Potbelly Sandwich Shop is preparing to make its first move into Georgia, and Cumming is part of the initial expansion.

The Chicago-born chain plans to open at 3145 Ronald Reagan Boulevard in the new Forsyth Town Center development, where Whole Foods Market will anchor the shopping center. The Cumming restaurant is currently expected to open around November, according to franchise operators involved in the Georgia rollout.

For South Forsyth, the opening brings another nationally known restaurant brand to a corridor that is rapidly becoming one of the area’s major retail destinations.

The Cumming shop will occupy an approximately 1,850-square-foot end space at Forsyth Town Center, near the intersection of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Peachtree Parkway. Interior construction planning was underway earlier this year.

Potbelly is known primarily for warm toasted sandwiches, but its menu also includes salads, soups, shakes and cookies. The company began in Chicago in 1977 and had roughly 470 restaurants across 30 states and Washington, D.C., at the end of 2025.

Georgia, however, has remained a blank spot on its map.

That changes Sept. 1, when the chain plans to open its first restaurant in the state at Peachtree Station in Chamblee. Cumming is expected to follow later in the fall.

RaceTrac to acquire Potbelly sandwich chain

The South Forsyth restaurant is also part of a much larger plan. Franchise operators Sameer Tharani and Soomer Punja intend to develop 15 Potbelly locations over the next eight years, with the Cumming shop serving as their first. Their territory stretches across much of metro Atlanta, including potential locations in Duluth and Suwanee as well as communities in Fulton, Cobb and DeKalb counties.

Potbelly’s Georgia arrival has another local connection.

Atlanta-based RaceTrac acquired the sandwich company last year in a $566 million deal. The convenience-store company has said it is also considering placing Potbelly restaurants at selected RaceTrac properties, although the chain will continue expanding through conventional restaurant locations as well.

The Cumming location may be particularly well positioned for that expansion.

Forsyth Town Center is taking shape along Ronald Reagan Boulevard near The Collection at Forsyth, in an area that has attracted an increasing number of restaurants, retailers and service businesses as residential growth continues around South Forsyth.

Whole Foods is expected to be the development’s primary draw, but smaller restaurant and retail tenants will help determine whether the center becomes another everyday destination for nearby residents rather than simply a grocery stop.

Potbelly fits comfortably into that mix. Its restaurants typically operate as casual lunch and dinner spots, with dine-in, takeout and digital ordering built around sandwiches prepared quickly enough for the fast-casual market.

The company’s arrival also adds another competitor to an already crowded South Forsyth sandwich landscape, where Publix subs, Jersey Mike’s, Jimmy John’s and numerous independent restaurants compete for the same lunch crowd.

Potbelly will be entering that market with something it has not previously had in Georgia: familiarity without local saturation.

For South Forsyth residents, the more immediate takeaway is simple: another piece of Forsyth Town Center is falling into place, and one of Chicago’s better-known sandwich chains is making Cumming one of its first stops in Georgia.