“It’s a party in the front, party in the back situation,” Justin Amick said of Painted Park, now open along one of the busiest stretches of the Eastside Beltline in Inman Park. The two-story “eatertainment” concept is the latest from Amick and William Stallworth, the duo behind The Painted Pin, Painted Duck, and Painted Pickle in Atlanta.
For their latest venture together, Amick and Stallworth transformed the circa 1890 Atlanta Pipe and Foundry Company building on North Highland into a two-story establishment with two bars, a gaming parlour, two covered patios, a full-service kitchen, and a sprawling outdoor hangout space with a tunnel connecting Painted Park to the Beltline.
But the historic Inman Park structure includes a personal connection for Amick. Until 2021, it was home to The Brasserie and Neighborhood Cafe at Parish, owned by his father, Bob Amick, and Concentrics Restaurants.
Parish is where the younger Amick worked as the general manager for years before founding Painted Hospitality with Stallworth. Amick met three longtime Painted Hospitality staff members while working at Parish, including Executive Chef Thomas Collins, Director of Service Jessica Rucco, and Director of Operations Robert Nonemarker. Stallworth did his management training at Parish, too.
Amick doesn’t describe Painted Park as a restaurant and bar, rather calling it “a recreational place of assembly and green space” for people 21+. He and Stallworth spent three years on a painstaking renovation, while trying to retain as much of the historic charm and character of the historic building as possible.
They took out the narrow parking lot on the west side of the building, turning it into a garden patio that connects to another outdoor hangout spot fronting the Beltline. The hedged green space features a gazebo bar, outdoor fire pits, and multiple TVs. Two covered patios with gas fireplaces were retrofitted onto the back of the building facing the trail.
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“We didn’t want to take away from that beautiful aesthetic of the building or what we’ve got going on outside by installing lawn games. We want that to be a great place to peel off the Beltline for a pint or a Miami Vice slushie or glass of wine outside,” said Amick. “It’s completely full service inside with food and drinks. Games are in a separate area downstairs.”
To limit being a nuisance to their neighbors in the condos surrounding Painted Park – or violating easements — Amick and Stallworth had an underground tunnel constructed. People walk down a small set of stairs in the green space along the Beltline as they enter Painted Park. Essentially a hallway decorated with a 3D mural, the tunnel then leads to a small staircase bringing people up to the lower covered patio, bypassing the outside seating areas.
Outdoor seating closes at 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings. It should help keep the noise level down at night and keep Painted Park on good terms with its neighbors, Amick said.
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Inside, the transformation of the building continues. There are now two bars upstairs, including an expansion of the former Parish bar in the main dining room and a smaller, horseshoe-shaped bar in the solarium addition. That bar also includes the large antique gold mirror that once hung behind the bar at Parish. There’s a floating DJ booth above the dining room and lounge. The front dining room becomes a dance floor on Friday and Saturday nights.
More nods to Parish and the history of the Atlanta Pipe and Foundry Company building can be seen in the preservation of the brick walls, the tinned ceilings, and the large French doors in the back of Painted Park. The old market table from the cafe at Parish resides on the covered patio upstairs at Painted Park.
The lower level of Painted Park houses complimentary games, including skee-ball, darts, ping pong, and table shuffleboard, along with board games, poker chips, dice, and cards.
A second staircase was added just off the solarium and connects to the underground tunnel. Amick said this new staircase adds less form but more function to Painted Park. The existing staircase would often clog with food runners from the Parish kitchen and patrons headed to the restrooms below the dining room.
“This is a historic structure and one of the prettiest buildings on the Beltline, so we wanted to keep some tie-ins to its past and to Parish but make it more sophisticated,” Amick said of the renovation. “There are so many different atmospheres and vibes to enjoy at Painted Park but it still feels like a cohesive establishment.”
As for food, the menu is full of crowd-pleasers like loaded fries, a Cobb salad, and sandwiches such as a triple-decker turkey club, meatball sub, and Juicy Lucy-style cheeseburger. Look for entrees like moules frites, hanger steak, and Airline Chicken souped up with beurre blanc sauce. For dessert, the tunnel cake riffs on the iconic carnival funnel cake made with Nutella sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Longtime Atlanta barman and former Pinewood and The Mercury owner Julian Goglia offers a cocktail menu filled with classics such as the Vieux Carre, Gimlet, and New York Sour alongside frozen drinks like the Miami Vice, a trio of composed shots, and nonalcoholic concoctions. Goglia pays tribute to the Pinewood’s most popular cocktail, Goonies Never Say Die, adding it to the menu at Painted Park. The cocktail mixes bourbon with grains of paradise, velvet falernum, lime, and ginger. Beer and wine are also available.
“We’ve intentionally opened places in the past that are a bit hidden away but close to Main Street or closer to big attractions in Atlanta,” Amick said of Painted Park. “We’re coming to this location for very different reasons. And it’s definitely a full-circle moment for me in my career.”
“I’m sitting here looking into the solarium overlooking the park and just looking at all the people walking and biking and jogging by,” Amick continued. “We want this to be a place to relax and hang out on the Beltline. If we’re going to go Main on Main, this was the location to do it.”
Take a look at the food and drinks menus below:
Painted Park, 240 North Highland Avenue, Inman Park. Open Monday – Thursday, 5 p.m. to 12 a.m.; Friday, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Outdoor area closes Sunday – Thursday at 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday at 10 p.m. Painted Park is 21+.