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

The owners of UrbanTree Cidery took to Facebook Monday morning to announce that they will be closing their Tasting Room May 19.  The locally owned business has been a fixture on Atlanta's Westside since April 2016 and billed itself as "Atlanta's First Cidery." The cidery was opened by Atlanta dentist Tim Resulta, his wife Maria, and Maria's sister, Jackie.  In the post, the Resutas said they had decided not to renew their lease. The Resutas went on to say: "We want to thank everyone again for all of the support over the past 8 years, and will miss seeing y'all in the tasting r ..read more

Chicken Salad Chick, the popular chicken salad chain which in 2021 moved its headquarters from Auburn, Alabama to metro Atlanta, will soon open its 41st location in Georgia.  According to newly updated signage, Chicken Salad Chick will open a new location just off Highway 92 in Woodstock.   The new Chicken Salad Chick will open in the roughly 3,600 square foot space left vacant this past December when Joella's (188 Molly Lane) finally decided to give up the ghost and closed their last remaining Atlanta area restaurant.   Joella's, a Louisville-based hot chicken chain ..read more

Iron Hill Brewery, which entered the Atlanta market in late 2020 with a restaurant in Buckhead and in 2021 added a second location in Dunwoody, will soon close both locations, according to employees at the chain.  The restaurants, located in "The Block at Phipps" and Twelve24 are about 7,800 and 7,500 square feet, respectively, and are expected to close in the coming weeks.   No reason was given for the closures, but customers suggest neither location was ever as busy as they likely should have been given their size and location.   The restaurants featured an on-site ..read more