UPDATED: Sawicki’s Has Closed Its Storefront on West Ponce

sawickis

UPDATE: Jim sends along this statement from Lynne Sawicki…

“With a heavy heart, I must announce that I closed my store for the final time, Sawicki’s Meat, Seafood and More, on Sunday, February 14,” said Lynn Sawicki.

“A business must make a consistent profit to continue and although we have had many good months in our nine years, too many unprofitable months have prevailed recently.  The increases in the cost of doing business are more than our scale in Decatur can support.

“Although I believe in the viability of downtown Decatur, it is an expensive place to do business.  I will miss my devoted employees, my store and my wonderful regular customers.”

Sawicki has many years of professional culinary experience working for Anne Quatrano, at Bacchanalia, Floataway Café and Star Provisions, and is well known in Atlanta culinary circles as a very talented chef.

Her next move?  “I’m on the lookout for an executive chef position and I’m so glad Atlanta is a true foodie town with so many great restaurants and opportunities.”

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A long-time Decatur staple, Sawicki’s Meat, Seafood and More, has closed its storefront along West Ponce de Leon Avenue.  A couple of readers wrote in this morning, noting that the place had been cleared out.  Greg sent in this photo.

Known for its great sandwiches, delicious desserts (that were 1/2 price after 6p), and prepared meals, Sawicki’s will be sorely missed by many.  Greg noted “This place was a treasure. The roast beef sandwich was going to get my vote for president.”

I hope that owner Lynne Sawicki will continue the successful catering side of her business.  All the best to her and the whole Sawicki’s family.

Did you know?: Sawicki’s helped jump-start Atlanta mainstay The Spotted Trotter back in the day?

33 thoughts on “UPDATED: Sawicki’s Has Closed Its Storefront on West Ponce”


  4. Oh man. What a loss! Really grateful Lynne stuck it out there as long as she did. She did a stellar job amidst many unforeseen challenges.

  8. This is what happens with high rents combined with an inability to quickly park to pick up needed “day to day” items without getting booted/ paying into parking machines. A heavy emphasis on enforcing paid parking will continue to put pressure on local retailers in favor of monolithic corporate behemoths / real estate offices…

    1. A free commodity in a place of high demand is a commodity that’s always consumed in full. That does not help retailers. Available spaces and car turnover at a cost are more valuable than free spaces that are always full.

      1. Yes, but there’s also the possibility to have turnover without charging. Time limits on spaces can work as well. I’ve seen towns where parking enforcement marks tires with a tick of chalk to indicate what time they parked and they are only ticketed if they exceed their time. I’m not saying that Sawicki’s is gone because of the parking, but those kind of establishments can suffer when it costs a consumer an extra buck or two just to walk in the door. It, in essence, puts a cover charge on the sandwich shop, or the coffee place, or the ice cream stand for anyone other than pedestrians.

        An example of this effect is that when we think about bringing food back to our home, we automatically think about Sushi Ave on Ponce Pl. or Avellino’s because both allow us to pick up our order without paying for parking. Other places are excluded,.

        1. But that’s just a differing degree of free. A 2 hour window in a place of high demand can limit a retail location to 4 vehicles per space per business-hour day. Paid turnover can deliver significantly higher numbers because it no longer incentivizes people to take full advantage of a free window.

          Before the city instituted a paid parking program (it used to be the program you describe), it studied parking patterns. What they found was that a disproportionate number of spaces were consumed by downtown service employees parking outside their workplaces and moving their cars every two hours. That does not contribute to retail success.

          I don’t disagree about the cover charge. It’s an issue. But I’d argue Sawicki’s benefited for many years from Selig essentially subsidizing parking for their customers. Now that responsibility has shifted to the customers themselves. Some are committed to our downtown businesses enough that it’s worth it for them. Others walk. But for those who want that easy in / easy out experience, you really need a struggling Main Street with just a few good spots at best to predictably deliver that.

          1. I hear you, but first I wouldn’t advocate for a two hour window as that is certainly enough to allow for car moving. 20-30 minutes is better for the situations I’m thinking about, and perhaps there is a variety of these spaces. Some metered, some free but very limited. There are already certain spaces just for things like loading and for the handicapped. I would also think about the idea of some of the timed spaces being subsidized in some part by the businesses and not the consumers. Some of the businesses near parking lots have the ability to provide a token to their customers, but that is not an option for others who rely on street parking for customers.

            1. If you had 20 or 30 minute windows, it would almost require a person constantly monitoring the turnover in a given area, and somebody would have to pay that person.

            2. Businesses could co-partner with patrons on on-street parking by offering, for example, “Show your parking receipt (or time balance on your phone) and get a dollar off any purchase over ten bucks.” And that’s certainly not the only way. The point is that parking is always paid. The only variable, as it relates to cost, is who pays for it. And you know what they say about people who’ve grown used to an entitlement. They’re loathe to give it up.

              1. The city will respond to requests for 15 minutes spots. I have no idea how they decide, but such spots exist. For example, there is one on Commerce at the Artisan in front of Splash of Olive, which I presume is useful for them, Ted’s takeout, and Smoothie King. We likely need more of them, especially for a business like Sawicki’s that is largely dependent on to-go sales.

                I think some stretches should maybe have metered parking that is only for 30 minutes at a time, and the Taco-Mac to Sawicki’s strip would be one example of that.

                1. I appreciate it when meters allow for small amounts of time – so maybe you can do 15 minutes for a quarter with just enough time to run in and grab something. But a $2 minimum keeps me from making those sorts of trips downtown.
                  And small amounts of time definitely can be enforced. I once got a ticket when I ran my kids into a store in the rain and tried to pay the parking by phone inside instead of getting soaked. I couldn’t get the app to work and 8 minutes later when I ran out to put money in I already had a ticket.

                  1. I believe you can pay for as little time as you want if you pay with cash/change. The credit card minimum is 1 hour.

      2. Lack of parking may or not have been a factor, but the only reason she mentioned was the “expense of doing business”, which you’d have to assume is all about the rent. And what about the competition? I have no idea what percentage of their revenues was ready to eat sandwiches, etc., but certainly the arrival of Souper Jenny impacted that part of their business.

  12. High rents that prevent small retail stores from surviving are going to change the character of Downtown Decatur as much as sidewalks and diversity plans. And I totally support sidewalks and diversity plans. I just don’t know what to do about high rents.

    2. I have to wonder, then, how downtown is supporting 3-4 different bodega-type stores. Do they do that much volume? Maybe they’re barely hanging on too. But perhaps an issue for Sawickis was that the nature of the workday foot traffic in Decatur remains quite different from the nighttime traffic, and their products were simply too niche and pricey.

      1. How are you using the term bodega? In the sense of wine shop? In that case, I don’t know. I never frequent any of the beer or wine shops–I buy my alcohol at Publix or Kroger–so I have no idea how they are doing or surviving. I just assume that alcohol = economic success in the City of Decatur.

        Or do you mean bodega in the sense of convenience store? I have no idea how the one next to MARTA survives. I went in once and then never again. I have to assume that a certain percentage of MARTA riders need cheap snacks or umbrellas at the last minute.

        Or do you mean bodega in the general sense of boutique, not just for wine or beer? Boutiques seem to be failing one after the another in Downtown. I’m very sad about that. But I’ll save money because I never buy online the type of tempting purchases I make while wandering in a boutique.

        My favorite meaning for “bodega” is whorehouse but I think that it only has that connotation in the Western U.S. and I haven’t seen any whorehouses Downtown yet. But, after being quite familiar with the term “bodega” to mean small store or boutique in NYC, I found out after I moved to the West that I should not use that term there unless I mean a place of ill repute.

        1. I meant the 3 small convenience stores (two near MARTA, one next to Souper Jenny), plus the larger one close to the courthouse (Best Time?) which I assume is still in business. Shields (the one close to Cakes and Ale) seems to do steady business. I’ve never been in the others.

    3. High taxes are a big part of the rent, as I am sure they were on a “triple net” lease.

  14. So very, very sad to learn this news. The tartine there has long been my favorite lunch option! Decatur loses yet another independent gem…

  20. In a somewhat related note, I see the pizza place going in on E Howard in the Twisted Soul, etc. place is going to offer lunch. It will be interesting to watch, because nothing out that way from Sapori on has been successful with lunch with the exception of Twains, which doesn’t have a particularly large lunch business. I guess it’s too far to go for downtown oriented folks.

  22. I’m so very sad about the closing of Sawicki’s. It has been a go to spot for me, my office, and anyone who visited my office during lunchtime. Their Italian was top notch.

    I was concerned when Tazikis moved in that another lunch spot would push Sawiki’s over the ledge. It seems that flagging market share coupled with high rent spelled doom. I hope it doesn’t take any more victims soon.

    Most of all, I hope that Sawiki lands on her feet someplace, and that I can get an Italian there.

  24. Sorry to see them go. Always loved the sandwiches there. With regards to the discussion above, the owner of this strip might be charging more in rent than others around the city. There are now two empty storefronts there with the closing of Heliotrope, and I believe they had a challenge with rising rents as well.

  26. Not at all a food-related comparison, but it’s too bad Sawicki’s did not have a delivery option for its sandwiches like Jimmy John’s does. That would have made it an easy option on those days when leaving the office for lunch isn’t time-permitted or in bad weather.

    Disappointing to lose such a great local food establishment with a real commitment to quality and taste.

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