Fried chicken sandwich shop How Crispy Express will close on May 10 after four years along Georgia Avenue in Summerhill.
Partner Greg Best (Ticonderoga Club) told Rough Draft that lease negotiations between the restaurant and its landlord broke down after both parties were unable to agree on extended lease terms. This coupled with rising ingredient costs, the recent addition of paid parking in the neighborhood, and diminishing foot traffic made operating the Summerhill chicken joint unsustainable.
“We’re at the end of the rope here,” Best explained. “It’s such a good concept, and it’s so beloved, but it’s just in the wrong place.”
Best and his Benumkermi Hospitality Syndicate partners Bart Sasso (Ticonderoga Club), Chef William Silbernagel, and Atlanta architect Luke Wilkinson tried everything they could to keep How Crispy going. They offered blue plate dinners and neighborhood deliveries, and even launched mail order campaigns, something Best said he had never done before in his long career in the restaurant industry. They met with Atlanta City Council members and solicited feedback from neighborhood planning organizations and Summerhill residents, while continuing to negotiate with the landlord, Asana Partners. Last year, the restaurant was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
By all appearances on social media, How Crispy seemed to be “slaying it.” Best said, however, that conflating support of a restaurant with social media engagement doesn’t translate to sales or pay the bills. He praised the restaurant’s regulars for their ongoing support of How Crispy.
The partners wrangled with the closure decision for months, but with skyrocketing fuel and ingredient prices, paid parking turning some patrons off, and a rent hike looming, it all became too much.
The price of chicken alone – the cornerstone ingredient of How Crispy – has risen by 240% since the restaurant opened in 2022, Best said.
“What do you think would happen if we suddenly inflated our sandwich prices to $18? No one would buy them,” said Best. “The other side of that is Chick-fil-A, and they’re just apparently shrinking their portions, and they own their [restaurants’] real estate.”
A chicken sandwich at How Crispy averages $10.50, and a combo meal with a sandwich, side, and a drink averages $15.50. The partners sought to keep How Crispy affordable for people.
Free street parking and small lots behind some businesses on Georgia Avenue are available, but limited. If spaces are full, people park in the large lot just up the block at the corner of Georgia and Capitol avenues. When the parking lot owner began charging for use, people could no longer park there for free to grab a quick bite in the neighborhood. Nearly two years of construction on Capitol Avenue to create the bus rapid transit (BRT) line didn’t help. It resulted in a perfect storm. Sales fell by 38%, Best said.
The BRT line opened in April and businesses on Georgia Avenue can now validate parking, but that agreement took nearly a year to arrange.
Summerhill is home to a number of independently owned restaurants and bars, including Little Bear, Halfway Crooks Beer, cocktail bar Redacted, Little Tart Bakeshop, Wood’s Chapel, and Southern National. Last week, Wood’s Chapel announced its rebrand from barbecue to Tex-Mex in an attempt to court more foot traffic.
Georgia Avenue will welcome a new restaurant later this year, when Bread & Butterfly chef Demetrius Brown opens Heritage.
Summerhill has also experienced closures since the first restaurants debuted six years ago within the compact, two-block commercial district. Junior’s Pizza closed in 2024. Mexican restaurant Boca rebranded and closed twice. Hot Dog Pete’s became Psito last March. Psito and Hero Diner “temporarily” closed in Summerhill a month ago, as Birmingham-based Pihakis Restaurant Group faces $13.7 million in lawsuits and liens. It’s unclear when, or if, Psito and Hero Diner will reopen in Summerhill.
Related stories:
• Summerhill restaurant Wood’s Chapel BBQ pivots to Tex-Mex menu
• New Summerhill restaurant will celebrates foods of the African diaspora
“Our little group of restaurant operators in Summerhill, we’re thick as thieves. We support one another,” Best said. “I’m just trying to be positive in a worst case scenario. Who knows, maybe How Crispy can be resuscitated somehow in the future. I still very much believe in it.” Best and his partners hope previous conversations with decision-makers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and sports stadiums in metro Atlanta could eventually lead to a revival of How Crispy.
How Crispy Express began as a pop-up concept operating out of neighboring Halfway Crooks Beer during the pandemic, before it opened across the street in 2022. The small counter-service restaurant serves a tight menu of fried chicken sandwiches, including a classic chicken sandwich as well as garlic-honey butter and lemon pepper wet versions.
Plans for a second location of How Crispy Express in South Downtown never materialized, after the development faltered under German-backed real estate firm Newport RE. Atlanta tech entrepreneurs and founders of Atlanta Tech Village David Cummings and Jon Birdsong acquired South Downtown from Newport in 2023.
