[ALERT] Chick-fil-A Closing Buckhead Restaurant After Nearly Two Decades in Business

Chick-fil-A will at the end of the month close one of its Buckhead restaurants.  The Chick-fil-A at 3280 Peachtree Road, within Terminus 100, will close as of July 31, according to signage at the restaurant.  The "non-traditional" "in-line" Chick-fil-A first opened on August 7, 2008.  

ToNeTo Atlanta attended the restaurant's "First 100" opening event, and in doing so, was awarded 52 free #1 combo meals.  That popular new store opening promotion was essentially retired after COVID.  

Related: New Mediterranean spot opening at Terminus

The original operators of the Terminus location were Dan and Amanda Lomax, who now operate the freestanding Chick-fil-A along South Cobb Drive, just off I-285 in Smyrna.  According to the Chick-fil-A website, the current operator of the Terminus location is Christopher Kish.  According to Kish's LinkedIn profile, he spent more than a decade as the director of operations for a Chick-fil-A in Orlando before becoming the operator of the Terminus location.  

It's incredibly rare for the Atlanta-based chicken chain to close a restaurant that it does not simultaneously replace with another.  

The primary reasoning behind the Terminus' closure is likely the successful opening of the larger Chick-fil-A at nearby Buckhead Place (3234 Peachtree Road), with more space, easier parking, and superior access.  We asked reps for Chick-fil-A ahead of the larger location's May 2025 debut if it would lead to the closure of Terminus and were told no.  While things might have changed, this move was likely the plan all along. 

That said, the Terminus location does have a surprisingly low 3.9/5 star rating on Google, one of the lowest ratings for a Chick-fil-A in the area.  The newer, larger location is marginally better with a 4.2.  

Related: Raising Cane's is under construction in Buckhead

The vast majority of the chain's complete closures have been within mall food courts, destinations once vital to the brand, that have today, like the malls themselves, fallen out of favor.  Last July, the company closed its location within the food court of Stonecrest Mall in Lithonia, and this past March closed its food court locations within Town Center at Cobb in Kennesaw and North Point Mall in Alpharetta.  

The company has in years past closed food court locations in Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Northlake Mall in Tucker, North DeKalb Mall near Decatur, Greenbriar Mall in Atlanta, and Phipps Plaza in Buckhead, among others.  

What would you like to see open in place of Chick-fil-A in Terminus?  What upcoming Buckhead area restaurant are you most excited about?  What is your favorite quick serve eatery in Buckhead?      

Please share your thoughts below.