Daddy D’z BBQ Joynt to close as Memorial Drive Greenway plans advance toward new park space

A long-running barbecue destination faces redevelopment pressure

Daddy D’z BBQ Joynt, a longtime barbecue fixture on Memorial Drive SE, is set to close as the property it occupies is positioned for redevelopment tied to expanding public green space near downtown Atlanta.

The restaurant has operated for decades in a low-slung, midcentury-era building on a small parcel along Memorial Drive, a corridor that has seen accelerating investment and rising land values in recent years. Real estate marketing for the site has framed the property as a redevelopment opportunity in a fast-growing area with established transit and walkability.

How the site intersects with the Memorial Drive Greenway

The location falls within the footprint of the Memorial Drive Greenway, a planned linear park intended to convert underutilized land between Memorial Drive SE and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE into a connected public space spanning roughly half a mile. City planning documents trace the project’s modern framework to a vision plan completed in 2016, with the City of Atlanta moving the initiative into a new design phase in 2025.

The Greenway concept centers on creating a continuous, people-oriented corridor linking major destinations at the east and west ends of the project area, including Historic Oakland Cemetery and the edge of downtown. The design approach described publicly by project leaders has emphasized basic park infrastructure, connectivity, and sustainability elements such as stormwater strategies and native plantings.

Project timeline, funding, and public process

In 2025, the City of Atlanta initiated a formal design process with an engineering and planning team tasked with completing schematic design for the full corridor and advancing at least one initial block through permitting and construction planning. City statements at the time outlined initial funding allocations that included district-level bond funds and park improvement resources supporting early-phase work.

Public engagement has been structured around open-house meetings and opportunities for residents and stakeholders to provide feedback on amenities and programming. Project materials have described the Greenway as segmented by existing street blocks, a structure intended to guide phased implementation and prioritize near-term deliverables.

What the closure means for the neighborhood

For many residents, Daddy D’z has functioned as a recognizable, informal gathering place along a corridor in transition. Its pending closure underscores a broader pattern in which legacy businesses encounter displacement pressures when land becomes a target for redevelopment or public works.

The Greenway plan, meanwhile, reflects Atlanta’s continued shift toward building connected park networks and multi-use public space near the urban core. As design work proceeds and property changes hands, the tension between preserving neighborhood institutions and delivering new civic infrastructure is expected to remain a central issue in community discussions.

• Location affected: Memorial Drive SE near Oakland Cemetery and Grant Park-area neighborhoods
• Park project: Memorial Drive Greenway linear park concept, based on a 2016 vision plan and revived for design work in 2025
• Current phase: design development and community engagement, with phased construction planning underway

As Atlanta advances new public green space near downtown, the redevelopment footprint is increasingly overlapping with long-standing small businesses along Memorial Drive.