Scrappy Greek Restaurant Nick’s Food to Go Temporarily Closes, But It’s Set to Return

After temporarily closing in July for a parking lot renovation, Nick’s Food to Go, the family-owned-and-operated, shoebox-of-a-Greek restaurant on the corner of MLK and Hill Street, is now closed until September.

A death in the family of one of the employees prompted the delay in reopening, according to a post on Instagram. “We are hoping to reopen in September,” a representative speaking on behalf of Nick’s tells Eater. “We will share more details about the reopening in the coming weeks.”

Nick Poulos and his wife Eleni first opened Nick’s Food to Go in 1994 in what was a very different landscape surrounding the Greek counter-service joint near Oakland Cemetery. The restaurant built up a loyal following over the years of locals and people working in and around the nearby Gold Dome (Georgia capitol building), becoming a popular spot for gyros and Nick’s famous Greek lasagna.

The family and regulars to the restaurant have grown accustom to threats of closure throughout the years brought on by developers gobbling up land in the area to build new apartments and mixed-use complexes. In 2017, the sale of the building and a new development rising on the property put the future of Nick’s in question. Thankfully, it didn’t pan out. Just four years later, another mid-rise apartment complex was announced for the property. The Poulos family told Urbanize Atlanta at the time, “We’re aware of our new neighbors coming soon. We’re excited about their arrival and hope we’ll continue to serve gyros for a while. Hopefully, we won’t be too ugly for the neighborhood.”

Poulos retired ten years ago, but his wife and daughter continue to run the restaurant with a small, tight-knit staff. During the pandemic, Nick’s shifted from counter service inside to serving from a takeout window on the side of the building in the parking lot.

The recent parking lot renovation at Nick’s, which prompted the first temporary closure in July, was spurred on by construction of that aforementioned mid-rise bordering the property next door to the tiny brick restaurant. And by all accounts, it appears yet again that Nick’s is safe from redevelopment.

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