Uncle Maddio's Can't Handle The Heat Near Cumberland Mall, Sells to Blaze Pizza

Uncle Maddio's Pizza at Akers Mill Square has closed. The QSR pizza restaurant which opened in 2012 and was one of the first franchises of the Atlanta based chain, closed after lunch yesterday, August 29.  Signage posted to the restaurant's front door states that "we have decided to sell our business."

The Akers Mill Uncle Maddio's restaurant opened long before SunTrust Park opened, even before there was even talk of the development.  With the development now open and increased traffic around Akers Mill, the fact that the restaurant's owners opted to sell rather than continue to operate is a testament to the troubles facing not only the location, but the Uncle Maddio's brand as a whole.

The Akers Mill Square restaurant was owned by the same franchisee as the Kennesaw restaurant on Chastain Road. Both restaurants were previously marketed for sale by The Shumacher Group, an Atlanta-based real estate brokerage specializing in restaurants.  Sources say that the Kennesaw location remains "on the market," although Steve Josovitz with The Shumacher Group confirms his firm did not broker the Akers Mill sale nor is his firm actively involved in marketing the Kennesaw location.  

Started by former Moe's Southwest Grill co-founder Matt Andrew in 2008, Uncle Maddio's Pizza Joint was heralded as the next great franchise opportunity.  Despite the Moe's Southwest Grill pedigree, about two dozen Uncle Maddio's locations have closed, leaving the once promising chain with fewer than 40 restaurants in operation.  

Following closures of Uncle Maddio's locations in Buckhead, Midtown, Edgewood, Alpharetta and Woodstock among others, the chain has just ten locations open in Georgia: Northlake, Dunwoody, Smyrna, Kennesaw, Buford, Canton, Gainesville, Savannah, Warner Robins and Newnan.  

Despite recent claims that "Uncle Maddio's is on track to have 300 restaurants open in five years with 1,000 units in development," more restaurants are closing than opening, with a pipeline far smaller than the company suggests.

ToNeTo Atlanta has been working on comprehensive coverage of the issues facing Uncle Maddio's and plans to publish an eye-opening report in the coming weeks.  

As for the Akers Mill location, sources say that Blaze Pizza, a similar, but thriving QSR pizza restaurant, will open in the coming months in place of Uncle Maddio's.  One clear difference between Uncle Maddio's and Blaze, is that Uncle Maddio's cooks their pizza in a conveyor belt oven contraption, but Blaze uses an actual pizza oven to bake their pizzas, and the results speak for themselves.  

The upcoming Blaze Pizza at Emory Commons near Emory University 

Blaze launched three years after Uncle Maddio's, but has already eclipsed the fledgling Atlanta chain with over 200 locations open.  Like Maddio's, Blaze was started by an established operator, in their case, Rick and wife Elise Wetzel of Wetzel's Pretzel's.   

Blaze will officially enter the Atlanta market on September 7 when their location at Emory Commons opens.  

Reached via Facebook, Blaze indicates that they don't have an exact date for the opening at Akers Mill but it will be "soon."  

Are you surprised to see Uncle Maddio's locations continue to close?  Are you a current or former Uncle Maddio's franchisee who would be willing to share your experiences in an upcoming post?  Do you think Blaze Pizza will succeed where Uncle Maddio's failed?  

Please share your thoughts below.  

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