[POOF] Portillo's Pulls The Plug on Planned Perimeter Property

A proposed Portillo's is seemingly not happening in Dunwoody.  A representative for the group behind the redevelopment notified the City of Dunwoody that they were withdrawing their application that sought to pave the way for the restaurant to move forward.  

A representative for JSJ Perimeter LLC informed the City on February 10th saying:

"Please let this letter serve as formal notice that JSJ Perimeter, LLC is withdrawing its  application for a Special Land Use Permit, identified as SLUP 25-04 and Major Modification  RZ 25-05."  

The representative made no mention of the reasoning behind the withdrawal or what plans the group may have for the subject portion of the property in place of the quick-serve restaurant.  

"The property has undergone a series of zoning amendments over the past 15 years. In 2008, the property was rezoned from O-I to C-1 conditional (Z-08-14825) to allow for the development of a hotel, a 7,050 square foot full service restaurant, a 5,369 square foot meeting space, and a 70,000 square foot fitness club." the City of Dunwoody states. 

A 2019 proposal would have included a 150-key boutique property from Hilton Hotels as well as 30,000 square feet of retail space.  

JSJ Perimeter, LLC, a holding company created in December 2018 by John DiGiovanni of Inland Atlantic Development Corporation, currently owns the property.  

Then in its fifth iteration, JSJ Perimeter, LLC had requested this past August a modification of the zoning and special land use permit conditions (RZ 23-02 & SLUP 23-03), to modify existing zoning conditions, update the site plan, and get a new special land use permit for a drive-through (restaurant) approved. 

The roughly 2.9 acre property was for many years home to various banks, but has sat neglected and idle for more than ten years, save for the time it briefly "reopened" in 2016 for the filming of the hit movie "Baby Driver."  

A site plan for the project indicated that Portillo's would have occupied a roughly 4,800 square foot building along Ashford Dunwoody Road with a patio and double drive-thru lanes.  The development was also to include a two-story, roughly 10,600 square foot commercial building beside the restaurant with age-restricted apartments and an accompanying parking garage constructed in the rear of the property along Perimeter Center East. 

Drive-thrus have been a hot button for many municipalities.  Raising Cane's and Zaxby's were both looking to redevelop former bank properties in Dunwoody with the former having been working on getting its project approved for more than two years, and the latter for more than a year, before both were turned down in recent months.    

A McDonald's at 4540 Ashford Dunwoody Road occupies a onetime bank property and is currently the only drive-thru along Ashford Dunwoody Road in the vicinity of Perimeter Mall.  

As for Portillo's, the Chicago-based company opened their first ever Atlanta area location in November along Barrett Parkway in Kennesaw.  The company, which last year admitted "missteps" in its Texas rollout, had a lot riding on its Atlanta market debut.  

The Kennesaw location opened to tremendous lines and fanfare and has amassed more than 750 reviews on Google, but has only a 4.3/5 star rating overall.  

The company has seen its stock slide more than 80 percent (now trading at under six bucks) over the past five years, and its entry into new markets has not gone as it (or Wall Street) would like.  

On February 11, Brett Patterson was named President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Portillo's, effective Monday, February 23.  Previous chief executive Michael Osanloo stepped down from his position after seven years this past September amidst overall challenges and changes at the chain.   

In addition to Kennesaw, the company had locations in development in Cumming near the Collection at Forsyth and in Buford near the Mall of Georgia, but ToNeTo Atlanta has learned the chain does not intend to move forward with its location in Cumming.     

What are your thoughts on the proposed redevelopment?  Are you excited at the prospect of more Portillo's in metro Atlanta?  If approved, what kind of retail would you like to see come to the project?  

Please share your thoughts below.  

Zaxby's and Raising Cane's both recently saw their locations rejected due to concerns over their locations and the drive-thru traffic they would generate, among other things.