Demolition crews have moved onto the old Decatur Auto Sales property at 541 East College Avenue and 170 Commerce Drive, clearing the way for Café Racer’s first metro Atlanta restaurant. The former vehicle-sales offices at the two adjacent parcels are coming down to make room for a standalone building that will bring the Athens-born breakfast-and-burger concept into the city for the first time.
The project traces back to an Aug. 18, 2025 vote, when the Decatur City Commission approved a special exception clearing the way for construction at the 0.67-acre site, according to meeting minutes from the Decatur City Commission. Commissioners adopted Ordinance O-25-Z-04 with a condition that the finished building’s exterior substantially match the plans presented at the meeting. As Urbanize Atlanta reports, the planned structure will span 3,861 square feet and was designed by Studio BNA Architects in a modern style, sitting at the corner of East College Avenue and Commerce Drive within a mixed-use district meant to support walkable, transit-served development.
Decatur Auto Sales closed in 2024, and the lot sat vacant for roughly a year before the city commission took up the proposal, according to Decaturish. Developers did not yet know what they would find and expected to remove some dirt.
Parking Debate Settled With a 3-1 Vote
Getting to yes wasn’t unanimous. Café Racer petitioned the commission for an exception to raise its maximum surface parking, and commissioners ultimately approved bumping the allowance from 19 spaces up to 30, alongside a reduction in the minimum building height from 24 feet to 17 feet. The measure passed by a 3-1 vote, the same Decaturish report notes…