UPDATE II: Decaturish reports of confusion over the Mellow Mushroom Facebook post and that the restaurant will be open Thursday. What happened on the site and why is still unclear at this time.
UPDATE: Post has been removed from Facebook page, but a graphic saying they’re closed is still up. Stay tuned.
This is more than just a bit of a shock. We’re working to confirm. From Mellow Mushroom Decatur’s Facebook page…
We regret that as of today, the Mellow Mushroom Decatur location has closed. We appreciate your support and loyalty over the years and we look forward to serving you at one of our many other locations.
It is never an easy decision to close a restaurant under any circumstances, particularly after many years in a market. Mellow Mushroom remains enthusiastic about the possibilities for another Mellow in the Decatur area at some later date. We look forward to returning to the market and once again serving our customers in the future. Please visit us at www.mellowmushroom.com for new openings and the latest news from Mellow Mushroom.
Again, thank you for your many years of support and patronage.
That’s a bummer! Was so nice to have that there.
Oh man! So very sorry. Dave is awesome, and I was always grateful they were there when I lived a stone’s throw away. Onwards, I s’pose. Sniff.
Oh, too bad. I recall when Mellow Mushroom started on Spring Street and had Atlanta’s best pizza. Others have surpassed them in the past forty years, but their pizza has always been fine with me.
Never been a huge fan of Mellow Mushroom generally (though I do seem to wind up in one every few months because someone else wants to eat there), but I know lots of people love it. And of course I’m never happy to see a Decatur business fold. It actually surprises me quite a bit that with the 315 apartments going in on one side and the Paces Clairemont project going in on the other, the owners did not see the massive influx of clientele coming their way within the next year. But I get the feeling this wasn’t a decision made due to lack of business, as there always seemed to be a decent crowd there when I went by.
Living so close to this spot, I am intensely curious about what might fill that space.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat? Why?
What? Why?
Simple. Too few customers too often. Too bad.
Big disappointment mainly for my wife – they had one of the better gluten free pizzas around.
I am guessing it has more to do with the relationship between Mellow Mushroom corporate and the restaurant owner. Not because of lack of business.
So now the question becomes – was it hacked? And who did it? Or was it a ploy to get us all int here for delicious pizza? etc etc etc. It’s a Decatur Mystery! I’m just glad it’s not true.
The graphic at the top of their facebook page says they are closed. What the heck? My husband is out of town and I was going to order from them tonight. We ate there or got takeout from there a lot and I NEVER thought there was a lack of business!
Yeah, I can tell you lack of business did not seem to be the issue. They pretty much had a certain niche in Decatur to themselves after Johnny’s closed. I hate to hear this, as I count myself as one of those pizza philistines who likes Mellow Mushroom a lot and especially that location (very convenient for us and often had Bells Two Hearted on draft). I’m guessing rising rents played a role here.
Losing Mellow Mushroom and Album 88 in one day. I don’t think I can take it.
“Losing Mellow Mushroom and Album 88 in one day. ”
Speaking of the latter, there could be a Morning Metro devoted solely to the news coming out of GSU this week.
I am so sorry to hear this! Thanks for the many tasty meals MM Decatur. My family did its best to keep you in business!
Was a go to spot for a quick lunch at the bar. Damn.
As of today, Thursday, this is untrue. I know the managers and the owner. They are in the restaurant right now prepping for a day’s business like usual.
Our family is totally bummed about this…. Definitely not due to lack of business—it was packed every weekend. Conflicts with corporate sounds more believable.
Now what’s this about Album 88???
they’re giving their airwaves to GPB during the day.
Not giving away…GPB freed up Chip Rogers’ salary so now can pay GSU $150k (though for two years, not one).
they sold their birthright for a mess of pottage.
(the real story is that GPB has wanted to muscle in on WABE’s turf for years now, and they’ve screwed Album 88 as a means to that end.)
It’s pizza and a radio station, people, not the end of the world.
ATTENTION ALL DECATUR METRO USERS: From here on out, you must only post and express sadness regarding events that relate to the end of the world. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.
“From here on out, you must only post and express sadness regarding events that relate to the end of the world.”
Or trees.
There is no question in my mind that I will hear about the end of the world first on DM.
Does the second coming of Wal Mart count?
I love the restaurant, and Dave has done so much for the community. They have supported College Heights, WP and Glennwood, and the Sycamore Ridge neighborhood. Sad news about the closing.
LOVE their White pizza. Hope it doesn’t turn out to be true, but we all know where there’s smoke…sounds like someone might’ve jumped the gun on the announcement, if it’s true. If it’s not, am very curious how that message got posted.
That’s too bad. Always like their food, and thought the Decatur location had a good vibe.
I’m so sad. It sounds as if this is a dictate from corporate based on recent report at Decaturish. The owners are such nice people and we really enjoyed this Mellow Mushroom. I hope things can be worked out, but I think it would be an understatement to say there will be some “trust issues” going forward.
Dibs on the UFO.
I called the restaurant today to try and clear up the confusion. I was told that they were closed today for a cleaning, but they did not know yet if the closure was permanent. I was told they were in “negotiations” I am assuming with the owner of the property. The place is always packed so I can’t imagine it is a matter of not having ample business. It may just be issues over the existing lease for the property.
Just went by, and there’s a sign on the door saying “closed due to interior progress.” What does that mean? The mystery deepens……
I want a spin on the wheel of speculation too. My guess is ‘franchise dispute’
MM used to have the best pizza in Atlanta. The locations all had unique and funky ‘hole-in-the-wall’ vibes to them. Quality ingredients were used. If you remember the old MM then you remember how LONG it used to take to get your pizza too. This was due to the unique dough they use and the long cook times. It gave it that great char on the bottom, crispy outside, but chewy inside.
Nearly ten years ago they got new investors who promptly wanted to take the chain upscale. I was close to the owners of the former Lilburn location (now Uncle Dave’s) so he gave me a lot of the details on what was going on. The new investors forced many of the franchise owners out by raising the franchise fees and rates. Next, the switched to lower quality ingredients (particularly the cheese) and changed the cook process to higher temps but shorter time in the oven. You’ll notice that most of the locations all look the same now.
I’m sure this has helped their bottom line a great deal; but for me the pizza is not as good as it once was.
I would guess that this is more of a franchise dispute. Don’t be surprised if they open in a day or two but with a new name.
Well I stand corrected. They were in the store opening up for lunch when Mellow Corporate rolled in and told them to shut it down. Most definitely interoffice politics are behind the closing as that store has a huge and loyal customer base and is not in any way lacking for business. There may be some hope that they will re-open after an unnecessarily expensive forced “re-model”, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Sorry, Dave. I feel for you, man.
Ignore my speculation. I am likely incorrect about Mellow Mushroom’s corporate policies.
i’m surprised and, sadly, will be forced to seek a contact high with pizza chefs elsewhere.
Heh. The best contact high I’ve ever gotten locally was at the Brick Store. And it was awesome. You wanna meet for happy hour tomorrow?
family dinner plans tomorrow, but would enjoy bending elbows with you. next week?
You bet. Just sent you a friend request on facebook. Let’s bend ’em sometime.
Maybe now we’ll get a Trader Joe’s.
Or a WalMart
Handwritten sign on the door today, Friday, at noon: “We are closed this afternoon. We hope to open later”. No evidence of any activity inside.
I head that the Corporate of Mellow Mushroom had told the franchise in Decatur that they had to do 100K in renovations or changes and their is a argument going on between the entities.
Who owns the lease? Could the local franchisee just tell Corporate to shove it and reopen as an independent shop? Can’t see the benefit of the corporate connection at this stage.
They could call themselves Mellifluous Morel or Friendly Fungus or Tractable Truffle and we’d know who they really were.
This is basically what happened with McTighe’s in Buckhead. Jack told the MM guys to shove it and operated another 15 (?) years before the building got sold out for redevelopment that might never actually happen.
When we drove past on Saturday there was sign stating that they were indeed permanently closed and thanked customers for 14 years in Decatur.
However, I happened to check the MM website this AM and under Locations the Decatur store was listed as Temporarily Closed.
So…it appears there may be some hope of it re-opening. I don’t really care if it reopens as a MM or another branded pzza place….liked the patio and the servers were always friendly.