This story is part of a series highlighting LGBTQ+-owned restaurants in Atlanta.
Twenty years ago, Mitchell Anderson embarked on his second act. After an acting career spanning two decades, Anderson shifted gears, settled down in Atlanta with his now-husband, Richie, and, under the mentorship of Souper Jenny owner Jennifer Levison, opened a restaurant in Midtown serving soups, salads, and sandwiches made fresh daily.
When MetroFresh opened at Midtown Promenade in 2005 (before Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, and the Beltline), it had less than 50 seats and a tiny kitchen. Today, MetroFresh is nearly twice the size, a necessary upgrade that speaks to the restaurant’s popularity.
Anderson said innovation is central to the business philosophy at MetroFresh. The lunch menu changes daily and includes soups like North African sweet potato and peanut and salads like lemon basil garden tuna created by Anderson and his chefs every morning. MetroFresh now serves breakfast, dinner, and Sunday brunch. The restaurant features a wine and coffee bar. And, most recently, Anderson added an oatmeal bar to the morning lineup where people can choose personalized toppings.
“Some people eat there twice a day, five days a week,” Anderson said. “You can go there on a Monday and then go on a Tuesday and have something completely different.”
Located just steps from the Eastside Beltline trail and Piedmont Park, providing both regulars and new patrons with a welcoming environment in which to dine and excellent customer service is paramount.
“Whether you’ve been there three times that week or once in your life, everybody feels super welcome,” Anderson said of MetroFresh.
MetroFresh is celebrating its 20th anniversary at Midtown Promenade in October, and while innovation is a distinguishing characteristic of the restaurant, Anderson is looking forward to the future with a focus on preservation instead of advancement.
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“I’m not that interested in expanding, expanding, expanding; while that’s a really good business move, personally it just wasn’t what I was interested in,” he said. “What I more enjoy is going in every morning, creating the menu, being excited by the people that come through the door, and really being a part of it.”
Anderson did, however, open a small outlet of MetroFresh six years ago in the lobby of One Midtown Plaza on Peachtree Street, one block north of the High Museum. This location serves weekday breakfast and lunch and offers a happy hour on Thursday evenings until 7:30 p.m.
But after years of struggling to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic – something Anderson said was “incredibly emotionally draining” – his next step is figuring out a succession plan for MetroFresh.
“It’s a lot of work for 20 years, and I’m not a young man anymore,” Anderson said. “I would think that the best way forward would be to bring in the right person to maybe come behind me and have those fresh ideas… I want to be collaborative,” he added. “I want to find these people that are on the team that can take what I’ve created and make it their own.”
Until that “right person” comes along, said Anderson, MetroFresh will continue business as usual at Midtown Promenade. Anderson and his staff also have a few events planned, including a Valentine’s Day dinner with entree and dessert specials and live music.
In April, Anderson will return to acting, partnering with Levison (also an actor-turned-restaurateur) to produce a weekend run of “Love Letters” by A.R. Gurney, an epistolary play spanning 50 decades of letters and notes between two characters. The show will benefit the Zadie Project, Development in Gardening, and Synchronicity Theatre.
MetroFresh, 931 Monroe Dr., Midtown. Open Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
MetroFresh Uptown, One Midtown Plaza, Midtown. Open Monday – Friday for coffee, breakfast, and lunch, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Bar MetroFresh remains open until 7:30 p.m. on Thursdays.
