Longtime Buford Highway bar the Rusty Nail is set to close this weekend after more than 45 years.
Located at 2900 Buford Highway just south of North Druid Hills Road, the bar, which is described as “the South’s version of Cheers” on its website, will close after service on Saturday, Sept. 23, an employee confirmed.
Pete Hayes and Nick Cardellino opened the Rusty Nail in 1974. The current iteration of the pub’s menu features a variety of burgers and other sandwiches, as well as barbecue plates and wings, in addition to a full bar.
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The bar was also known for its longtime weekly trivia, as well as an 18-foot gun parked outside the building.
Another location of the Rusty Nail on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs closed in 2022 after 40 years.
The Rusty Nail is one of several longtime metro Atlanta restaurants that have closed this year, including Houck’s Grille, Doc Chey’s, King + Duke, The Original El Taco, Little 5 Pizza and the Lawrence. Taverna Plaka on Cheshire Bridge Road is set to close in November after 20 years.
Cardellino did not immediately respond to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s request for more information on the closure.
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