Taco Mac Closes Its Longtime Lindbergh Location, Citing ‘Safety Challenges’

The Lindbergh neighborhood location of Taco Mac, adjacent to the Lindbergh MARTA station in Buckhead, permanently closed this week after 15 years there. The announcement was made in an email to customers, citing “safety challenges” and “a recent uptick in crime.”

“The decision was not made lightly but will further support our long-term brand growth for many years to come,” the email reads in part.

“Since 2006, when Taco Mac Lindbergh opened, the climate of the atmosphere around Lindbergh has drastically changed,” the email continues. “The combination of recent restaurant closures in the development, safety challenges in the parking garage and a recent uptick of crime in Buckhead has made this location no longer safe for our team members.”

While citing safety issues and recent crime in the area as factors for the decision to close the Lindbergh location, no details were provided in the email on specific concerns or incidences at the parking garage or the restaurant which partially led to the decision. The restaurant is located just off of Piedmont Road, a particularly busy multi-lane thoroughfare connecting Buckhead to other in-town neighborhoods, including Piedmont Heights and Midtown.

Most Taco Mac locations feature large dining rooms and bars seating up to 100 people or more. It’s unclear if recent labor shortages affecting restaurants, a dip in sales due to pandemic-related office closures nearby, or the lack of substantial pedestrian-friendly infrastructure in the area also factored into the decision to close this location.

Despite the closure of one of its longtime restaurants, the sports bar chain apparently plans to open five new Taco Mac locations around metro Atlanta in 2022.

Fresh Hospitality, led by CEO and Atlantan Harold Martin, Jr., bought the Taco Mac brand in 2018. At the time of the purchase, the group said it was not planning to make any big changes to the restaurants or the menu. Martin, along with partners Michael Bodnar, John Michael Bodnar, and Mike Tidwell, said they would be touring various locations and gathering customer and employee feedback in order to improve dining experiences.

Fresh Hospitality also now owns Mary Mac’s Tea Room on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Midtown. The group purchased the restaurant in 2020 from John Ferrell, who owned Mary Mac’s for over 25 years.

Eater reached out to representatives for Taco Mac for further comment on the Lindbergh closure.

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• Beloved Atlanta Restaurant Mary Mac’s Tea Room Reopens Soon With a New Owner [EATL]