Decades old and surviving seemingly every obstacle in terms of location and parent company it could throw at it, today marks the end of the Hwy 5 location of Long John Silvers, and with that their exit from Douglasville and the Western Suburbs. Last year with also little notice the Carrollton location on Bankhead Hwy also closed, and customers were directed to the Hwy 5 location. Attempts to reach management for a reason for closing as of this afternoon went unanswered, but a quick search shows that Long John Silvers as a company is struggling across Georgia. Newnan is now the only location in the West Georgia Region, and several other locations around Metro Atlanta have also closed. Long John Silvers is owned by Yum! Brands, the same parent company as Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC, all brands far more profitable than Long Johns according to their last earnings report. But as for surviving this long, this particular location has sat next to Dunkin Donuts at the corner of Hwy 5 and Douglas Blvd for almost 3 decades. Its location was rather difficult to get in and out of  for both Hwy 5 and Douglas Blvd which could have exacerbated problems it was already having. Another possibility was that the coming intersection improvement project at Douglas Blvd and Hwy 5 could have played a role. One option the city was considering was right of way acquisition for the project that would have involved buying out Long Johns and Dunkin Donuts to expand the intersection to meet the over capacitated demand each and every day. At this point, no word from the city if that was a factor in their closing today. Opinions on the food quality and service in the last few years vary and those opinions notwithstanding, the Long John Silvers location on Hwy 5 will leave a void that has been there for decades. Its far too early to tell when or even if anything will replace it. Long Johns departure leaves Douglasville without a seafood fast food place….Perhaps Captain D’s is reading and listening?
