It seems Hero Doughnuts & Buns (Hero Diner) might need a hero of their own. The Birmingham-based eatery has "temporarily closed" both of its Atlanta area units and none of the locations of the chain are currently operating. It's unclear when or if either Atlanta area location will reopen, but the longer they stay closed, the less likely a reopening seems.
Owned by Birmingham's Pihakis Restaurant Group (PRG), Hero first opened in Birmingham's Homewood neighborhood in 2017. Founder Wil Drake started the brioche-style doughnut business as a pop-up and farmers market vendor in 2016 before partnering with Pihakis on their 2017 brick & mortar debut.
At its peak, there were at least ten Hero locations across four states.
The company closed short-lived locations in Charleston and Nashville in 2024 and after opening in Montgomery in May 2025, closed it, too, earlier this month.
The doughnut shop was recognized in the "Birmingham 60" in the April 2026 commemorative issue of Southern Living celebrating the magazine's 60th year in publication.
Hero previously provided doughnuts to other businesses such as Atlanta area locations of PERC Coffee, but the coffee shop switched to Old Fourth Ward's Donnie's Donuts after Hero was constantly late with deliveries and there were frequent inconsistencies in the quality of the product.
Known to many as Hero Doughnuts, the eatery also offered burgers and other food that the company tried to better promote, having recently attempted to rebrand as "Hero Diner."
According to the Hero website, in addition to the two Atlanta area units, Hero outposts in Trussville and at Valley Post in Chelsea, Alabama are both "temporarily closed" while one in Homewood is "closed until further notice," as of late Thursday. Another Birmingham area location in Hoover closed permanently earlier this month.
Valley Post in Chelsea is a six acre project developed by Michael Mouron and composed entirely of Pihakis Restaurant Group concepts. The project celebrated its "grand opening" this past December, but the restaurants are now at the center of nearly $14 million in liens and lawsuits against Pihakis, according to AL.com.
Mouron claims liens in excess of $8 million against Pihakis at Valley Post and at other sites in and around Birmingham where he is their landlord. At Valley Post alone, the alleged liens total more than $7.1 million, plus attorneys' fees, according to reporting from AL.com. A meat provider and banking company also filed lawsuits in excess of $1 million against PRG.
“Our goal is to emerge from this period with operations that are stronger and sustainable for the long term,” a statement provided to AL.com reads.
Nick Pihakis, co-founder of Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q (today owned by Atlanta-based Roark Capital), started PRG in 2014.
Sibling casual Greek eatery Psito opened in March 2025 in Summerhill at 25 Georgia Avenue, but like others in the Pihakis group, is "temporarily closed." A location of the group's Rodney Scott’s BBQ opened on Metropolitan Parkway in southwest Atlanta and remains open and operating as of now.
Since mid-April the group has temporarily or permanently closed 17 restaurants across the Southeast leaving nine still in operation as of Thursday evening.
Did you ever visit any of the affected Pihakis restaurants? Do you think Hero will reopen in Atlanta? Who in Atlanta do you think makes the best doughnut?
Please share your thoughts below.
No comments:
Post a Comment