Zesto Little Five Points, Rhodes Bakery Both Close After More Than a Century in Business Combined

Zesto had a 58-year-run, Rhodes has been a Cheshire Bridge mainstay since 1953.
Massive Tree 'Knocks' Iconic Little 5 Points Restaurant 'Out of Business'
Photo: Official

Atlanta this week lost two mainstay eateries that combined served the community for more than a century — Zesto Little Five Points and Rhodes Bakery on Cheshire Bridge Road.

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Zesto Little Five Points, at 377 Moreland Ave NE, was open 58 years slinging burgers and soft-serve ice cream. The longstanding restaurant first closed in May after one of Atlanta’s magnificent oak trees fell atop Zesto, and it never reopened.

The building housing Zesto was listed for sale on December 17 for $1,400,000. Zesto’s owners told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution that the damage from the tree coupled with the economic climate of the COVID-19 pandemic was the deciding factor in permanently shuttering. The remaining Zestos are in Buckhead, East Atlanta, Forest Park, and Tyrone. An outpost on Ponce de Leon Avenue was replaced by a Cookout.

Rhodes Bakery, situated on Cheshire Bridge Road since 1953 and designated by the Atlanta Preservation Center as a landmark, closed its doors for good Christmas Eve. An outpost on Holcomb Bridge Road is still serving patrons.

“…I would like to personally thank everyone for the send-off you gave my Dad and Uncle!,” the Owners of Rhodes Bakery posted December 25 to the business’s Facebook page. “It was truly amazing. I’m going to try and set up a page where you can send your stories of the bakery. If you have any pictures you would like to post, please feel free. I’ll work on getting them printed and hung on the walls in the Roswell shop, that way when you come to visit maybe it will feel a little like home. More posts to follow, but we really just wanted to say Merry Christmas and Thank You!”

In focusing on its lone Roswell location, Rhodes will also “pare down” its menu, according to Eater Atlanta. Items like danishes, cinnamon rolls, and coffee cakes are being 86’d, but the bakery’s famous cheese straws, petit fours, and caramel cakes will still be available.

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

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