[EXCLUSIVE] Local Coffee Shop to Open New Location in Toco Hills

A longstanding Atlanta area coffee shop has officially closed but a new one is opening soon.  Atlanta Coffee Roasters, which has been a Toco Hills mainstay for more than four decades, has closed, with a new location of Blue Donkey Coffee opening in its place. 

Atlanta Coffee Roasters, originally known as Coffee Plantation, Ltd, first opened at Toco Hills (2205 LaVista Road) in 1983.  The Atlanta coffee scene was quite different then and specialty coffee was not nearly as widely available as it is today.   Coffee aficionado Bill Ledbetter co-purchased the business, now Atlanta Coffee Roasters, in 2005.  Ledbetter, who holds a PhD in biophysics, brought a scientific approach to the roasting process and the coffee business.  

The shop became a popular spot for coffee enthusiasts and Emory students alike, but since the pandemic, the shop has not been open to the public as a traditional coffee shop, but instead has served essentially as a pick-up point for whole bean coffee purchased from the business.  

In recent weeks, at the ripe ol' age of 86, Ledbetter decided to retire and close the business.      

Enter Blue Donkey.

Blue Donkey is owned and co-founded by Atlanta natives Ed Lane, David Lane, and William Rankin.  The partners started the business in 2012 and have today expanded to cafe locations in Buckhead, Grant Park, and Peachtree City, with college outposts at Georgia Tech and Emory, plus a seasonal location at Piedmont Park market.  The group also operates a roasting facility in Fayetteville.  

It's worth noting that animals - specially farm animals - and the color blue - seem especially popular coffee shop names/logos. Dancing Goats (where its logo is blue), Blue Bottle Coffee and Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii (with a shade of blue and a donkey in each logo) are among the brands that seem to have a shared identity, even as they are each distinctly different at the same time.  

Blue Donkey is actively renovating the roughly 1,600 square foot space and plans to open before the end of the year.  

At Toco Hills, Blue Donkey (in the Kroger-anchored Toco Hills shopping center) joins Spiller Park coffee (in the separately owned Ulta-anchored portion of the center) as well as Dunkin', Einstein Bros., and Starbucks as coffee options in the area.  

Also joining Blue Donkey in Toco Hills is Launch Lab, a new 24/7 indoor golf facility slated to open later this fall.  

Are you excited for the opening of Blue Donkey Coffee at Toco Hills?   Who in Atlanta do you think offers the best coffee?  What other kinds of businesses would you like to see open at Toco Hills?

Please share your thoughts below.