At a time when Raising Cane's, Chick-fil-A, and other quick-serve restaurants continue to expand in metro Atlanta, fellow operator Guthrie's is experiencing some growing pains in the wake of its recent growth push in the state.
All four of the restaurants are only a few years old, with the newest having just opened in April 2024.
The Guthrie's in Peachtree City (2021 Commerce Dive) and Woodstock (2004 Eagle Drive) opened in July 2023 and April 2024, respectively, and are owned and operated by Atlanta Restaurant Group. The group also operates five McAlister's Deli locations and under another name, ownership previously operated and sold nine Zaxby's units in Arkansas.
The Cumming (3685 Browns Bridge Road) and Grayson (1645 Grayson Highway) units opened in May 2023 and December 2023, respectively, and are owned by a separate group.
Three of the four restaurants have roughly the same number of reviews (~185) and average rating (4 star) but the Woodstock unit, which opened April 30, 2024, has only 92 reviews and a 3.2 rating.
The Shumacher Group is offering the 1,836 square foot Peachtree City restaurant, which sits on .7 acres, for $1.9 million.
The group is offering the 2,187 square foot Woodstock restaurant, which sits on 2.39 acres, also for $1.9 million.
We Sell Restaurants is offering the Cumming and Grayson restaurants, each of which measure 2,200 square feet, for a total of $499,000 but are selling the businesses only, with the underlying real estate not included.
Guthrie's, which has in years past closed metro area locations in Dunwoody and Peachtree Corners, currently operates fifteen locations in Georgia, inclusive of the four being marketed for sale. Remaining locations in Georgia include those in Albany, Canton (2), Cartersville, Columbus, Hartwell, Locust Grove, Mableton, Marietta, and Senoia. The Marietta unit, located on Lower Roswell Road in East Cobb, opened in December 2024 but has just 83 reviews and an overall 3.8 star rating.
A Guthrie's that opened on Macon Road in Columbus in June 2021 (in place of a former Taco Bell) closed this past October but indicated (vaguely) that it would relocate elsewhere in the future. (The Macon Road unit is strangely still listed as open on the company's website despite work to convert into a new location of Touchdown Wings.)
Hoping to get back on track, Guthrie's on January 14 named Tom Carr its new President & CEO. Carr, who most recently spent ten years at Chicken Salad Chick as its Chief Marketing Officer, has in years past also held executive roles with SPANX, Discovery, Inc., Turner Broadcasting, and Nike, among others. During his time at Chicken Salad Chick, the brand grew from 50 units to more than 320 across 23 states and moved its corporate headquarters to metro Atlanta.
Might Carr follow in the footsteps of Papa Johns, Blaze Pizza, Smalls Sliders, and Chicken Salad Chick and move Guthries' headquarters to Georgia?
Are you surprised to see Guthrie's struggling in its push into Georgia? Who do you think makes the best chicken finger? What chain - chicken or otherwise - would you like to see expand into metro Atlanta?
Please share your thoughts below
2 comments:
Fast food is approaching fine dining prices and people are rethinking lunch. If Guthrie's costs more than Chick-Fil-A, I don't see how they can compete. People find CFA healthier than Guthrie's and Zaxby's, whether or not there's any truth to that. The new Zaxby's across the street from the North Druid Hills CFA is pretty embarrassing. I guess they make rent on Sunday though.
So none are actually in Atlanta proper.
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