[ALERT] NaanStop Has Stopped Serving at Atlantic Station

NaanStop has closed its Atlantic Station restaurant after about seven years in business.  The quick-serve Indian eatery was located at 265 18th Street, next to Gyu-kaku, and across from Pho 24 and Salata.  

The restaurant's last day in business was Wednesday April 22.

Signage posted to the restaurant's front door called the move a "difficult decision."

In a text to ToNeTo Atlanta, Co-founder Neal Idnani shared that the downtown location recently debuted extended dinner hours and that weekend service is "under consideration."  

Brothers Neal and Samir Idnani ran a successful food truck by the same name in Los Angeles, moved to Atlanta in 2011, and opened the first brick & mortar location on Broad Street in downtown Atlanta in August 2012.  The Buckhead location debuted in October 2014 in a space that had then most recently operated as a "we buy gold" business. It closed last April.  

The location in Atlantic Station opened in February 2019 in place of what had been Tin Drum Asian Kitchen.  The space was originally occupied by bakery cafe Au Bon Pain.   

A location was planned for a space along Roswell Road in Sandy Springs but ultimately did not come to fruition.  

Quick-serve Indian fare has not taken off at nearly the same speed as Cava, Sweetgreen, or Raising Cane's have in their respective categories.  

San Francisco-based Curry Up Now, another quick-serve Indian eatery, entered the Atlanta market in 2019 with a location in Decatur, and went on to open locations in Reynoldstown and Alpharetta, too.  It's unclear how well the chain is doing overall, but another location planned for Interlock in West Midtown was cancelled, and the Alpharetta unit, in a "jewel box" space on the Green at Alpharetta City Center, closed in recent months.  

Another local quick-serve Indian chain, Sankranti Indian Kitchen, has in recent months closed locations in Atlanta near Emory University and in Dunwoody near Perimeter Mall.  

For those seeking upscale Indian at Atlantic Station, Ikara, a full-service Indian restaurant, opened earlier this month at the Twelve Hotel in place of what had most recently been upscale Italian restaurant Allora.  

Are you surprised to see NaanStop close in Atlantic Station?  What would you like to see open in place of NaanStop in Atlantic Station?  Do you think quick-serve Indian will ever be as big as quick-serve Mediterranean or Mexican?

Please share your thoughts below.