Forsyth lot to see two new businesses

FORSYTH — The former Hometown Buffet in Forsyth will soon be home to two new prominent national businesses. Starbucks and Five Below have both announced they will soon open locations on the property.

Hometown Buffet closed the Forsyth restaurant in February 2016 due to financial performance issues. The parent company closed all Hometown Buffet locations and other subsidiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly all of their former restaurants have been sold in auctions.

The Starbucks store will be located on the property’s northern edge in part of the parking lot of the former buffet. The new coffee shop will be the fifth location in the Decatur metropolitan area and Forsyth’s first. The new store will have mobile ordering, drive-thru services, and walk-in ordering.

Starbucks first appeared in Decatur in 2005 with their first location opening inside the Target store on Mound Road. Another location opened in the same plaza outside Target the following year. A third location opened in the Airport Plaza Kroger store in late 2020 with a fourth location opening on Mount Zion Road earlier this year. A spokesperson for Starbucks has confirmed that the Forsyth location will open on July 1.

Construction is underway in the former restaurant, which is being converted into a Five Below store. The discount retailer is home to products ranging from clothes to home décor and other household items. The Forsyth location will be the second in Macon County after another Five Below opened on Maryland Street in Decatur in November 2023. Multiple attempts for further comment from Five Below could not be returned.

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Jacob Hamm

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Jacob Hamm covers a wide variety of topics across Central Illinois, such as protests, artistic and cultural events, local economic development, and the occasional column.

The Decatur, Ill. native is a 2023 graduate of Richland Community College (AA, Journalism) and a 2025 graduate of Eastern Illinois University (BA, Broadcast Journalism). He returned to Eastern Illinois in the fall of 2025 to pursue a Master's degree in Communication and Media Studies.

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