Old Spaghetti Factory closes
View Larger MapThe Midtown mainstay — which has fed families heaping plates of pasta in that antique-y, Tiffany-lampshade style that was so in vogue in the 1970’s and 1980’s — finally gave up the ghost on Sunday and served its last supper. The restaurant had been in business for over 20 years.
I never did visit the one in Atlanta, but hit up the Denver branch more often than I care to admit. Our children were in a daycare center next door, and on more than a few occasions we’d find ourselves rushing in at 6 p.m., scooping up the kidzos, turning to another strung-out parent and proposing: “Spaghetti Factory?”
I don’t even remember what the food was like. I do remember that it arrived lickety split and included a salad, drink and ice cream dessert for a small fixed price.
My former AJC colleague Maria Saporta has a sweet essay about the restaurant on her blog, the Saporta Report. Yes, she actually did eat in the streetcar booth once.
Any Atlanta parents out there have stories to share?
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81 comments Add your comment
Chicken lover
January 26th, 2010
2:20 pm
I’m not an Atlanta parent, but as a 22 year-old, I loved this place. It was easy and a “kind of nice” place to go for my high school and college friends–we got to dress up and feel like part of the city for only $10. Cheesy, I know, but I had fun memories at this place!
Tom
January 26th, 2010
2:34 pm
I am sure it did that placed sucked
Buh Bye
January 26th, 2010
2:51 pm
Hate to see a place shut down, but this place needed to go. The food and service were both awful. With so many other cheap pasta options near by (EATS, Little Azio, Figo…) Spaghetti Factory needed to increase their quality or shutdown. Even with better quality, the space was far too big (and probably rents too high) for them to succeed.
ugabulldog
January 26th, 2010
2:51 pm
good times,….good times,……And the White Dot next door……
Ocee
January 26th, 2010
2:54 pm
Thru the years the food definitely went down in quality.
Jim
January 26th, 2010
3:00 pm
Man, my daughters are going to be highly upset! Food was consistent if not remarkable, the prices great, and, as mentioned, it stood out just for the decor.
This sucks….
Jim
January 26th, 2010
3:12 pm
Good! What a craphole! It was basically a rebranded Olive Garden. Seriously, if you thought that was good food, you are seriously ignorant. Try Soto Soto for some enlightenment.
downsouth
January 26th, 2010
3:16 pm
worked there as a waiter in 1990… egads the customers sure were CHEAP!!!! what a nightmare working there. yes, the ol White Dot next door, what a place to unwind after work!! good times!
MBA Mama
January 26th, 2010
3:18 pm
I used to go there often in my pre and post college days i th eearly 90’s when money was tight. I remember the food be so so but very filling which was great for limited budget. Ironically My husban d and I recently stated a desire to take the kids but I guess we waited too late…Thanks for the memories.
JW
January 26th, 2010
3:19 pm
I loved this place! Sure it wasn’t the greatest food but it was good, cheap, lots of it, and quick. The drinks were good and cheap too. I’m going to miss this place for sure.
crud
January 26th, 2010
3:19 pm
Don’t lissen to ‘em Spag Fact. You’re gonna be missed. Decent food, good price, nice ambiance.
Hungry Gringo
January 26th, 2010
3:19 pm
This place was a monocultural black hole for unadventurous Tech and State students who were too scared to try somewhere unique Intown and too lazy to drive back to the Olive Garden in their north Atlanta suburbs.
mama leone
January 26th, 2010
3:20 pm
don’t cry for me Ponce de Leon – they stayed open 20 years, serving pasta? they must have made a killing. I bet it wasn’t revenue that drove them under, but rather the cost of water in ATL (you gotta use a lotta water to boil pasta). I went there twice – once I think I won a “dinner for two” at a bar trivia night or something, and the second time was with a bunch of kids for a pre-Peachtree RR carbo-load. average food at best.
Alabama Jack
January 26th, 2010
3:24 pm
Hungry Gringo
This place was a monocultural black hole for unadventurous Tech and State students who were too scared to try somewhere unique Intown and too lazy to drive back to the Olive Garden in their north Atlanta suburbs.
Thanks for your enlightening comments, now flush yourself away.
Hairy Banana Reid
January 26th, 2010
3:29 pm
In all seriousness… who goes out to dinner for spaghetti? I love the stuff, but we can have as much of that cheap pasta at home – and it tastes BETTER than in a restaurant!
AH
January 26th, 2010
3:32 pm
What the hell??? Why didn’t you guys do a story before they closed down. I would have loved to have one last meal there. It was a great place to have a little lunch when you had time to sit down.
Alabama Jack
January 26th, 2010
3:33 pm
AH – they did do a story. Sorry you missed it.
John
January 26th, 2010
3:43 pm
My daughter, who graduated from college two years ago, loved to eat there when she would go with us or other family members to shows at The Fox. I was always impressed with the food, the prices and the service. It has been several years since I ate there but I never had a bad experience.
joejoe
January 26th, 2010
3:44 pm
Wow, it’s amazing that they stayed open for this long! When I went, ususally one or twice a month, it would have some customers but not what it used to be before the recession. Though the food was hit or miss, the staff were always nice and accommodating. I would say that although not an institution like other famous Atlantan restaurants, it does have it’s charm as a destination for birthday parties, company holiday parites, and the occassional wedding rehearsal dinner. It’s sad to see that another business folds as a victim of our current economic condition and my hopes for all the staff are able to find employment very soon. Though the food was not very memorable, I have my memories of meeting good friends and relatives at the Old Spaghetti Factory.
Jim
January 26th, 2010
3:52 pm
“This place was a monocultural black hole for unadventurous Tech and State students who were too scared to try somewhere unique Intown and too lazy to drive back to the Olive Garden in their north Atlanta suburbs.”
Most accurate description of the restaurant and its patrons so far. It’s the only place the OTP teeniebopper burbelheads would patronize on their way to a ‘big night out’ at the Masquerade. It had just the right level of blandness to suit their unfledged pallets.
ATLien
January 26th, 2010
3:57 pm
If you were really enlightened, you would know it’s Sotto Sotto.
No one went to the Old Spaghetti Factory to get the best Italian meal of their life. It was cheap and a fun environment. Nothing more.
RIP Old Spaghetti Factory.
Jim
January 26th, 2010
4:07 pm
“It was cheap and a fun environment.”
Oh, like Chucky Cheese for teens – I see.
Matt
January 26th, 2010
4:13 pm
Goodbye and Good Riddance to what may have been the sorriest excuse for “Italian food” (and I use that term VERY loosely) in Atlanta. Yes, I did eat there and yes I hated it.
lantana
January 26th, 2010
4:14 pm
Spag Fact actually had a nice bar with good cocktails in real glasses for cheap! I found this to be a fun starting off place before a night out. It had a high camp factor.
NastyPlaceToEat
January 26th, 2010
4:15 pm
That place was a heaping, steaming pile of dump. All of the spaghetti factory / warehouses were. I knew a couple of waitresses who worked there, and yeah, they were always coked out and didn’t give a damn about what came out of the kitchen.
Too bad it didn’t burn to the ground first— so I go and piss on the hot, warm ashes.
Where_my_doo_rag_at?
January 26th, 2010
4:19 pm
No parking and an endless supply of homeless bums trolling the streets did them in.
Burn
January 26th, 2010
4:23 pm
Ha ha ha – ATLien beat me to the punch with the Sotto Sotto spelling correction! I don’t consider myself a foodie by any means, but I get the biggest kick out of checking in on these blogs from time to time. I always try to guess how many posts it will take before someone belittles OTPers and their unsophisticated PALATE. Well, I live ITP, which means I MUST have discerning taste, and I will admit that I will miss the cheap and cheesy Spaghetti Factory (*GASP*). I went there with my now-husband on one of our first dates back in the day.
Petie The Crab
January 26th, 2010
4:24 pm
I am somewhat distraught to read of the O.S. Factory closing. I know it has many memories for folks but it was much more to me and was a special place. My wife and I had our first date there and 8 months later on my knees I unashamidly proposed to her there. We have gone there on our anniversary each and every year since. We have even had a secret that is only being told now because it is closing. Our first child was concieved in the Ladies bathroom there. Thanks for the memories O.S.F. we will miss you.
tom shoupe
January 26th, 2010
4:25 pm
Sorry to here it. First experience was in Seattle. Increadible experience. Many visits. Only one visit in Atlanta and it was good. Just live to far away to be a frequent gobbler.
Lester
January 26th, 2010
4:25 pm
Dadgum Petie. I don’t believe I’d told that.
reservoirDAWG
January 26th, 2010
4:26 pm
Did any of you bad mouthing this place place expect to get good Italian at a place called the Spaghetti Factory? That’s like going to Joe’s Crab Shack for good seafood.
Chief Wiggum
January 26th, 2010
4:28 pm
Always entertaining to see the food snobs insult yet another restaurant. If it’s not edgy enough, or is (gasp) part of a chain, it will catch grief here with the foodies.
Linda
January 26th, 2010
4:29 pm
I never went to the location in Atlanta, but when I was growing up in Indianapolis, the Spaghetti Factory was a popular place to eat. I had lunch there about a year ago when visiting family, and I thought the food was good. I’m sorry to see another restaurant close – too many businesses have fallen victim to this wretched economy. I hope the employees are able to find other jobs quickly.
Edgewood Adam
January 26th, 2010
4:37 pm
The food was pretty terrible. But the building was actually pretty cool. I had been hoping for a while that this place would go out of business and an actual decent place would fill up the building. Now maybe this will happen. Drinking at that bar felt like a game of Clue. And to BURN, Your husband is a cheap bastard. hahaha.
N
January 26th, 2010
4:37 pm
Sorry to see it go, hope the space is filled quickly with something good.
Peaches
January 26th, 2010
4:40 pm
Hey Petie, I was almost in tears til I got to the part about the spagetti version of the mile high club. That was a downer.
Sally
January 26th, 2010
4:41 pm
More like diarrhea factory.
Peachy
January 26th, 2010
4:42 pm
It wasn’t the best food ever, but it was FUN! The price was right and the atmosphere was unique. I have childhood, college, and 20 something memories there. I did grow up OTP and then moved ITP, (I guess an ignorant teenager that came to GT) I do appreciate Eats and One Midtown Kitchen and all the other “edgy” places but this was a little treasure that will be missed!
Kim
January 26th, 2010
4:42 pm
Man, I will miss this place! It was such a neat place to go and eat and have fun with the kids. Too many memories. I wish we would have known sooner so we could have gone one last time.
mary
January 26th, 2010
4:45 pm
I can’t believe it was still open all of this time….
Justine
January 26th, 2010
4:46 pm
I once had a group of people with me and they wanted to go to the Varsity. Because I had the keys I got yo choose. WE went to the Speghetti factory. They were amazed at the amount of food and the little we paid for it. This was a wonderful place and sadly those who used it are the least likely to be able to afford the upscale places. It will be missed.
Jim
January 26th, 2010
4:48 pm
Chief,
It’s always interesting to see how humble unpretentious food critics, like yourself, equate ‘edginess’ and ‘trendiness’ to high culinary skill and food quality. Goldfish at Perimeter is trendy, yet it contains some of the worst food I’ve every paid for. If you can’t understand that the Spaghetti Factory food is on par with Fazoli’s, I have little hope that you’ll ever understand what good food is. Please understand that glitz has no correlation with good food.
Stephanie
January 26th, 2010
4:52 pm
Right on Peachy! I loved this place! I went there almost every year for my birthday and we ate there every time we went downtown. I’m glad I got to eat there one last time in Dec but I didn’t know they were closing or I would have gone there again! I have lots of good memories from when I was at GT. I will surely miss this place and will have to visit one of the out of town locations. BTW, they had The Best creamy pesto salad dressing! BUMMER!!! I should will miss it!
Bart Simpson
January 26th, 2010
4:59 pm
Hey Jim, Blow all that hot air out of your spaghetti factory. Fazoli’s…really. Where are you going to take your kids when they graduate college, applebee’s?
Jim
January 26th, 2010
5:08 pm
Probably Restaurant Eugene if it’s still around.
Varner
January 26th, 2010
5:25 pm
It was a great, inexpensive, centrally-located place to meet our son and his family, and had food and atmosphere that our grandson loved. The last two times we were there, however, we were accosted by panhandlers both going in and coming out and made to feel very uncomfortable. Don’t know if that situation led to SF’s demise or not, but I’m sorry it closed.
BRENDA
January 26th, 2010
6:21 pm
I WENT THERE LAST NIGHT FOR DINNER, AND FOUND THAT IT WAS CLOSED. I WAS SORRY TO SEE IT CLOSED. I HAVE BEEN A CUSTOMER FOR MANY YEARS, AND I LOVED THE FOOD AND DECOR.
John Kessler
January 26th, 2010
6:26 pm
Enjoying this discussion….restaurants that been around for a while are different things to different people…
Fred
January 26th, 2010
7:42 pm
I met my wife there for our first date. A blind date, back in 1991. New to Atlanta, I knew nothing about anything here. I walk into this place and am greeted by the million dollars+ of antiques in the entrance. “Just great,” I think, “i’m going to spend a hundred bucks on some bimbo I don’t even know and probably won’t like.” (My married sister and her married friend set us up). When I opened the menu and saw the most expensive thing on the menu was like 9 bucks at that time I was ecstatic. (Hey, I didn’t make much money then, and had just relocated, a $100 was just about all my “play money” for a whole month.
We not only went there several times on our anniversary (marriage, not first date lol) but went fairly often just to go. We ate for free on our anniversaries, the manager liked the story. One said we should contact their HQ and do a commercial lol. Every trip to the Fox was proceeded by a trip to the Spaghetti Factory. Virtually every Braves game was another excuse for the S’ghetti Factory. It has been a “comfort” place our whole marriage.
My daughter is 7. She knows the blind date story. The S’ghetti factory is (was I guess) her favorite place.
Tonight I have the sad job of telling her it is closed. February 5th is her first Girl Scout Father/Daughter dance. She just asked me to take her to eat first last night.
“Will you take me to the Spaghetti factory first daddy? It’s on the way.”
“Of course, sweetheart. Do you want to sit in the trolley.”
“Well duh Daddy, YES.”
To say I am saddened is an understatement. While it was far from the “best” Italian joints in Atlanta, it has been one of my favorites. The food was never bad and certainly worth the small prices they charged.
Just damn.
Fred
January 26th, 2010
7:44 pm
I just told them. My daughter cried.
Jamie Gumbrecht
January 26th, 2010
9:15 pm
This is a little beside the point, but I ask this question as someone that never ate there: was the “streetcar booth” at actual streetcar at some point? An Atlanta streetcar, in particular?
Maria Saporta
January 26th, 2010
9:52 pm
The streetcar was wooden replica and not the real thing. But it sure was fun pretending that it was a functioning streetcar.
John Kessler
January 26th, 2010
10:56 pm
If I remember right, there was a replica streetcar in the Denver one, too…
John Kessler
January 26th, 2010
10:56 pm
Also, Fred, nice story. Thanks for sharing. We should all put our heads together and help Fred decide where to take his daughter. My kids liked Dante’s Down the Hatch when they were little.
Tweets that mention Old Spaghetti Factory closes | Food and More with John Kessler -- Topsy.com
January 27th, 2010
3:06 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by librarymary, John Kessler. John Kessler said: Old Spaghetti Factory closes: View Larger MapThe Midtown mainstay — which has fed families heaping plates of pasta… http://bit.ly/bu98AG [...]
EverydayisSunday
January 27th, 2010
7:44 am
Sorry about the bummer duty Fred.
Jim
January 27th, 2010
7:48 am
My name is Jim. I think I am an epicurian. I eat at all the places with fancy names and tiny portions and then tell everybody how horrible all the other places are and how stupid they are for eating there. I live in my mom’s basement.
Sheryl
January 27th, 2010
7:51 am
Yoy have to be a born Atlantan to appreciate the Old Sphaghetti Factory. It was THE place to be back in the day. The interior was unique and the atmosphere was fun. It will be missed!
Chief Wiggum
January 27th, 2010
7:54 am
I’ve never pretended that the food at OSF was excellent food. I’m saying that it was reasonably good food, for a reasonably good price, in a reasonably good atmosphere. It seems that even that isn’t enough for the food snobs. For you food snobs…if you are out, and want to grab a quick lunch, do you ever actually stop by (gasp) a place like Wendy’s, Burger King, or the like, or do you wish all of THOSE places would close too?
There needs to be a range of food places. Haughty overpriced places for the food snobs, midrange chain places (like Applebee’s), local places, and inexpensive chains. It takes all of these.
fildawg
January 27th, 2010
8:30 am
I can’t believe it remained open as long as it did. OSF was awful – lousy food, poor service. The only saving grace was the interior decor. Good riddance!
Mike
January 27th, 2010
8:39 am
I was there about a year ago for the first time since 1991. Nothing had changed, except in 1991 the lobby was crowded with people waiting for a table, and in 2009 there were three groups of diners in the whole place.
It was definitely one of those “oh, is that still open? We should go there some time” type places.
Stephanie
January 27th, 2010
8:44 am
I only went to this place one time and that was sophomore year of high school for a homecoming dinner before the dance. The sad thing is that we drove all the way in from L’ville to go here. Looking back on it I hang my head though I do think it is rather funny that in high scholl I used to think it was a great meal:)
Gen Neyland
January 27th, 2010
8:52 am
I see it as humorous that a smattering of folks that dine off the $$$ menu at Mickey D’s can find the time to hammer on the OSF as ‘cheap’. We, as a family, enjoyed taking the 5 kids out for a reasonably priced dinner at the Minneapolis OSF when we lived up yonder back in the 90’s. The weekend waits of 30-60 minutes we endured to eat there ought to tell you something. Geez, if IHOP ever closes, out goes our breakfast memories as well..
Marty
January 27th, 2010
11:34 am
One of my favorite places to get a decent priced spaghetti dinner. I had my birthday celebration there EVERY YEAR from 1987 (since I was at Ga. Tech) through 2009.
Tweets that mention Old Spaghetti Factory closes | Food and More with John Kessler -- Topsy.com
January 27th, 2010
11:40 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by thekillacal, atlantadiamond and GoldenQueen, BlackTieBBQ. BlackTieBBQ said: Old Spaghetti Factory Closes. http://bit.ly/bXNy4k [...]
Anthony
January 27th, 2010
2:08 pm
But today is Wednesday and Wednesdays are Prince Spaghetti days!
Olive Garden
January 27th, 2010
2:12 pm
Good…..Good……
GAB
January 27th, 2010
2:54 pm
OSF was great for what it was: a reasonably priced, reasonably well-prepared meal in very friendly surroundings. I went to my first one in Nashville, and my grad-school buddies and I could fill up and have a decent drink on a student budget. By the time the Atlanta link in the chain opened, my husband and I had a tiny baby, and it was one of the few places we could take her for a sit-down meal without worrying about her being a baby. Now she and her brother are teenagers, and we love OSF as a tasty and relaxing place to fill their bottomless pits without spending a fortune. Some nights you just don’t want to deal with Sotto Sotto! Finally, our all-time favorite waiter, Harold, worked at OSF for years. He always recognized us and took good care of us. We’ll miss it!
John Kessler
January 27th, 2010
4:51 pm
Anthony – Can you explain Prince Spaghetti day?
Elizabeth J.
January 27th, 2010
5:01 pm
OMGosh, John – some of my best childhood memories are from The Old Spaghetti Factory in Denver! Sitting in the train car, dining on a large dish of spaghetti & meatballs with a shirley temple to wash it down, topped off with spummoni ice cream for dessert = perfect evening out for 8 y.o. me.
Wanted to go to the Atlanta locale, but just never made it (too many GOOD eats here in ATL)
Fleaburr
January 27th, 2010
6:06 pm
First went OSF in early 90’s. Fell in love with the Brown butter pasta with Mizithra cheese.
It was always packed on weekends and drinks from bar good.
Where am I going to find my fav dish here in ATL. Taking Prozac now.
Adria Greene
January 27th, 2010
7:39 pm
I have had better frozen food than what I ate the one time I was there.
Spiceaholic
January 27th, 2010
8:48 pm
I’m not a parent, but am sorry to hear it’s gone. I’d only been to the Atlanta location a couple times and the last was more than 5 years ago. I always liked the spumoni they gave you at the end.
J
January 27th, 2010
8:49 pm
Isn’t there one in Cobb County off Delk Road as well? I remember going to a Spaghetti place with my dad when I was a kid down the street from where he lived, but I don’t remember if it was a Spaghetti Factory.
I never went to the one in Atlanta, but it seems like a lot of places that have been there for years are now either moving or shutting down. It’ll be interesting to see what goes into the space now that the specific area around Spaghetti Factory is developing and going “upscale”. Any thoughts on what might take over the space?
Laurie
January 27th, 2010
9:30 pm
So sad to hear! Nope, didn’t go there for the food, but for the “experience”. Went as a teenager with my family, went there for dinner the night I got engaged (don’t think bad of him, we were 20 yrs old and on low budgets) and most recently took our kids there after a Braves game and after seeing the Rockettes. On the two most recent visits the place was packed! Food definitely needed to be improved, but sure enjoyed seeing the kids eat in amazement!
Grant
January 27th, 2010
10:39 pm
I love all this. I used to hit up the political stories for the entertaining comments, but I’ll stick to the food section now.
Anthony
January 28th, 2010
10:10 am
JK –
Prince spaghetti day? You don’t remember the commercial back on the 70s? Go to you tube and do a search for Prince spaghetti….It’s a classic.
Bill Boyd
January 31st, 2010
4:57 pm
> 10 years ago, after spotting a SF employee trucking across their parking lot carrying an arm-load of 1-lb boxes of Mueller’s spaghetti, I was unable to find any reason–other than self-abuse–to dine there. May SF RIP.
DB
January 31st, 2010
9:19 pm
@Bill Boyd — all restaurants have their little quirks — who knows, they may have just run out that evening, and had to pitch-hit, y’know?
Back in the 70s, my husband/then boyfriend and I went to a very post French restaurant in Miami — even in the 70’s, the prices were outrageous, but it was a special occasion. We ordered cheesecake for dessert (my favorite), and the waiter comes out and presents the desserts with a flourish. We both looked down at the cheesecake with the distinctive concentric swirl and graham cracker crumbs, and my husband swore under his breath: It was a Sara Lee cheesecake, and we had just paid $5 a slice in 1978 money for it! Good lord, we could have picked up a whole one for $2.79 on the way home if we had wanted! Then the humor of the situation hit us and we started laughing. The waiter came bustling back, inquiring if everything was ok. I asked him who made his cheesecakes, and he promptly replied, “Oh, we have a special catering company that specializes in desserts that does that.” My husband just about choked on his coffee when I inquired, “Would her name be Sara, by any chance?” The waiter had the grace to look embarrassed when he muttered, “Well, yes . . .”
gginnel
May 13th, 2010
3:18 pm
Guess I heard a little too late about this!! We were on our way to see Mary Poppins last night at the FOX and thought it would be a neat place to take our daughters, 11 and 4. I only ate there once and the food was good but not memorable…it was more about the place you were eating. The girls were excited about maybe getting to sit in the trolley to eat.
BTW The company that my hubby works for did some disaster repair for the restaruant a few years ago. The crown moulding was done by my husband.
SOK
June 11th, 2010
6:20 pm
Guess it’s obvious I don’t eat there often now since I am just now finding out it is closed, but I can not believe how critical some people are. OSF was one of my favorite places in college because it was a reasonably priced entire meal in a nice atmosphere. We don’t get downtown often now, but every time we did, we’d eat there because it was affordable for a one income family and the decor was fancy so the kids thought it was a great treat. They didn’t see it as cheap food. It was fancy and fun. I have been to wedding receptions, graduation parties and lots of other get togethers there. For those of you who are critical; for a lot of us, it was a nice place to eat for an affordable price downtown. It holds a lot of memories for me and my family and will be missed.