Vendors are scrambling to find a new home after the Qommunity food hall in East Atlanta suddenly closed its doors last week.
Why it matters: The closure threatens the bottom line for businesses like Ruki’s Kitchen, which specializes in Ethiopian cuisine, that attracted a loyal following from customers who regularly flocked to the small venue on Flat Shoals Avenue across from The EARL and Argosy.
What they’re saying: Ali Lemma, Ruki’s Kitchen’s owner and chef, told Axios that he got a text last Wednesday from food-hall proprietor Quynh “Q” Trinh telling him that the DeKalb County Health Department closed the venue and that she planned to dissolve her business.
- Lemma shared additional texts that Trinh sent to him and other vendors on Ruki’s Kitchen’s Instagram page.
- “It was very abrupt,” he said, adding he’s still trying to process the closure. “Even when it all happened, I tried to stay as calm as possible.”
Tony Kerr, the owner of Tony’s, a restaurant offering Chicago-style menu options inside Qommunity, told the AJC that small businesses were “screwed over” by the sudden closure of the space.
The other side: Trinh did not respond to Axios’ request for comment but told the AJC that she verbally agreed to allow Steve Chan and Ken Yu, who co-own Lifting Noodles Ramen and Poke Burri, to take over the lease of the space.
- A website and Instagram account show up for Qommunity in a Google search, but both appear to have been taken down.
Catch up quick: Qommunity, which the AJC reports opened in 2022, replaced a similar concept called Global Grub Collective that was operating out of the same location.
When Lemma opened Ruki’s Kitchen inside Qommunity in May 2022, it marked his first foray into the restaurant industry. He’d walked away from a corporate job just six months prior.
What’s next: Lemma told Axios that while he and customers are “devastated” by the closure, he said he’s looking ahead and trying to find a new home.
- “It is just another one of those situations where I’m trying not to be that reactive, and look ahead and continue moving,” he said. “This was my livelihood.”
