Georgia has lost another group of recognizable local restaurants after a year that has already included other notable restaurant departures across the state. September brought the end of a longtime Southern meat-and-three, an Atlanta Viet-Cajun favorite and a family-run Marietta birria destination.
The three restaurants had very different histories, from nearly four decades to just over six years, but each developed a strong identity and a loyal local audience.
Donnie’s Country Cookin’ in Brookhaven
Donnie’s Country Cookin’ in Brookhaven closed September 25, ending a restaurant story that began in 1989. Korean immigrant Donnie Kim opened the original location and built a Southern meat-and-three concept around comfort-food plates that became familiar to generations of metro Atlanta diners.
The Brookhaven location had operated in its current shopping-center space since 2008. Current owners Dongrae and Miae Byun chose to retire at the end of their lease, with inflationary pressures also weighing on the business. Other separately owned Donnie’s locations remain open, but the Brookhaven closing ended the chapter tied most directly to the original restaurant’s long history.
Bon Ton in Atlanta
Bon Ton closed September 30 after nine years in Midtown Atlanta. Owner Darren Carr opened the restaurant in January 2017, creating a colorful, energetic spot known for Cajun-Vietnamese seafood, po’boys, Vietnamese-inspired dishes and an equally distinctive cocktail program.
The combination was unusual enough to give Bon Ton a personality that stood out in Atlanta’s crowded dining scene. Its neon, music and lively bar atmosphere mattered almost as much as the food. Atlanta Magazine reported that Carr invited regulars back for a final celebration before the doors closed, a fitting ending for a restaurant built around energy and hospitality.
Birria El Gordo in Marietta
Birria El Gordo closed its Marietta restaurant September 3 after about six and a half years. The family-run business grew from a birria pop-up into a destination for tacos, quesabirrias and richly flavored birria that helped popularize the dish with metro Atlanta diners.
The restaurant said rising food and operating costs led to the closure. Its farewell thanked the community for years of support, reflecting how quickly a family-run concept can become a neighborhood favorite even without decades of history behind it.
That range is what makes these closures notable. Donnie’s represented nearly 40 years of local restaurant history, while Bon Ton and Birria El Gordo showed how newer concepts can become equally recognizable parts of a city’s food culture. Atlanta’s dining scene will keep evolving, but each of these restaurants leaves behind customers who had made it part of their own routines and celebrations.
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