While Zesto in Little Five Points was able to survive 2020 amid the pandemic — what was arguably the most difficult year in recent memory for Atlanta’s restaurants — mother nature had its own plans for the iconic restaurant Friday.
Apparently, a massive tree fell on the restaurant, at 377 Moreland Ave., forcing Zesto to close its doors, according to a social media post from the long-standing Little Five Points eatery Friday.
“As hard as the past year has been, it took a giant tree to fall in L5P and knock us out of business,” Zesto posted to its Facebook page.
There were no injuries from the incident, and Zesto’s Vice President Leigh Ann Livaditis told What Now Atlanta Saturday the extent of the damage is unclear because the Zesto management team is currently out of town.
“Our location down Moreland Ave at United needs the help so we hope to reunite with our L5P customers there until we figure out a plan,” Livaditis said. “The tree is being removed today so we’ll soon know how bad it is. We, too, are so thankful that no one was injured.”
Zesto has long been a staple in Atlanta’s fast-food scene with a nearly 70-year history of serving its carnival eats — hot dogs and ice cream — to the city. It is the second iconic fast-food eatery this year to close its doors under similar circumstances. Krispy Kreme on Ponce was completely gutted by a fire earlier this year.
Oh ! NO ! Where can I get a foot long ?
Zesto LFP was probably the first restaurant I went to when I first moved to Atlanta a million years ago. We got our Christmas trees from their tree operation and went for the food to Piedmont, Ponce, Forest Park and East Point. They’ve always been a part of what Atlanta means to us. I hope they bounce back fast.
Good time to spray some degreaser on those floors while it’s being repaired
A few days before it fell, I saw a couple of men inspecting the tree bordering Zestos & the condos behind it. I wonder if that is related to it falling.