Big Dave's Cheesesteak has a new Downtown Atlanta home lined up. Derrick Hayes plans to reopen the restaurant in fall 2024 on Marietta Street, in the room a Waffle House once filled beneath Der Biergarten.
The news landed just two weeks after Hayes shut down the Big Dave's flagship on Forsyth Street. That restaurant sat inside The Healey Building, where a pipe gave way on a floor overhead and sent serious water damage into the dining space below. The break happened in June, while the whole city was dealing with its water main crisis, and it remains unclear what caused it.
Hayes weighed the damage against what fixing it would cost and concluded that closing made the most sense. He also vowed that the setback would not get him down. Instead, Big Dave's would move to a different space.
Twice the room, plus a patio
The Marietta Street space gives the cheesesteak spot double its previous size. Guests there will be able to order beer and wine with their food, and a patio out front adds sought-after outdoor seating to the Downtown restaurant.
Big Dave's is a homegrown Atlanta chain, and the move gives it a prime Downtown spot. Several of Atlanta's biggest tourist draws sit close by, among them the Georgia Aquarium, Centennial Park and the College Football Hall of Fame. Fans headed to State Farm Arena or Mercedes-Benz Stadium can walk over from either venue.
More locations on the way
The relocation is only one piece of what Hayes has planned for the brand. Big Dave's will add a spot inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Hayes will also break ground in South Carolina on a franchise location belonging to comedian Shuler King, who holds five Big Dave's franchise locations planned for that state.
Florida figures into the plans as well. Derek Lewis, who was once president of PepsiCo, reached a franchise deal with Hayes earlier in 2024 that calls for ten Big Dave's restaurants across that state.
Hayes is married to Pinky Cole, the Atlanta restaurateur behind Slutty Vegan.
Reported by Rough Draft Atlanta.
