Z!EATS, which featured soups, salads and sandwiches, has closed its lone Atlanta area franchise. The eatery, which opened in the so-called "upper westside" last April, closed quietly in recent days.
The restaurant was located in a roughly 1,600 square foot space at Westside Village (2250 Marietta Boulevard, #204), a development along Marietta Boulevard not far from the water treatment plant.
We visited the restaurant a couple of times and found it lacking in variety, quality, and value, and unfortunately, as a result, predicted this outcome. After being open more than a year, Z!EATS had only 54 reviews on Google with an overall 4/5 star rating.
Z!EATS was founded as Zoup! Eatery in 1988 in Southfield, Michigan as a soup and sandwich shop and was for years primarily found in the mid-central region of the country. The company was acquired by St. Petersburg, Florida-based WOWorks, a private equity-backed group, in May 2022, and officially changed its name from Zoup! to Z!EATS in February 2024.
The name change brought expanded menu offerings including new soups, salads, and sandwiches, as well as a variety of grain bowls and specialty mac and cheese options like "Ladled Lobster" featuring classic mac, lobster bisque, and pie crust topping.
The reality is, that the concept was unimaginative, the food was basic, and the brand had zero awareness in the local Atlanta market. Added to these challenges, there was an existing Henri's, a beloved local business serving similar fare across the street, and there is more reason to wonder why Z!EATS opened rather than why it closed.
The name change brought not only an expanded menu but a bigger franchise push toward expanding into new markets.
When we reported on the restaurant's opening last April, there were 45 locations spread across thirteen states, plus another three in Ontario, with 21 of the chain's domestic units found in Michigan and neighboring Ohio. (This article from Chain Store Age indicates that as of February 2024 there were 59 restaurants in the Z!EATS network.)
According to the Z!EATS website, there are today just 23 units across eight states (13 across Michigan and Ohio) plus another four in Ontario.
Suffice it to say, the brand is having problems beyond its Atlanta closure.
Did you ever visit Z!EATS? Why do you think Z!EATS failed? What would you like to see open in place of Z!EATS?
Please share your thoughts below.
4 comments:
We loved Zooups!! When they were up north. Every time we went here we said “gimme some Zzzzzzoooup!!” But they didn’t think it was funny and we stopped comming.
Although I’m sure it’s been mentioned here, I’ve never actually heard of the place.
Because it wasn't funny.
The changed their name again to Zoup! Eatery
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