ATLANTA — Another Atlanta restaurant has permanently shut its doors. After 58 years in business, Zesto in Little Five Points is the latest eatery to announce they will be closing for good.
Months after a tree fell onto the Moreland Avenue location during a storm, 11Alive News partners at the Atlanta Business Chronicle have learned that the restaurant known for its soft-serve ice cream, burgers and hot dogs will not reopen that location.
The 1,800-square-foot space is on the market, for lease and for sale.
Lauren Welsh, executive director of the Little 5 Points Community Improvement District (CID), told the Business Chronicle that the CID is "disappointed to possibly lose Zesto because they've been such a great business in Little Five Points for decades."
She said they hoped they would be able to reopen after repair, "but it looks like they are indeed considering selling the location."
In 2014, Zesto closed its Ponce de Leon Avenue location, which had been in business for 60 years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a massive strain on restaurants across the country. A year into the pandemic, a study showed that 17 percent of restaurants in the United States closed for good.
"As hard as the past year has been, it took a giant tree to fall in L5P and knock us out of business," they wrote on Facebook in May.