R. Thomas Deluxe Grill Is up for Sale
The quirkiest restaurant on Peachtree Street in Buckhead is now up for sale. R. Thomas Deluxe Grill, known for its late-night hours and famous birds at the entrance — Ruby the parrot, Peaches and Cream the cockatoos, and their raisin-loving toucan — will be sold, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Richard Thomas opened the restaurant in 1985 as a 24-hour spot serving a healthier spin on breakfast, lunch, and late-night food. It was also one of the first establishments in the city to center its menu on vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dishes. R. Thomas has featured a mini exotic bird sanctuary just outside the entrance for years. In 2023, the city was sent in a tizzy looking for the birds after they were stolen from the restaurant and returned thereafter. It wasn’t unusual during Thomas’ time as proprietor to see a parrot or cockatoo flying around the dining room or sitting atop his shoulder.
Before opening R. Thomas, the restaurateur served as the first president of operations at Kentucky Fried Chicken, and he founded a Charlotte-based fried chicken chain that would become Bojangles. After Thomas died in 2017 at the age of 82, his daughter Linay Thomas Sheltra took over operations. She hopes to find a buyer who will continue the restaurant’s brand and 40-year legacy. Sheltra says Atlanta entrepreneur Cliff Oxford will broker the sale.
