La Calavera Bakery Kirkwood Closes Only Months After Relocating From Decatur

Eight-year-old Mexican pan dulce bakery debuted its new space in September, 2019.

La Calavera Bakery is no longer open for business in Kirkwood, at 1696 Memorial Dr. SE.

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Co-Owners Eric Arillo and Dale Ralston shuttered the Decatur Mexican pan dulce bakery transplant Wednesday after only five months open and has since listed its home for sale through The Shumacher Group.

“It’s time to say adiós. La Calavera Bakery is closing,” Arillo and Ralston posted to the bakery’s Facebook page Wednesday.

“We will hopefully sell at our beloved farmer’s markets this weekend, and then our oven is off. Our shop on Memorial Drive is open today for the last time; the city has our driveway all torn up anyway as they build a sidewalk in the rain over the next however many wet days. So if you’d like one more loaf, come see us on Saturday at the Morningside and Freedom Farmers Markets or on Sunday at the Grant Park Farmers Market.”

It’s unclear why Arillo and Ralston called it quits, but “the toll that this work takes on the body and mind is heavy. One man can’t do it alone indefinitely, on the scale that we’ve been attempting. Unable (still, despite constant searching) to get the production help we need to make our bread and sustain this business, we have to make a change.”

La Calavera relocated to Kirkwood from Decatur in September 2019, as first reported by What Now Atlanta.

It has been operating on East College Avenue since 2014 and the decision to move was based on low traffic there.

“We feel so much gratitude for the customers who kept us going over the past eight years, from one small farmer’s market to our current location. We’re also endlessly grateful to the people and communities that helped us grow: the markets, our fellow vendors and small business people who always supported us along the way, and our families. Thank you!”

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

6 Responses

  1. Another victim of the Trump Pandemic I guess. Downtown Decatur is rapidly becoming a ghost town. I don’t know if the high rents are driving restaurants away but it’s too bad the city of Decatur isn’t working to try to keep these restaurants from closing. A local landmark like Highland Bakery should not be forced to close in a hot spot like downtown Decatur. Absolutely disgraceful

    1. That’s kind of true, but there simply is not that much to do in Decatur. In fact, it essentially is (and has been for a while) just a few blocks along Ponce with slightly better than average dining options.

  2. Decatur screwed the accessibility to their downtown businesses a long time ago.
    They’re also charging Midtown prices for commercial properties!
    Good luck renting that storefront.
    Karma, she a bitch…

  3. “We are actively marketing the space to new users and have significant interest in it already,” Arnold said. “Predominantly fast-casual users of varying cuisines.”
     
    And brokers wonder why people don’t take what they say at face value.

  4. If we are “all in this together” the landlord wouldn’t be showing the space to other potential restaurants. This same thing is happening all over town in every neighborhood. Landlords aren’t looking to renegotiate when they can drive the business to close and re-lease the space. It feels like they are preying on small business and consolidating more power to the big corporate guys. If a Moe’s moves in I’m going to be upset.

    1. With the rents that are being charged, chains like Moe’s are about the only tenants that can afford to open up shop. Or maybe it will just sit there as a dark storefront.
      My tenant is on a sliding scale/percentage rent.
      It works well for both of us at the moment.

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