Jennifer Johnson thought West Egg would be around forever. She opened the restaurant with her husband, Ben Johnson, in 2004 in an old warehouse. There were few other restaurants in the area besides Bacchanalia, Figo Pasta and Taqueria del Sol, but that didn’t stop West Egg from becoming a top brunch destination where diners waited an hour for churro waffles.
Twenty years later, faced with a lease renewal, Johnson decided not to sign on for another five to 10 years. Remote work had slowed down weekday business, and an increase in takeout orders meant fees for West Egg and fewer diners lingering over Bloody Marys.
The restaurant’s closure in December stunned Atlantans who considered it a fixture of West Midtown. Also stunning, it was just one in a wave of closures : Superica, Elsewhere Brewing, Cultivate, Le Fat and Humble Pie all closed within a few months of each other…