Peachtree Corners Sports Bar Celebrates 10 Years of Community Commitment

Three Dollar Café’s quality, service, and dedication have kept it a staple throughout metro Atlanta for 40 years and locally for a decade.

Don’t come to Three Dollar Café expecting cheap food. The name doesn’t reflect the prices or the quality, but the desire of an immigrant to find his piece of the American dream.

Joe Woo, a co-owner of the Peachtree Corners location, is the son of the original Mr. Woo who came to America in 1979 with three dollars in his pocket. (See what he did there?) By 1983, Mr. Woo opened his first restaurant in Sandy Springs. To pay homage to his struggles and commitment to keep the business going, he named it Three Dollar Café.

Although the Peachtree Corners location isn’t the original, it has the same family-oriented spirit and commitment to fresh, well-made pub grub as the first restaurant founded 40 years ago.

There are currently nine locations with a tenth one set for Buford in the near future.

Café grows with the city

When the restaurant on Peachtree Corners came online in February 2013, Peachtree Corners had just become a city. The strip mall location was being re-imaged from a Kroger grocery store and some nearby landmarks, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Since then, Three Dollar Café has grown with the city and served many metro Atlanta favorites, like its famous, award-winning wings and a variety of burgers, sandwiches, wraps, and appetizers — all made fresh.

“It was cool that someone purchased this property and had the vision to make it what it is now,” said Joe Woo. “They realized that there was a lot of traffic on 141 and that if people had a place to stop, it could be a good fit.”

As the city grew, the location grew, and so did the relationships with families in the area.

“We’ve just always been here. And as part of the community, we participated in community events like the Peachtree Corners Festival,” Woo said.

Quality and consistency earn high ratings

Although a decade may not seem long, it is in the restaurant industry. One of Three Dollar Café’s testaments to longevity is its quality and consistency. When others were scrambling to keep the doors open during the pandemic, Woo said he and his staff stayed focused on good food and good service.

“I think the neighborhood appreciates that we kept things consistent. Our goal is to provide really good, high-quality food with good service by getting food out really quick,” he said. “I think how we fared during the pandemic is indicative of the quality of service that we provide, but it’s also indicative of the quality of food we provide.”

Woo pointed out that followers of the digital media brand Eater Atlanta have rated Three Dollar Café’s chicken wings best in the metro. He added that the restaurant also gets consistently high marks from food blogs and media outlets.

He added that, at the end of the day, Three Dollar Café is just a casual place where people can sit down, whether for a lunch meeting, dinner with a family, or later in the evening to catch a game and have a drink at the bar.

Using successes to move forward

Although he just recently came on board, Woo’s partner Jeff Jang agreed wholeheartedly. The décor reflects hometown sports favorites, whether they’re pros, colleges, or local high schools. 

“We see a lot of kids come in with their families in their baseball or soccer uniforms and it’s nice that we may see them in a few years bringing their own kids in with similar uniforms on,” said Jang. 

Woo is turning more of the day-to-day operation to Jang, who has renewed vision for the establishment. “During the pandemic, we did a lot more takeout, and we’re looking to maintain that,” said Jang.

“We’re also looking into more catering. There are so many businesses and office parks nearby, our menu can easily accommodate more catering,” he added.

Three Dollar Café Peachtree Corners

6050 Peachtree Pkwy., Peachtree Corners

770-441-8520, facebook.com/ThreeDollarCafe141

Photos by George Hunter