Punk Foodie opened a pop-up food stall in the Central Food Hall at Ponce City Market today.
Named Punk Foodie @ Ponce, the concept will be a restaurant and chef accelerator, with a rotating, curated roster of pop-up chefs that represent the diversity and talent driving the city’s future restaurant landscape.
The stall is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
With a mission to champion budding local chefs, grant their culinary creations broader exposure, and enhance their commercial success while enriching Atlanta’s culinary scene, Punk Foodie @ Ponce will be home to one- to two-month chef residences, a monthly rotation of pop-up chefs serving weekend brunch, and themed chef collaboration dinners on Mondays. Guests will be able to explore a variety of cuisines and dishes not easily found across the city.
“Pop-up chefs are creating pictures of the new South through local and global ingredients served in styrofoam take-out boxes from borrowed kitchens and 10×10 tents with tabletop fryers all over the city,” said Sam Flemming, Founder of Punk Foodie. “Now, with the new food stall at Ponce City Market, we’re helping pop-up chefs accelerate to the next level by allowing them to test concepts, build a brand and establish a track record as a means to open brick-and-mortar restaurants that will drive the evolution of Atlanta’s dining scene.”
Upon opening, Ganji will take up residence in the new food stall and serve Asian-inspired fast fusion – American fare infused with Asian essentials and flavors. Ganji Founders Jess Kim and Jun Park are culinary school graduates of Le Cordon Bleu and Culinary Institute of America, respectively, and have extensive experience in kitchens and management positions at multiple Atlanta restaurant groups including Korean Wives, Seed Hospitality and Castellucci Hospitality Group.
Other chefs slated for the first month include Mighty Hans (Taiwanese-American), Krupana (Bosnian-ish) and Jimmie’s Jerk Chicken (American Jerk & BBQ). On Monday nights, the stall will host chef collaborations, with the first one on Oct. 16 to include TKO, Jackalope, and Salty Smiles cooking up gourmet versions of Fripper’s hot dogs.
Chefs who are interested in being part of the accelerator program are invited to claim a chef profile on the Punk Foodie ‘pop-up finder’ app. Chefs are selected based on app analytics of their activity and Punk Foodie’s deep understanding of the pop-up scene.
When Punk Foodie Founder Sam Flemming moved to Atlanta, he fell in love with the city’s burgeoning underground dining scene filled with pop-up chefs and food trucks – aspiring restaurateurs serving some of the most interesting, cutting-edge, authentic, and unique food in Atlanta. The whole thing reminded him of a punk rock scene, but for food. This interest led him to launch Punk Foodie in 2021. Today, the Punk Foodie platform consists of @punkfoodie.atl Instagram account, a weekly newsletter, a weekly column in Rough Draft Atlanta, the Road Crew foodie content agency, an events arm that curates chef-driven events like Punk Foodie Fest, and the ‘pop-up finder’ Punk Foodie app. With the launch of Punk Foodie @ Ponce, Punk Foodie now has an integrated and powerful platform that generates content, builds community, provides information, and offers tangible business opportunities to pop-up chefs and the broader independent restaurant scene driving the evolution of the Atlanta dining.