Restaurant openings
Chef Nick Melvin opened Communidad Taqueria and Market in the old Highland Bakery space yesterday. The Tex-Mex restaurant and market serves an all-day menu of tacos, burritos, and margaritas, along with Mexican pastries and desserts from Teresa Finney of At Heart Panaderia.
Longtime Avondale Estates resident Billy Elek just opened Billy’s Avondale in the city east of Decatur. The sandwich shop, located on Center Street, serves takes on Jersey- and Philly-style sandwiches. Look for six sandwiches on the menu, including a house-roasted pork sandwich called The Fairfield with braised spinach and provolone on a cornmeal-dusted kaiser roll, and dessert sliders served on brioche buns with house-made marshmallow. Elek plans to expand the menu over time.
A final farewell
Chef Gerry Klaskala’s last service at Aria, the restaurant he founded 25 years ago, is this Saturday. He will then hand the reins over to a new chef (more on that below) and Aria’s new owner, Andrés Loaiza. But Klaskala won’t have time to rest after Saturday’s dinner service. He and Loaiza are off to Chicago in hopes of bringing home one more accolade to the Buckhead restaurant institution in a James Beard award for Outstanding Service. The James Beard Awards take place Monday night, and Rough Draft will let you know if Aria earns a medal!
Kitchen shifts
Asian street food pop-up Salty Smiles has taken over the kitchen at Minhwa Spirits in Doraville after the departure of Korean food pop-up Ganji at the end of May. The Salty Smiles residency lasts through June.
After nearly three years inside the taproom at Inner Voice Brewing in Decatur, Glide Pizza will wind down service there on July 13. But a new pizza spot called Brainwave Pizza will replace Glide in July, serving sourdough crust pies by the slice and whole pizza. It also appears Glide may have even more news to share in the future.
“As we evolve, we’ve got some new things on deck these next 12 months, which will be the most expansive, transitional, and thrilling times in the company’s history,” Glide posted on Instagram. “We will be sharing a series of different announcements over the next few weeks.”
Restaurant closure
Cubanos ATL will not renew its lease in Roswell and will close after this week. Owner Ozzy Llanes opened the location on Alpharetta Street in downtown Roswell two years ago. The restaurant included an expanded menu and full bar. Llanes also closed locations at Chattahoochee Food Works and in Cumming. The original location on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs remains open.
Restaurant relocation
Gelato shop Cremalosa, owned by former AJC dining critic Meridith Ford, will relocate from East College Avenue in Decatur to the Dale in Avondale Estates. Cremalosa, which opened in 2020, will close in Decatur on June 21 and reopen at the Dale on Sept. 1.