How metro Atlanta restaurants are adapting for diners on weight loss drugs

About a year ago, restaurateur Maria Fundora realized the widespread use of weight loss drugs would have a massive impact on the restaurant business. Her first hint wasn’t a shift in orders at her Casa Nuova Italian Restaurant, but that many of her regular customers had lost weight.

“I started watching people get thinner,” Fundora said.

As she talked to her customers dining at her Alpharetta restaurant, some regulars shared that they were taking GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic and Mounjaro.

“I noticed, because I’m on the front lines, that they were eating less, or they were sharing,” Fundora said.

According to a Gallup poll published last fall, 12.4% of Americans began taking a GLP-1 — more than double the amount who were taking the type 2 diabetes management and weight loss class of drugs in February 2024. Restaurant owners across metro Atlanta have seen shifts in customer behavior. They’re responding in different ways to help cater to patrons who may be eating — and spending — less.

Howard Greenstone, the CEO of Emmy Squared Pizza, noticed that the pizza side of the restaurant industry has taken a large hit. According to Nation’s Restaurant News, which covers the restaurant industry, quick service pizza restaurants saw a sales decline in 2025 — and pizza was the only category among chain restaurants with negative growth. Large pizza chains saw steeper sales declines; Pizza Hut’s 2025 sales were down 8.2%, and Marco’s was down 2.4%.

The Colony pizza from the menu of Emmy Squared. (Courtesy of Emmy Squared 2021)

Emmy Squared may not be a large conglomerate like Pizza Hut, but the Nashville-based pizza chain with two Atlanta stores could be vulnerable because it’s known for a particularly heavy category of pizza: Detroit-style with a tall, chewy crust. Greenstone suspects the consumption changes are because of GLP-1 use.

“It’s a very filling pizza, so it’s not the first thing that folks would gravitate to if they were on GLP-1,” Greenstone said.

His Atlanta restaurants were the first to test a new menu item he named the skinny square — a pizza with half the amount of dough, producing a thin, crunchy crust. Increased sales of the thin crust pizza were immediate: 15-20% of all the pizzas they sell are now the skinny square.

“It lowers the barrier of entry for folks to try Emmy Squared. At the same time, for those on GLP-1, it says, ‘Come and eat with us, but you don’t need to eat as much,’” Greenstone said.

A piece of traditional, Detroit-style pizza (left) from Emmy Squared next to the restaurant's recently introduced skinny square pizza (right). (Courtesy of Emmy Squared)

Many people taking GLP-1 medications report experiencing less “food noise,” or persistent thoughts about food cravings and feelings of hunger. The drugs also slow digestion, making patients feel full quicker and for longer periods of time. Both tend to result in people eating less food than they would otherwise, which leaves restaurants to make a major business decision: Change the menu to adapt to consumer changes, likely the most costly option, or keep the menu and change the way you promote it to customers.

While some restaurants have begun offering more GLP-1-friendly dishes, others are focusing on how they advertise their existing menu. Rōti Modern Mediterranean in Sandy Springs highlights the protein-rich dishes already on their menu, and meals that store well for leftovers.