Chef Todd Ginsberg will open Ginsberg’s Refresher on Thursday, May 30, at Wild Heaven Beer in Avondale Estates. The menu will feature a double-stack cheeseburger, similar to Ginsberg’s burgers made Atlanta famous at Bocado, The General Muir, and Fred’s Meat and Bread.
As with El Tesoro at Wild Heaven’s West End location, the chef partnered with the brewery to open Ginsberg’s Refresher in Avondale Estates. Ginsberg described his latest concept as part roadside snack shack, part casual restaurant, and part sandwich shop housed in a food truck.
Look for double cheeseburgers and vegan burgers, fried fish sandwiches, and other easily shared dishes on the menu, including spicy chicken wings, shrimp and pork egg rolls, and smoked salmon dip.
Ginsberg said he took into account a number of factors while developing the menu for the food truck, such as cramped kitchen quarters, affordability, and smaller portion sizes. The most expensive item on the menu is around $15.
“I didn’t want food to fill you up to the point you couldn’t enjoy a couple of beers. You can easily share most of what’s on the menu,” Ginsberg told Rough Draft. “Portion sizes are smaller, like a four-ounce hot dog and a chicken Philly less than seven ounces. The whole idea is to make sure you’re still hanging around after you eat to have another beer.”
During cooler months, Ginsberg plans to serve gumbo and oyster stew from the food truck.
He also worked with Wild Heaven to produce a German-style kolsch to pair with his food. The beer carries notes of cherry, makrut lime, coriander, and Meyer lemon.
“I enjoy pilsners, lagers, and kolsches, so I wanted the beer to be a lighter style. Coming into summer, it’s cherry season. Cherries bring hints of acidity and sweetness,” he said of the Ginsberg’s Refresher beer. “We built around the cherry notes with Meyer lemon to balance it and then high pitches from the lime leaves for brightness with some backbone from coriander.”
People can order their food with beer, wine, and margaritas at the bar inside the taproom.
Ginsberg has become known for his burgers over the last 15 years, starting with a well-received burger at Tap served on an English muffin. It was at Bocado on Howell Mill Road where Ginsberg mastered his double cheeseburger, and where it achieved cult status in Atlanta. He modeled it after a Shack Shack smashburger using a blend of chuck, short rib, and brisket to make patties.
For his burger at The General Muir and Fred’s Meat and Bread, Ginsberg created a double stack of two smashed patties topped with American cheese, grilled onions, and mayo with the option to add crispy pastrami.
At Ginsberg’s Refreshers, Ginsberg uses more brisket and short rib than chuck in the blend, giving patties a beefier, more intense flavor. Burgers come topped with American cheese and pickles served on a Martin’s potato bun rather than the brioche buns like the burgers at Fred’s and The General Muir.
“I wanted to do food, including a burger, I would enjoy drinking with a beer. Those are sandwiches and shareables incorporating spicy, salty, fatty, and acidic flavors,” he said. “This menu is what I want to eat on a patio.”
Related link: Wild Heaven Beer to open third location in Toco Hills with Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q
Wild Heaven teamed with Alan Raines in 2023 to open a satellite location of his popular Edgewood neighborhood restaurant El Tesoro at Lee and White. The West End taproom was also home to Finca to Filter, which recently closed there as owner Kayla Bellman expands the coffee shop in the Old Fourth Ward and Boulevard Heights.
Later this summer, Wild Heaven and Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q will open a brewery and smokehouse serving barbecue plates and sandwiches at the Toco Hill Shopping Center. This location of Wild Heaven will serve cocktails and include a small distillery, part of the brewery’s farm winery program. A representative speaking on behalf of the Wild Heaven and Fox Bros. collaboration said the brewery-smokehouse should open in August.
Ginsberg’s Refresher at Wild Heaven Beer in Avondale Estates, open Tuesday – Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
