Automat Burgers Open on Eastside Beltline

Restaurant Mascots + Automat Burgers on the Beltline

June 26— For today’s Side Dish, we’re offering two recipes, including one for savory pancakes with chanterelles. We also have a story (with great photos) on the adorable mascots at six Atlanta restaurants.

➕ Read a report by Rough Draft’s Cathy Cobbs on the possible closure of Tucker Meat Market, home to the popular Mammoth Burger, and a story on Atlanta sports bar pop-up Jolene Jolene landing a longterm residency at Pullman Yards in Kirkwood.

🍽️ As always, get the latest Atlanta dining news, including details on an Atlanta chef winning Food Network’s “Chopped” cooking competition, where to find burgers served from an automat on the Eastside Beltline, and a new steakhouse opening next week in the heart of Milton. Learn about the new parking charges headed to Lee + White in the West End later this summer and get updates on new openings in Midtown, Berkeley Park, and at Battery Atlanta. Plus, other Atlanta dining news to know.

In case you missed it in your inbox on Tuesday evening, here’s a link to the latest edition of “Family Meal.” It features a recipe for breakfast pizza and trend-spotting intel on tomatotini cocktails in Atlanta.

Cheers from the Rough Draft dining team!

🍸 Beth and 🍰 Sarra

✨ Help provide life-changing mental health support to kids and families across Metro Atlanta by attending CHRIS 180’s 25th anniversary CHRIStal Ball on Aug. 16! Get tickets here. SPONSOR MESSAGE

Have You Heard?

🥇 Atlanta Award Winners

Remember our profile earlier this week on Atlanta chef and The New South collective member Christan Willis, who competed on “Chopped” Tuesday night? Willis won the Food Network cooking competition! The Atlanta native and private chef went head-to-head against three other chefs on “Chopped.” Dozens of supporters gathered for a watch party at cocktail bar MidCity ATL in Midtown to learn whether Willis had won, which she did and had to keep secret for weeks.

Atlanta cookbook author and food writer Nandita Godbole was honored at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Lisbon this month, receiving a Special Award of the Jury for her 2023 cookbook “Masaleydaar: Classic Indian Spice Blends.”

🍔 Automat Burgers

The Emerald City Bagels automat on the Eastside Beltline will temporarily transition from serving bagel sandwiches to burgers on July 5. Cameron Lukkar of Camburgers pop-up burger stand will take over the automat starting at 5 p.m. on July 5, stuffing the vending machine full of cheeseburgers for one evening only. Lukkar is also one half of the Shuckboyz, the roving oyster pop-up we told you about in May that serves raw and chargrilled oysters on patios around Atlanta, including at Pure Quill Superette.

🚘 Lee + White Parking Update

Beginning Sept. 1, the Lee + White complex along the Westside Beltline in West End will charge for parking at the complex, which includes ASW Distillery, breweries Monday Night and Wild Heaven, El Tesoro, Hop City Beer and Wine, Bovino After Dark, Boxcar, and a food hall. According to the Instagram post, the first two hours to park will remain free. After two hours, however, patrons will need to pay $5 for up to five hours of parking. For people parking beyond five hours, the fee becomes $10. In response to feedback, Lee & White plans to double the number of bike racks at the sprawling West End complex. Parking remains free at Lee + White through August.

🥩 New Milton Steakhouse

Chef Nick Leahy will open Vice Steak Bar at Heritage Walk in Milton on July 1, next door to his burger joint, Smash Burger by Vice. The two restaurants source beef from Leahy’s butcher shop and market, Vice Kitchen, on Medlock Bridge in Johns Creek. The menu at Vice Steak features a family-style platter serving up to six people, which comes with American wagyu and a cowboy ribeye accompanied by four side dishes and two sauces for $165.

🍻 Atlanta Brewery Expansion

The original location of Monday Night Brewing in Berkeley Park will debut its expansion in August, which also coincides with the opening of the new northwest section of the Beltline. Called The Grove, expect a taproom, patio, and an amphitheater-style outdoor space located adjacent to the new section of the pedestrian trail that connects Northside Drive with Howell Mill Road. Read more here.

⚾ Battery Atlanta Openings

Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux officially opened on Monday at the Battery Atlanta, just outside Truist Park, home of Braves baseball. The sports bar serves a Cajun-inspired food menu and features 50 TVs.

Shake Shack opens at the Battery Atlanta on June 30, and will include a double-sided bar with outdoor seating, a walk-up window serving beer and cocktails, free arcade games, and a hot dog cart on game days.

🥐☕ Midtown Coffee News

The Piedmont Park location of Henri’s Bakery is now open adjacent to the aquatic center for coffee, sandwiches, pastries, and other baked goods. Henri’s is currently open daily from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Over on Peachtree Street, the Midtown location of Spiller Park Coffee will likely open by the end of August at 999 Peachtree, in the same building as Lazy Betty. Owner Dale Donchey gave followers a peek at the progress at the new location, which will include coffee, toasts, and bagels. “I have a lot of personal history in that building, starting out with Hugh Acheson and Empire State South,” Donchey told Rough Draft last year about the new Midtown location. “And I’ve always wanted a Spiller Park sign on Peachtree. Now I’m getting one, and to me putting your mark on Peachtree Street like that is one of the most Atlanta things you can do.” Read more here.

🍽️ Food Events

Black chefs collective The New South will hold its next dinner at Auburn Angel in Sweet Auburn on June 29, to include eight courses of dishes by chefs Rodney Smith, Robert Butts, Demetrius Brown, Jaye Smith, Gary Caldwell, India Johnson, Carlos Granderson, and Chryssie Lewis. Tickets are $124.56 per person.

The Atlanta Music Arts and Culture Foundation (AMAAC) will host its inaugural Food & Spirits Fest, starting June 29, in conjunction with the FIFA 2025 Club Cup games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The festival takes place at Rodney Cook Sr. Park in Vine City and runs through July 5.

Tickets are now on sale for the annual Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, which runs Sept. 11-14. Expect four days of tasting tents, chef demonstrations, and special dinners. Tickets start at $99 per person.

$10M to Help Atlanta Entrepreneurs Expand

SPONSORED BY THRIVING CITIES FUND

🏙️ Two Atlanta-based companies, Flock Safety and Homegrown, have partnered to launch the $10M Thriving Cities Fund, supporting multi-location brick-and-mortar entrepreneurs across the city.

Entrepreneurs in Atlanta and beyond can now access growth capital without selling their ownership or putting their personal assets up as collateral. Neighborhood businesses like El Tesoro, Sugarcoat, and Switchyards were among the first to benefit.

➞ Is there a multi-location brick-and-mortar business you love? Send them to Thriving Cities Fund or Homegrown to learn more.

Is Tucker Meat Market Closed?

🤔 Social media was abuzz this week with speculation about the fate of Tucker Meat Market, a butcher shop known for its popular Mammoth Burger, after passers-by noticed that the establishment seemed to be out of business. Others noted that they observed people moving equipment out of the building, located on Brockett Road.

Rough Draft reporter Cathy Cobbs drove by the site on June 24 and June 25 and observed the front windows covered from the inside with brown paper, and a sign that said simply, “Kitchen closed today.” Through the windows, a blue tarp could be seen covering several pieces of equipment.

While the business phone is still in operation, calls are diverted to a voice mailbox that indicates that it is full, and messages cannot be left. Rough Draft also reached out to the meat market’s listed email address and is awaiting a response for clarification of the market’s status.

➡️ This story is developing. Read the latest from Cathy Cobbs.

A bar dedicated to women’s sports opens July 4 at Pullman Yards

🏃🏼‍♀️ Chelsea Fishman’s dream of opening Jolene Jolene as Atlanta’s first women’s sports bar is one step closer to reality.

On July 4, the women’s sports bar pop-up will take over the Brick and Mortar space at Pullman Yards in Kirkwood for an open-ended residency.

With Brick and Mortar providing the staff, food, and drinks, Fishman can focus her energy on continuing to build up Jolene Jolene’s profile in Atlanta. The Pullman Yards space gives Fishman some breathing room to search for a permanent location to eventually open Jolene Jolene while not having to spend time securing locations for the next set of pop-ups.

At the Market + Two Recipes

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS

🍅 It’s tomato season! Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets are partnering to bring you two tasty recipes you can make with ingredients from your local farmers market. This week, we’ve got recipes for savory pancakes with chanterelles and a tomato, peach, and whipped feta salad. Check out those recipes here.

🖋️ Today’s Side Dish was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.

🐶 Adorable restaurant mascots