Frogs Cantina Closes Permanently After 15 Years in Midtown

Tex-Mex restaurant Frogs Cantina closes after 15 years on Monroe Drive in Midtown, the AJC first reported. Frogs is the second restaurant to close this month at the Midtown Promenade shopping complex. Ah-Ma’s Taiwanese Kitchen closed after six years there on December 21. Owners Andy Chef, Shane Chen, and chef Alex Chen did not renew the lease on the restaurant due to the “overall uncertainty of the times.”

Owned by Clint Barrow, Frogs Cantina served a variety of tacos, Tex-Mex dishes, and margaritas and was a popular dining spot for groups gathering after events in surrounding neighborhoods and for Atlanta’s LGBTQ community. It’s unclear if the closure stems from the financial crisis caused by the pandemic.

Charlotte-based Asana Partners acquired Midtown Promenade, which includes the Highlander bar, Trader Joe’s, restaurant Apres Diem, and Midtown Art Cinema, in January 2019. Asana also owns Krog Street Market and the Atlanta Stove Works and the Plaza Theatre complex along Ponce de Leon Avenue, home to chef Joey Ward’s restaurants Southern Belle and Georgia Boy. All three retail properties are undergoing renovations and will include new tenants in the coming year.

Eater Atlanta reached out for comment on the closure.

Frogs Cantina joins a growing list of Atlanta restaurants closing due to the crippling financial crisis caused by the ongoing pandemic. A devastating loss of revenue over the last several months, lack of real rent relief or support from landlords, and inability to secure substantial emergency funding has left many restaurant owners with little choice but to close their businesses permanently.

A recent survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association indicates nearly 40 percent of Georgia restaurant owners don’t expect their business to survive another six months without new and substantial stimulus funding from Congress.

• These Atlanta Restaurants Are Now Permanently Closed Due to the Pandemic [EATL]
• Without Federal Relief Soon, Georgia Restaurant Owners Could Face Permanently Closing Their Businesses [EATL]