Piccadilly, likes many chain restaurants that withstand the fickle food trends of time, conjures fond memories for many adults.
So for anyone with ties to the 86-year-old company’s Howell Mill location, this is going to hurt: The eatery is closing this month.
Max Jordan, vice president of marketing for Piccadilly, said the reason for the closure is an expired lease.
“The landlord has a new development planned for the site that doesn't include us,” Jordan said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday.
The cafeteria, with its comforting homestyle entrees and desserts, opened in 1988.
The closure will leave eight Georgia restaurant locations in Atlanta, College Park, Decatur, Stockbridge, Fayetteville, Tucker, Marietta and Conyers. No other Georgia closures are planned, and the remaining Atlanta location — which opened at Greenbriar Mall in 1965 — is “still going strong,” Jordan said.
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Credit: PARKER C. SMITH
Credit: PARKER C. SMITH
He also said Piccadilly is in "growth mode," with to-go locations soon opening in Memphis and in Baton Rouge, where the company is based. A new full-service prototype location, with changes to the typical building and service methods, is expected to open in Baton Rouge early next year; it will be the first full-service location to open in "many years," Jordan said.
“Atlanta is a target for us in the future, no question about it,” he said.
The company “deeply” regrets closing the Howell Mill location, Jordan said in a statement, and thanks “all our guests and team members who have supported us so graciously throughout the years.” He said the 60 or so employees will move to other locations if they’d like.
Jordan declined to give an exact closure date, but confirmed it will be by the end of June. He didn’t know what the site’s new development plans entail.
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