A nearly century-old Atlanta bakery chain is moving into the space once occupied by a Subway sandwich shop in Athens' historic Five Points district, marking the brand's first restaurant in the college town. Henri's Bakery & Deli plans to open at 1573 S. Lumpkin St., a location that will become the company's seventh store in Georgia when it debuts this fall.
The move was first reported by the Athens Banner-Herald, which noted that Henri's has not announced a specific grand opening date beyond the fall 2026 target. The Athens shop will take over a space long occupied by a Subway franchise in the Five Points commercial corridor, a stretch of shops and restaurants near the University of Georgia campus that dates to the 1920s, according to Forbes.
Henri's traces its roots to 1929, when French-born pastry chef Henri Fiscus, who had previously worked as the opening pastry chef at Atlanta's Biltmore Hotel, founded the bakery, per the Banner-Herald's report. The brand's pedigree runs deep: Explore Georgia notes that Henri's was named one of the “10 Best Bakeries in the World” by W Magazine back in 1976, a distinction that still anchors its identity as a Georgia culinary institution.
What's on the Menu
The Athens location will combine Henri's signature deli fare, baked goods, and desserts under one roof, according to the Banner-Herald's report. Sandwich options are expected to include turkey, roast beef, ham, pastrami, and French dip, alongside house-made chicken, tuna, and egg salad. The deli menu also features made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, classic lunch sandwiches, po-boys, wraps, and salads.
On the bakery side, customers can expect French pastries, croissants, danishes, muffins, breads, cookies, brownies, and specialty desserts, plus custom and specialty cakes that include birthday cakes, cheesecakes, and layered celebration creations, the outlet reported.
A Family Business Scaling Statewide
Henri's has grown considerably since 2016, when current president and CEO Anthony DiNardo purchased the business alongside his sisters, Kim MacBain and Ashlyn Greco, from members of the founding Fiscus family, according to Rough Draft Atlanta. DiNardo, who represents the fourth generation of family leadership at the bakery, also serves as Board President of the Retail Bakers of America, and the company landed at No. 4,624 on the 2021 Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies, per a company release distributed by PRWeb.
The company built out an 8,000-square-foot central production facility on Atlanta's Upper Westside in 2017 to support its expanding retail network, according to Henri's own account of its history. That infrastructure investment was followed by a July 2024 acquisition of Smyrna-based artisan bakery The Grateful Bread Co., a deal that added wholesale production capacity as the chain kept growing, as reported by WhatNow Atlanta.
Beyond Metro Atlanta
Athens will mark Henri's second expansion beyond its traditional Atlanta base in as many years. The chain opened its sixth store in Clayton, Georgia in May 2025, introducing a retail grocery and market concept and marking its first footprint outside greater Atlanta, according to Now Georgia. That same month, Henri's also rolled out a seasonal 800-square-foot walk-up stand in Atlanta's Piedmont Park near the Atlanta Botanical Garden, a sign of the brand experimenting with smaller, high-traffic formats.
With the Athens store, Henri's will operate locations in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Upper Westside, Brookhaven, Peachtree Corners, and Clayton in addition to the new Five Points spot. The bakery also maintains a sustainability partnership with the Atlanta nonprofit Bagel Rescue, donating excess baked goods daily to help keep its food waste near zero, according to a post from the company.
Filling a Gap in a Competitive Corridor
Five Points is already home to a mix of artisanal bakeries and upscale dining options, making Henri's arrival a notable commercial shift for the neighborhood. Swapping a national sandwich chain for a Georgia-born bakery with nearly a century of history gives the corridor, long popular with UGA students and longtime Athens residents, a different kind of food option in a space that had been occupied by fast food.
Hoodline previously included Henri's Buckhead location among the 3 best delis in Atlanta based on aggregated local review data, and also featured the bakery in a roundup of budget-friendly deli picks around the same time. Those earlier rankings reflected the brand's standing in its home market well before its current statewide expansion took shape.
