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Friday, September 25, 2026

[ALERT] Southern Eatery Shutting its Doors After Nearly Four Decades in Business

Donnie's Country Cookin' is closing its doors in Brookhaven after nearly four decades in business.  The meat and three eatery is currently located along Clairmont Road in Brookhaven in the formerly Kroger-anchored Skye Hill shopping center. The restaurant's last day in business is Friday September 25.  

Photo Courtesy Explore Brookhaven 

Korean immigrant Donnie Kim opened the original Donnie's Country Cookin' at 1791 Barone Avenue in 1989 and moved to the current Skye Hill location (3300 Clairmont Road) in 2008.  Over the decades Kim expanded to several locations across the metro including units in Stone Mountain, Norcross, Clarkston and College Park, among others.  Over the years Kim sold off all of the restaurants with today, following the Brookhaven closure, only the Norcross location on Beaver Ruin Road and the Clarkston location on North Indian Creek remaining open.  

Fellow Korean immigrants husband and wife Dongrae Byun and Miae Byun are the current owners of the Brookhaven location, and given current inflationary challenges, they have opted to retire at the completion of the current lease.  

The original Donnie's on Clairmont occupied a freestanding building once home to William's Seafood, a popular restaurant from Savannah.  Following Donnie's relocation, the building was demolished and a Bank OZK branch was built in its place.  

The current Donnie's in Skye Hill was previously occupied by another local restaurant called Wings N Wiches.  The 2,400 square foot space is reportedly seeing interest from several would-be replacements, but no lease has yet been signed, according to a source close to the center.   

Related: Trader Joe's looking to add Brookhaven store 

Compare Foods, a new-to-market grocer targeting the Hispanic market, is expected to open in place of the former Kroger in Skye Hill which closed last October after about 50 years in business.  ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report on the grocer's plans this past June and while things are delayed slightly, we are told the grocer is now targeting an October opening.   

Are you surprised to see Donnie's Country Cookin' close in Brookhaven?  What would you like to see open in place of Donnie's in Brookhaven?  What is your favorite southern eatery in metro Atlanta?

Please share your thoughts below  

9 comments:

  1. With Trader Joe’s aggressively expanding across the Atlanta area methinks this spot would be a spot. The neighborhood would definitely support this.

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    1. Trader Joe’s is going on at the old Publix at the Johnson Ferry and Ashford Dunwoody intersection

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  2. So sad loved it there!

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  3. Use to go with my mom before she died almost every night soooo sad!!

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  4. I dropped in for a late breakfast a couple of weeks ago. I'm glad I did.

    If you are seriously old, like me. You'll remember this space as Alexander's Eagle, one of the Bucket Shop bars.

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    1. I certainly remember Alexander's Eagle. W.D. Crowley's was the chain that ran all of those restaurants. I'm very sad that they folded.

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  5. I used to eat there while working at the Revenue Dept before I retired. I actually planned to meet someone there for breakfast next Monday. Oh well.... Happy Retirement!

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  6. Shame when any old-school, longtime establishment closes up. Never made it to this place but it’s sad all the same. I was recently thinking about the old Southern Skillet not too far from there. Good memories. Miss a lot of the old country cooking places that aren’t around much anymore.

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  7. not surprised. Donnie's was great until it was sold. the current owners had no rapport with the customers- never saying hi to those of us who ate there once a week, the food was often cold, and the health standards were questionable recently. hope something better goes in there, but this business was poorly run as of late

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