Roswell restaurant Foundation Social Eatery is planning to close at the end of December.

The restaurant announced the closure on its Instagram account:

It’s with heavy hearts we must announce that we’re closing our doors at the end of the month. Our last dinner service will be December 31, 2020 — New Year’s Eve. To those not in the know, we have been searching for a new and better location for the last couple of years. Our lease officially expired in March 2020, and we’ve been continually extending it by a few months at a time while we continued our search for a new location. A week ago, our landlord informed us they had found another tenant to take on a long term lease and gave us our 45 day notice to vacate.

During this downtime, we will be continuing our search for a new home. We hope to see some of your familiar faces over the next few weeks, and look forward to reuniting with all of you in the future. We want to thank everyone so much for allowing us into their lives these last few years, and for all the wonderful support we’ve received during this pandemic. Additionally — Sandy and Mel want to say thank you so much to our staff for believing in us. Remember that this is not goodbye, it’s “we’ll see you soon!”

Chef/owner Mel Toledo opened Foundation Social Eatery in early 2014 at 1570 Holcomb Bridge Road, with a menu featuring French, Italian and Southern influences.

Toledo said he thinks Foundation Social Eatery “hasn’t been as successful as it should be” in part because of the “huge division” between east and west Roswell, with Georgia 400 as the dividing line, and residents staying on their respective sides of the city.

Mel Toledo, executive chef and owner, Foundation Social Eatery.

Credit: Foundation Social Eatery

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Credit: Foundation Social Eatery

“When we first opened, we were the only restaurant in the area, and we had an ocean of people to pull from,” he said. “As more restaurants opened, that pool has become a puddle.”

Foundation has been open since June for limited dine-in service as well as takeout after temporarily closing in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Toledo said that while lease issues are the driving force behind the restaurant’s closure, the pandemic “certainly didn’t help.”

He’s currently scouting locations inside the perimeter, where he thinks Foundation Social Eatery will be more well-received and is hoping to be operating again within a year.

Foundation Social Eatery is the latest food and beverage concept casualty due in part to the economic impact of the coronavirus. Other recent closures include Kouzina Christos in Marietta, Tea House Formosa in Doraville, Doraku, Qing Mu and Cook Hall in Buckhead, Ammazza in Decatur, Donetto in West Midtown and Rise-N-Dine in Emory Village.

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