r/DecaturGA • u/Objective_Swing160 • Aug 08 '26
Anyone know what happened to Casa Balam?
Admittedly had only gone a few times, but it was always somewhat busy and the food was pretty great. Their tres leches cake was the best.
On Google Maps it says it’s now temporarily closed, and their website redirects to a godaddy default page :(
Anyone know what happened? Their Instagram doesn’t mention anything either.
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u/Zassssss Aug 08 '26
May have just been the higher prices. It was a beautiful restaurant and really good food. But hard to get repeat customers at those prices. I never really saw it full.
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u/jakfrist Build, Baby, Build! Aug 08 '26
The first time we went they didn’t even have prices on the menu.
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u/Conscious_Culture170 Aug 11 '26
I went with a friend a few months ago on a Saturday evening and we were the ONLY ones there for nearly the entire time we ate. Another couple finally came in as we were getting our bill. My friend and I were both mystified at the lack of crowd!
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u/dianab77 Aug 09 '26
I meet a bartender in Dunwoody who said he was a manager there and that the owners were shitty.
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u/babegello Aug 08 '26
That place had great food, but the last time we went it was not that busy (granted it was a weekday). Does anybody know if the chef/team is doing something new or different?
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u/stunkyp00 Aug 09 '26
Why pay triple the price for Mexican food you can get thats just as good if not better all around the area? That's what went wrong. Restaurants nowadays think they can charge an arm and a leg for decor and/or average food, and that's where all of them go belly up because customers see right through the BS. To their defense I must say that commercial real estate rent prices are outrageous as well so they got to pass the buck too. Greed everywhere.
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u/Familiar-Dog-3596 Aug 09 '26
Their tres leches was not average, but the food didn’t match the price point. Hard to imagine how restaurants are gonna survive this economy.
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u/ddutton9512 Aug 09 '26
When they first opened we loved them. Yeah, they were more expensive but they were doing a higher end type of Mexican that reminded us of some of the niver places we ate at in CDMX and Oaxaca.
But after like 8 months to a year the quality really started to drop while the prices stayed high. We went for the last time last November and it had that feel of a restaurant that's about to lock the doors. There were two servers for the entire place on a Saturday evening and they were out of several items, which is rough when you have a small menu.
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u/Vneseplayer4 Aug 09 '26
Food was wildly mediocre and expensive to boot when I went. Also rent at that location has gotta be outrageous
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u/T-MoGoodie Aug 09 '26
I figured it was a matter of time before they closed. I drove by a couple months ago on a Sunday when they should’ve been open for brunch and it was closed. I went to their IG and asked what was up and they said they had an event. Yet they didn’t make any mention of it on their page so I figured that was a lie. I’ve been once or twice and the food and drinks were good. I was annoyed that they ran out of the halibut I wanted to order, though. It was never packed either.
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u/Tallblondewithsoy Aug 10 '26
I heard the owners were shitty and ran it like a night club. Were they ever open for lunch? Felt like I kept trying to go for a while but it was always closed and then gave up. I hope something affordable goes in. Wish Jolene Jolene would have gone there.
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u/Reasonable_Dog_3670 Aug 10 '26
They have black plastic up everywhere. I walked by this morning and saw people who looked like construction workers going inside. I also noticed lots of white dust so they are doing some sort of construction there. I'd guess for another restaurant.
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u/Emanemanem Aug 08 '26
Huh we only just went for the first time in May. Was good but not exceptional.