Capriotti's, Chipotle, Taziki's and More Coming to New Center in Kennesaw

New center to be built in place of former restaurant.

A new center called Owl Creek Commons will soon welcome a host of new restaurants and retailers to Kennesaw.  The approximately 17,000 square foot center is being built on Townpark Lane, just off Chastain Road, and across I-75 from Kennesaw State University.  Owl Creek Commons is being built in place of Los Reyes Mexican Restaurant, which I'm told closed at the end of last year.    The new center will, as it stands now, will have a total of seven spaces, of which four have been leased.  

Chipotle Mexican Grill will occupy a 2,245 square feet corner  space that will also feature a patio.  Denver-based Chipotle opened a location (adjacent to a Panera Bread) on Ernest Barrett Parkway, one exit south, in 2013.  This past December, Atlanta-based Willy's Mexicana Grill opened its second Kennesaw area location very close to where the Chipotle will be. Willy's opened in place of Ray's Pizza at The Village at Townpark on Chastain Road.  

Next to Chipotle, Capriotti's Sandwich Shop plans to open in a 2100 square foot space. The Las Vegas-based sandwich franchise seeks to regain a presence in Georgia following the closure of the chain's lone location on Satellite Boulevard in Duluth.   As a restaurant, Capriotti's dates to 1976 when the first location opened.  The Duluth location opened in January of last year and quietly closed in the past few weeks.  Duluth native Michael Li signed a three unit franchise agreement in the summer of 2014 to develop the chain in the Atlanta area.  The Kennesaw location is reportedly being opened by a new franchise group that has purchased the Atlanta development rights and plans to open other locations in the near future.  Still relatively unknown locally, Capriotti's enters a crowded sandwich market.  Established players like Subway,  Jimmy Johns and Panera Bread are threats but for an ever evolving consumer, the elevated meal offerings at the likes of RaceTrac and QuikTrip are fast becoming great alternatives.  

Birmingham's Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe, a sort of Zoёs Kitchen knockoff, will join the center as well, taking the other endcap, in a roughly 3,000 square foot space.  Taziki's entered the Atlanta market in 2012 with a location at "Glenridge Springs," off Glenridge Drive in Sandy Springs.  In the years since, Taziki's has added to its local presence with locations in Suwanee, Alpharetta, Athens, Decatur, and most recently, in the Fashion Cafe in Lenox Square in Buckhead.  Another location, which has been delayed a number of times, is on track to open at Toco Hills Promenade later this summer.  

RAK Outfitters, similar to metro Atlanta's High Country Outfitters, will be opening what will be its fourth overall location, in the new center.  The outdoor apparel and accessories retailer will occupy a roughly 4,000 square foot space adjacent to Taziki's.  Calhoun-based RAK Outfitters also has locations in Calhoun Premium Outlets, on Chambers Street in downtown Woodstock, and on West Walnut Avenue in Dalton.  Plans are reportedly underway to also open a new location further up I-75 in Fort Oglethorpe.  

The remaining spaces range from 1,604 to 2,154 square feet or a combined contiguous 5,593 square foot space.  

Are you excited for the upcoming openings?   What else would you like to see open in Owl Creek Commons?  Do you think Capriotti's will find success in Kennesaw?

Please share your thoughts below.