Emory Village All-Day Breakfast Staple Rise-n-Dine Closes
The North Decatur Road restaurant closes after serving the Emory community for 13 years, citing the devastating financial losses stemming from the pandemic
Beth McKibben
is the editor and staff reporter for Eater Atlanta and has been covering food and cocktails locally and regionally for 12 years.
Emory Village all-day breakfast staple Rise-n-Dine closes after 13 years on North Decatur Road, citing the devastating financial losses stemming from the pandemic and how the health crisis has been handled by the Trump administration.
Rise-n-Dine closed for dine-in service in March at the start of the pandemic and briefly pivoted to takeout. It never reopened. A post to Instagram indicates the restaurant had planned to repay monies it received from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) by October, which was used to pay the rent. The PPP loan, part of the federal COVID-19 small business stimulus package, is only forgiven if a business rehires its staff.
“...Trump wins this battle. His intentional incompetence at handling the Pandemic is shutting down so many of us independent small businesses. Larger corporate joints have an army of lawyers and accountants to find loopholes to make PPP work and force their landlords to discount rent,” the post reads, in part. “Our Landlord worked with us but wouldn’t give us a break on rent until December. $8,000 per month rent is too high to make takeout and limited outdoor seating profitable.”
Equipment and supplies from Rise-n-Dine are already for sale online, with the restaurant’s decorative items and books set to go up for sale at a later date. The money will be used to repay the PPP loan and for a possible reboot of Rise-n-Dine.
The congenial, retro-inspired restaurant, serving sweet potato pancakes, Belgian waffles, and egg sandwiches, was a popular spot for Emory University students and professors to dine during breakfast and lunch. Prior to the pandemic, Rise-n-Dine was also a perennial listing on Eater Atlanta’s essential breakfast restaurants.
Earlier this week, Atlanta-based ice cream company Queen of Creamclosed its Poncey-Highland shop after one year at Plaza on Ponce, citing “the devastating effects of Covid-19” on the retail side of the business. October also saw the closures of Italian restaurant Donetto on Atlanta’s west side, Ammazza pizza in Decatur, Farm Burger in Peachtree Corners, and happy hour hotspot the Tavern at Phipps in Buckhead.
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