Little Five Point’s Front Page News will be closing its doors on December 31, owner Josh Sagarin confirmed with What Now Atlanta (WNA) over the phone Thursday.
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But the space won’t sit dark for long.
Metrotainment Cafés is opening a Hudson Grille in place of Front Page News in early-2020.
“It’s going to happen,” Sagarin said.
“I wanted to make sure I got ahead of it so that I didn’t run into what I ran into when I closed my other restaurant.”
Sagarin was referring to his response to reports of alleged holiday staff party firings when he closed his Tex-Mex restaurant Tijuana Garage in 2018 which sits adjacent to the soon-to-close Front Page News.
In a note giving advanced notice to employees that Sagarin typed and posted, he stated:
“It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with all of you. In the next 10 days there will be a public announcement that Front Page News will close 12/31 for remodeling. Metrotainment Café/Hudson Grille will open in early 2020.”
The note continues to detail operational strategies to “ensure good business” through December 31st, including modified menus for faster service and easier prep, a series of countdown specials and discounted meal combos. It also details plans to ensure continuity for existing employees.
The final line in the note reads: “Thanks for 19 great years.”
So, what’s next for Sagarin?
“I still have some space to lease in the building. I’m going to take a year off. I have two close-to-college age kids and that’s a full-time job. I’ve been doing this for 30 years and 30 years is a long time to be operating restaurants. It’s gotten too hard for one person to manage all that needs to be managed in a restaurant. The good thing is that they have a stronger management team at Hudson Grille than I was able to have and they’ve got about 10 [restaurants] to manage. They’re good guys.”
He continues, “I’m kind of excited about it. My employees get to keep their jobs, there will be no downtime and it’s not right before Christmas. It’s going to be great for the employees and great for the community.”
Reps for Metrotainment Cafes did not immediately respond to a request for comment by WNA.
This is the second Front Page News to close in recent years. An outpost in Midtown has since been replaced by Publico.