Summerhill's restaurant row has taken two hits this month. The Atlanta Voice reports that Hero Doughnuts at 33 Georgia Avenue SE has hung temporarily closed signs at both its Atlanta locations, and How Crispy Express at 71 Georgia Avenue SE permanently closed on May 10 after four years. The How Crispy owners attributed the closure to rent hikes, parking, and reduced foot traffic, echoing the same pressures that have hit West Midtown operators. Hero, opened in Summerhill in 2020, sits under Birmingham-based Pihakis Restaurant Group, which is currently facing millions of dollars in lawsuits that have rippled into closures across its portfolio.
One of those ripples is on Metropolitan Parkway. James Beard winner Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ at 668 Metropolitan Parkway SW has temporarily closed across all locations after a May 3 announcement from the restaurant group, the second Pihakis-affiliated property to shutter in Atlanta this month. The Atlanta restaurant opened in July 2021 in a converted auto repair shop and built a steady following for South Carolina-style whole hog, ribs, and chicken.
The openings are leaning toward the eastside. Nando's PERi-PERi, the South African flame-grilled chicken chain, is set to open its third Georgia location at Krog Street Market at 99 Krog Street NE in June, taking over the former Bar Mercado space. Nando's tested the waters earlier in May with a PERi-PERi Portal pop-up on the BeltLine. In Midtown, Spice Atlanta has opened at 1230 W Peachtree Street, a global fusion and sushi concept from brothers Nana and Baff Atakora-Bediako with a Korean chicken wings, hamachi crudo, and jollof rice menu.
