After almost a decade in business on East Main Street, Slick’s Burgers is closing its doors May 11.
“It came to whether we were going to re-sign a lease and go for another five (years), but an opportunity came where we were able to work a deal with another restaurant group to take over the space and buy the assets from us,” Slick’s owner, Eric Taslimi, said by phone.
One reason for the decision to close the fast-casual hamburger restaurant is the increased cost of goods and labor since the pandemic. Slick’s grinds the meat for its burgers and makes everything from scratch, which is labor-intensive, he said.
“You can only charge so much for an order-at-the-counter burger, and it just became more difficult to make the numbers work,” Taslimi said. “An opportunity came up where we had to make a decision on whether we’re going to spend more resources on trying to figure it out or move on.”
He said he still owns the trade name for the restaurant, so the possibility of reopening in another location remains, but he has no plans to do so at this time.
“We are just so grateful for the neighborhood, for the community, for Chattanooga and all our present and past employees that work their butts off in there and really love the place,” he said. “It’s definitely bittersweet, but I think it’s going to be in really good hands. I think they’re going to do some good stuff with it, and we’re excited to see what they do.”
An owner of the restaurant group that plans to purchase the Slick’s Burgers space said by phone that plans are not ready to be announced at this time.
Taslimi, who also owns Southside Pizza, said that restaurant is doing well and will remain open.
“I guess pizza is invincible when it comes to pandemics,” he said. “Pizza is going great, and we plan to be there a long time.”
Contact Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6508.
