a broader audience. We've loved serving everyone local and from out of town and hope you'll stop in over the next month and say Howdy! We'll be here and ready to serve," the announcement continued.  

Have you been to Howdy ATL?  Who in metro Atlanta do you think makes the best biscuit?  What would you like to see open in place of Howdy ATL?  

Please share your thoughts below.