The TJX Companies, Inc., owners of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, among other retailers, plan to bring their growing Sierra store to metro Atlanta.  ToNeTo Atlanta has been tracking several potential locations but the first to be confirmed officially is coming to Henry Town Center, a large "power center" at 1772 Jonesboro Road in McDonough.   The center, owned by Indianapolis-based Kite Realty, recently updated its site plan to reflect the addition of Sierra.       In Henry Town Center, Sierra will occupy a nearly 20,000 square foot space, formerly home ..read more

Struggling casual restaurant Red Lobster, known perhaps as much for seafood as for their Cheddar Bay Biscuits, abruptly closed 48 units May 13 as it works to remain a going concern and avoid complete collapse.  The closures included three restaurants in Georgia.  The company has hired a third-party liquidation firm to auction off restaurant equipment at the affected locations.  In Georgia, Red Lobster closed locations in Roswell (1050 Holcomb Bridge Road), Athens (1956 W. Broad Street), and Dublin (2105 Veterans Boulevard).   The first Red Lobster opened in Lake ..read more

Nur Kosher Kitchen on Buford Highway in Doraville has closed after little more than a year.  The restaurant, located at 7130 Buford Highway (outparcel of Global Forum shopping center), first opened in 2020 before closing in late 2022, only to be reopened by a new owner in January 2023.  The restaurant closed as of May 9, according to a post to its official Facebook page.  Things started slowly when Nur, which billed itself as an “authentic modern Mediterranean” restaurant, first opened in 2020.  Chef Shay Lavi (now at Old Fourth Ward's Third Space) was brought i ..read more

In a sign of the times, a once high-flying retailer plans to close all of its stores on the heels of its second bankruptcy filing in the past few years.  Rue21, which at its peak in 2017 operated more than 1,200 stores nationwide, announced Friday that it will close all of its current 540 stores and wind down operations over the next four to six weeks.   Established as Pennsylvania Fashions in the Pittsburgh suburb of Warrendale in 1970, the company adopted the rue21 moniker in 2003 when they exited bankruptcy the first time. Shortly thereafter it set out an ambitious plan to ..read more

One of the first metro Atlanta locations of Dave's Hot Chicken is coming to Sandy Springs.  The new eatery will be located in a roughly 1,700 square foot space in the Trader Joe's-anchored Sandy Springs Plaza at 6309 Roswell Road, not far from Sandy Springs City Hall.   The new Dave's is opening in place of Willy's Mexicana Grill which closed this past December after more than eight years in business.  Dave's Hot Chicken is a Los Angeles-based Nashville-style hot chicken brand that got its start in a West Hollywood parking lot in 2017 and has since expanded to some 200 res ..read more

A little more than a year after reopening one of the original Zoes Kitchen restaurants, the Cassimus family - Marcus, Zoe and John - are at it again, this time with Marky's Kitchen. Situated at 3134 Cahaba Heights Road in Birmingham, Marky's is replacing Local Roots, a Tuscaloosa-based restaurant that opened in late 2022 but never caught on and recently closed.   Named for Zoe's husband Marcus, the new restaurant will feature most of the classic Zoes Kitchen menu with the addition of a smash burger, something Marcus "Marky" Cassimus has perfected in his "retirement," fries, and a s ..read more

QuikTrip (QT) will soon close its standalone "gas-less" convenience store in Midtown.  The 24-hour store at Peachtree and 6th Streets will close Friday, May 3, according to a company representative.   The Midtown location (855 Peachtree Street) opened in June 2016 in a roughly 3,500 square foot space at the Shops at Viewpoint at the Viewpoint condo building.  ToNeTo Atlanta was first to report on the planned opening in March 2016.  The space, previously a Sprint store, was a test for the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based convenience store and fuel retailer.    ..read more

Value Village, a local thrift store that claims to be "A Treasurer Hunter's Paradise" and once had more than a dozen locations around metro Atlanta, will soon close three more stores leaving the group with just seven stores in operation.   The organization announced via Facebook in recent days that they are having a 50% off, later increased to 75%, sale at Value Village stores in Atlanta, Sugar Hill, and Douglasville.  Although not explicit in their post, we visited the stores to confirm that the sale is to clear the stores to close them permanently.   The stores tha ..read more

Another soup, salad and sandwich concept is entering the Atlanta market.  Z!EATS, which was founded in 1998 in Southfield, Michigan, is opening a new location at Westside Village (2250 Marietta Boulevard), a development along Marietta Boulevard in the so-called "Upper Westside."  The location has been in the works for about a year and is finally set to open in just a few days.   Joining existing eateries in the complex including Ted's Montana Grill, The Woodall, Cravewell Kitchen (formerly Clean Juice), Desta, and Gezzo's Coastal Cantina, among others, Z!EATS will be amon ..read more

ToNeTo Atlanta has been your number one source for updates on the Atlanta market entry of Raising Cane's and we are pleased to report that another Raising Cane's is in the works!  A new Raising Cane's is being proposed in Dunwoody where it would replace a former Wells Fargo bank.  The new Raising Cane's is planned for 4570 Ashford Dunwoody Road, between existing locations of McDonald's and North Italia.  (Wells Fargo previously downsized and relocated to the new Publix-anchored Perimeter Marketplace nearby.)   Carl Jenkins, real estate manager for the Baton Rouge-bas ..read more