Burger 21 A Bust in Less Than 90 Days?

Burger joint "temporarily closed" in Snellville.

Burger 21, which opened its Snellville location at 1575 Scenic Highway in early June, has "temporarily closed," according to its website and facebook.  The restaurant shared an outparcel space in the Academy Sports + Outdoors-anchored shopping center but had little street visibility.  

The restaurant reportedly closed last week.  

On August 26th, a facebook user named Jimmy Thompson posted to the Snellville Burger 21 facebook page asking: 

"Why is your Snellville location closed?"

On August 29th Burger 21 responded saying:

"Hi Jimmy! We are sorry to say that our Snellville location is temporarily closed. We do not have a re-opening date at this time. Thank you for visiting us and we are sorry for the impact our closing has had. We invite you to dine at one of our other locations in Buford, Johns Creek, and Buckhead, Georgia." 

The phrasing of the above statement leads me to believe the closure may be permanent.  Alternatively, sources with knowledge of the situation indicate there may be a franchisee issue.  These same sources remain hopeful that corporate will install a new franchisee to reopen the restaurant.  

Burger 21's opening came just ahead of the recent opening of Freddy's, a popular steakburger and custard eatery.  Culver's, another similar eatery, plans to open just north of Burger 21, in the coming months. Additionally, Cook Out, the hugely popular North Carolina-based burger joint, is coming to Snellville too, just south of Burger 21.  

Earlier this month, Burger 21 announced it had signed a multi-unit franchise agreement to develop two additional restaurants in the Atlanta area. Father-and-son franchisee team Dwight Pearson and Jamion Ridon plan to open two restaurants in Midtown and Sandy Springs over the next two years.  The father-son duo plan to open their first Burger 21 location in Sandy Springs by fall 2017, and a second location in Midtown the following fall.

Aside from the Snellville location, existing Atlanta area Burger 21 restaurants are located in Buckhead, Buford and Johns Creek.  

Burger 21 currently has about 24 restaurants open nationwide.  

The first Burger 21 opened in Tampa in late 2010.  The chain was created by the owners of The Melting Pot.  

Are you surprised to see Burger 21 "temporarily closed" in Snellville?   If you live nearby, who offers the best "bang for your buck" burger in Snellville?  If the closure is in fact permanent, what would you like to see open in place of Burger 21?

Please share your thoughts below