Farm Burger Closes in Buckhead After 12 Years to Make Way for a Local Taco Joint

The longtime Buckhead location of Farm Burger closed this week after 12 years at Tower Place on Piedmont Road, and it’s being replaced by another local restaurant chain: Rreal Tacos. The latter should open in Buckhead by next spring.

“After an amazing 12 years of serving the residential, general office and retail community, the opportunity to turn the space over to another local operator and restaurant was a timely and perfect fit,” a statement provided to Eater reads. “The future strategy for Farm Burger will focus on neighborhood stores where the brand can maintain its authentic connection with customers.”

“This particular opportunity from another local operator came specifically to the Buckhead location. It was a perfect and timely fit, and just made sense for the brand,” a representative for Farm Burger says when asked for more specifics on the closure in Buckhead.

This isn’t the first location of Farm Burger to close over the last three years. A location in Peachtree Corners closed in 2020 due to the financial effects of the pandemic. The restaurant opened in the Gwinnett County city just a year prior, followed in short order by a location in Midtown inside the Southeast’s largest Whole Foods.

George Frangos and farmer and rancher Jason Mann first opened Farm Burger in 2010 in downtown Decatur, opening the second location of their organic burger joint in Buckhead a year later. It has since grown into a local burger chain, with additional locations in Grant Park, Virginia-Highland, Dunwoody, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Athens. Locations are also open in Asheville and Memphis.

Farm Burger is known for using 100-percent grass-fed beef in its burgers, which is dry-aged, ground fresh, and cooked-to-order. The restaurant’s menu also includes vegetarian burgers made from quinoa, as well as chicken and pork-based patties. The bar offers mostly local beers, boozy milkshakes, and a small selection of wine.

Originally owned by chef Adrian Villarreal (formerly of the Spence), Rreal Tacos opened nearly a decade ago on the corner of 6th and Juniper streets in Midtown, featuring tacos, ingredients, and flavors akin to those found in Villarreal’s hometown of Monterrey, Mexico. In 2022, Damian Otero and Miguel Hernandez took over Rreal Tacos from Villarreal and are in the midst of expanding the restaurant to multiple locations around Atlanta.