When water main breaks temporarily shuttered several restaurants and businesses around the city in early June, Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks was among those affected. But shortly thereafter, founder Derrick Hayes, Sr., received a disturbing phone call; pipe issues in the historic Healy building (57 Forsyth Street), where Big Dave’s flagship location stood for nearly six years, had trickled down into this space, causing major water damage. It’s unclear whether the issues resulted from the water main break or an unlucky coincidence, but it proved too much to recover from, Hayes lamented.
“The damage was too severe, and my lease was coming up in about a year anyway,” he says. “It made sense to try to move to be able to provide the same quality and experience, and I’m lucky enough to go just around the corner.”
He noticed a former Waffle House space, 300 Marietta Street Northwest, was available and jumped at the opportunity to keep a downtown standalone presence. (Big Dave’s offers a more concise menu inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.) Slated to open in the last quarter of the year, the new location will feature a slightly smaller dining room but will have the addition of patio seating. It will be modeled after the newer Big Dave’s locations in Lawrenceville and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Courtesy of Big Dave's
“We’ll make it look like a real cheesesteak spot in Philly, where I’m from,” Hayes explains. “I’m going to try to keep that vintage feeling with more lighting and more visibility to the location—on Forsyth, I had the biggest sign on the block.”
The menu will be the same, with the addition of two beers on tap. It will continue to provide counter service, as it has since it got its start in a Shell gas station in Dunwoody in 2014. Today, Big Dave’s operates six locations, plus a food truck, with catering and franchise opportunities available.
“I can’t wait to ride down Marietta Street and see customers sitting down, eating Big Dave’s cheesesteaks. It’s a dream come true for me,” says Hayes, who named the restaurant to honor his late father.
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