Buckhead Diner closes its doors after 35 years

From the Northside Neighbor

The neon lights of the iconic Buckhead Diner will no longer light up Piedmont Road. 

The Buckhead Life Restaurant Group announced that after 35 years of fried chicken, blue cheese chips and pancakes, the Buckhead Diner is closed. The diner had temporarily stopped serving food during COVID-19, but the restaurant group declined to renew the lease. 

The diner has long been a staple of both the Buckhead community and Atlanta as a whole. Serving brunch, lunch and dinner, the Buckhead Diner has won two pages worth of awards, beginning with “National Ivy Award” from Restaurants and Institutions in 1987. In more recent years, the icon has won “Top 25 Restaurants in Atlanta” from the Atlanta Business Chronicle (2016), “100 Hottest Restaurants” from Jezebel Magazine (2016) and “Atlanta’s Most Important Snacks” from Thrilllist for Maytag Blue Cheese Chips (2015).

In addition to its award winning eats, the diner also attracted celebrities such as Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Foxworthy, Jimmy Buffett, Elton John, Ted Turner and Liam Hemsworth.

Marketing director for the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group Andrea Jimenez told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the restaurant group is focusing on new project, such as the recent opening of ghost kitchen Lamb Shack and the renovation of Chops Lobster Bar.

Buckhead Life still owns six restaurants in the Atlanta area, all of which are still open.