In the Publix-anchored Chastain Square at 4285 Roswell Road, there's a 1,500-square-foot storefront between Supercuts and Swoozies. Its glass has carried a different name every few years. Since May it has been empty. Early next year it's expected to open as an Italian sub and cheesesteak counter run by a partner who has spent about three decades a few doors down.
That partner matters more than the menu. In 2026 the stretch of Roswell Road across from Chastain Park changed hands in an unusual way. The businesses that held onto storefronts or took new ones were mostly ones already operating there. The one national chain that tried to come in left before it opened.
Four Tenants in One Room
This unit has had a busy history for a strip-center space, according to Tomorrow's News Today Atlanta.
- Starbucks came first. It later moved up the road to a freestanding building that had been a Caribou Coffee, at 4520 Roswell Road.
- Sahara Mediterranean Cafe opened in June 2020. It closed its Chastain Square location on February 19, 2024, after almost four years, and its owners said they would focus on their Alpharetta restaurant.
- Doughnuts+Fries, a local treat shop, lasted about eleven months. Its permanent closure was reported in May 2026.
- Hero Boy Sandwich Co. signed a lease for the space in October. Its target is early 2027, depending on permitting and construction.
The two most recent tenants each had shorter runs. Sahara lasted a little under four years. Doughnuts+Fries made it to about eleven months. Both were independent operators doing what independents do: renting a storefront in a busy grocery-anchored center and building a following from scratch. The next tenant starts with a following in place.
The Partner Who Has Been Here All Along
Hero Boy has three partners: Greg Abel, Brad Kranz and Michael Giovine. Giovine is the restaurant veteran of the group, and he also owns Wing Factory. Tomorrow's News Today describes Wing Factory as a Chastain Square tenant for almost thirty years. Wing Factory's own history says the brand started in Sandy Springs in 1997 as a 700-square-foot wing shack. Its location page still lists the Chastain Square shop at 4279 Roswell Road.
So the new sandwich shop isn't really new to the neighborhood. Abel described the thinking behind the second location to What Now Atlanta:
"He's had the Wing Factory for 30-plus years there, so as you would imagine, the roots kind of run deep. We know just about everybody around, and those folks that we have convinced into rolling up to Alpharetta to give Hero Boy a try have all come back with the exact same comment, which is that you guys need to open something down here ASAP."
He also told What Now Atlanta that the group plans to grow slowly, putting the community first, over the next three to five years. He said they want to be part of their neighborhoods "rather than being a tenant that is an outsider looking in." The previous tenants all had to learn this storefront from scratch. Hero Boy's partners have been watching it from a few doors away.
What Changes on the Way Down From Mansell Road
Hero Boy's first and only location opened at 1055 Mansell Road in September 2023, in a building that used to be The Donut Shack. The Chastain Square shop won't be a straight copy. The biggest change is in the hours.
| Mansell Road | Chastain Square | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 1055 Mansell Road | 4279 Roswell Road, Suite 106 |
| Hours | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week | Evening hours until 7 or 8 p.m., depending on traffic |
| Size | Former donut shop | 1,500 square feet, former donut shop |
| Status | Open since September 2023 | Targeting early 2027 |
The Mansell Road shop is a lunch spot. In Chastain Square the partners plan to stay open into dinner, so the menu could cover a weeknight meal. That menu includes hot and cold Italian heroes and Philly sandwiches such as chicken parm, meatball parm, chipotle chicken salad, a veggie delight and a Philly cheesesteak, along with salads, Sicilian arancini and waffle fries. Abel told What Now Atlanta that the room will borrow from the original, with subway tile, a diner feel, and an open layout where customers can watch their sandwiches being made.
Across the Street, Three Dollar Cafe Moved Instead of Leaving
Chastain Market at 4600 Roswell Road went through the same kind of turnover this year. Three Dollar Cafe had been at 4475 Roswell Road for years. In October 2025 Tomorrow's News Today Atlanta reported that it would move into the larger former Snooze space at Chastain Market. Owner Kelly Woo said the goal was to keep a long-running local gathering place going while expanding the offerings and improving the dining room. Rough Draft Atlanta reported the reopening in March 2026. The restaurant's current address is 4600 Roswell Road, Suite G100.
Three Dollar Cafe had the same choice the earlier Chastain Square tenants faced. It chose a bigger room a short way up the same road.
A national chain tried for the building it left. In May, Tomorrow's News Today reported that Raising Cane's planned to take over 4475 Roswell Road and had filed an outdoor dining application on April 7. On August 28 the same outlet reported that the chain had dropped the Chastain site for reasons it didn't specify. Cane's is still going ahead elsewhere in Atlanta, including on Piedmont Road in Buckhead, where a company representative told the outlet the restaurant is set to open in 2027.
Chastain Market's other 2026 additions are local-service shops, not destination restaurants. Tomorrow's News Today reported in February that Mattress Lux would take part of the former Tupelo Honey Cafe space and that Learning Express would move into the former Windsor Eye Care unit. Learning Express now lists its store at 4600 Roswell Road, Suite D-120. Mattress Lux lists its showroom at Suite C-110.
The Strip Between Now and Early 2027
Here's how the two centers stand this week, before Hero Boy opens:
- Wing Factory, 4279 Roswell Road in Chastain Square, is the same team behind the coming sandwich shop.
- The future Hero Boy space, Suite 106 between Supercuts and Swoozies, has been empty since Doughnuts+Fries closed in May and is due to open in early 2027.
- Three Dollar Cafe is now at 4600 Roswell Road, Suite G100, in the former Snooze space.
- Learning Express, Suite D-120, and Mattress Lux, Suite C-110, are at Chastain Market.
- 4475 Roswell Road, Three Dollar Cafe's old building, was the planned Raising Cane's site until the chain withdrew in August.
Across the road, the park has its own date coming up. The Chastain Park Conservancy has scheduled Holiday Chastain for December 5 at the Chastain Park Playground. It's a free family event with hot chocolate, cookie decorating and activities. Chastain Square is right across Roswell Road from the park, so it's an easy place to stop for lunch before or after.
On this stretch of Roswell Road, the space that kept turning over is going to an operator who has watched it for decades, and the restaurant that moved this year stayed nearby. If you're weighing a home near Chastain Park and want to know how the shops and blocks around it are changing, Shanna Bradley keeps close track of them. Book an appointment, and we'll go over what's changing near the streets you're considering.
