It’s the end of the road for This Is It! Southern Kitchen & Bar-B-Q’s Panola Road location. The eatery, a staple for BBQ and seafood lovers in the metro Atlanta area, is set to close its doors, pushed out by a state-orchestrated road improvement plan. According to a social media announcement that
FOX 5 Atlanta
reported on, the restaurant is a casualty of a Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) project aimed at redesigning the I-20/Panola Road interchange for better traffic flow and safety. Despite their hopes to prolong operations until December 7, the closure is on the books for Monday.
The eminent domain hammer has fallen on This Is It!, compelling them to relinquish the site they’ve called home for over a decade. Customers, some who’ve been long-haul fans of the joint, are disheartened by the news. They’ve relished the restaurant’s “home-style cooking made to order with fresh ingredients” as their website sings, now left to grapple with a reality sans their favorite spot. “Aww man. Really. It ain’t nothing we can do,” one such patron lamented to owner Shelley Butch Anthony, III, according to a
WSB-TV
interview.
GDOT’s plans do not seem to account for the local connection the restaurant has fostered, or the livelihood it represents. Mark Sommerville, a customer capturing the essence of the collective sentiment, told
WSB-TV
, “Disappointed. Because this is an establishment that has been here for quite a while.” The GDOT, on its part, assures adherence to federal regulations in the right-of-way acquisition process, claiming that the overhaul will bring better traffic conditions—a silver lining too opaque for regulars and the displaced to appreciate.
The struggle for Anthony includes finding a comparable replacement for prime real estate that has seen 14 years of business boom. “We’re sitting right here on I-20 and Panola Road. Where can we find another Panola Road?” he posited in a discussion he’d rather not have, as per
WSB-TV
. Further complicating the landscape, concerned voices have been raised over whether Anthony is receiving adequate compensation for his land and for the restaurant’s tenure at this location. To navigate this upheaval, Anthony has taken a step to hire an attorney to guide him through the imminent transition.
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