Atlanta, GA — Le Petit Marche, a popular breakfast and brunch spot in Kirkwood, is shutting its doors after 13 years.

The restaurant made the announcement via social media. The owner is Marchet Sparks.

“After 13 years, we’ve come to the end of the road for Le Petit Marche! Here is a special message of love from Marchet and more information about why the restaurant has closed, and why it’s time to move on,” the restaurant announced via Facebook. “We love you all so much, and are forever thankful for the legacy you’ve helped us create here in Atlanta and in the Kirkwood neighborhood! Community (still) thrives here, in our hearts.”

In her video, Sparks said the closure was “a matter of timing and opportunity for me.”

“It’s a matter of timing. My lease is up,” she said. “And a matter of opportunity for me to pursue other endeavors. I’m rekindling an old flame. As many of you know, I was a real estate sales agent prior to my becoming a restaurant owner.”

Her business opened in 2008 at Kirkwood Station. She opened in a larger space at 1984 Hosea Williams Drive in 2014. Her restaurant started as a market. From there it was a steady evolution into the restaurant, where the food is front and center and the market was ancillary.

She moved to Atlanta in 2006 from Los Angeles to be closer to her parents, Isaac and Dorothy. They worked in the restaurant too, known as Mom and Pop, and she learned how to cook “at my mom’s hip.” Dorothy passed away in 2019.

Sparks wasn’t a professional chef before opening a restaurant. She was a Realtor in Los Angeles for eight years, but she always wanted to try her hand at running her own market.

“I’m a builder,” she said. “I like to start from scratch and see what happens.”

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