Restaurant Closures + Openings + Slutty Vegan Update
May 15 — It’s Thursday! Time for a little “Side Dish.”
For today’s Side Dish, we’re offering two recipes, including one for a twist on cacio e pepe using spring greens and garlic from the farmers market. We also have stories on two big restaurant closures in Virginia-Highland and Inman Park.
➕ Plus, read about the new restaurant joining the lineup at the block-wide Spring Quarter development in Midtown. A Mexican restaurant, a Japanese robata grill and sushi spot, and a rooftop omakase chef’s counter, all announced in 2024, should open by year’s end at Spring Quarter.
As always, we have the latest dining news to know, including updated details on the renovation and reopening of Slutty Vegan’s original location in Westview and a flurry of Westside restaurant intel.
And, 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 story on a community Facebook group with over 40,000 members influencing Atlanta’s Asian restaurant scene, and where to find a $20 wine flight deal paired with pop-up restaurants in Chamblee.
Cheers from the Rough Draft dining team!
🍸 Beth and 🍰 Sarra
🚌 Tucker families: Now is the time to tour Greater Atlanta Christian School and see why your neighbors choose GAC for top-tier academics, Christian faith, and a caring Infant–12th grade community. Plus, a.m. and p.m. bus routes offer convenience for Tucker families. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Have You Heard?
🎉 Iconic Restaurant Celebrates 80 Years
Mary Mac’s Tea Room will celebrate 80 years in Midtown on Oct. 20. Opened in 1945 by Mary MacKenzie, the Southern restaurant began life on Ponce de Leon Avenue with one dining room. It now sports six dining rooms and a bar, and has played host to numerous public figures over the years, including the Dalai Lama, James Brown, Beyoncé, and Jimmy Carter.
Ownership of Mary Mac’s changed hands in 2020, when Taco Mac’s Harold Martin, Jr., Michael and John Michael Bodnar, and Bryan Rand purchased the restaurant from John Ferrell. Ferrell owned Mary Mac’s for 25 years. On Oct. 20, people who purchase an entrée at Mary Mac’s will receive complimentary Georgia peach cobbler for dessert.
💔 Farewell, Eats
Speaking of Ponce restaurant icons, Eats will close on Oct. 18 after 33 years.
Since the closure announcement two weeks ago, lines to dine at the beloved meat-and-three have snaked out the door. At times, lines have seen people waiting for more than an hour to indulge in one final meal before Eats closes for good on Saturday.
Owner Bob Hatcher indicated that Eats has lost money since the pandemic. The situation worsened in 2023, with multiple nearby construction projects mucking up traffic along Ponce, leading to a drop-off in customers. Located across from Ponce City Market, Eats is known for its affordable menu of comfort food dishes, including jerk chicken plates, Southern-style vegetables, and pasta.
🥂 Restaurant Opening
FNF Hot Burger will open at Halidom Eatery in East Atlanta on Oct. 18. Owned by Vic Tran, the menu consists of burgers and hot dogs topped with a sauce that comes in six levels of spice, from mild to fiery.
👉 Coming Attractions
It appears a third location of Miami-based Neapolitan pizzeria Mister 01 will take over the former Char Korean space on North Highland in Inman Park, according to Tomorrow’s News Today. Char closed earlier this year after nearly a decade at the Inman Quarter complex. Mister 01 will become the second pizzeria along this stretch of North Highland. Just a block away, longtime restaurant and pizzeria Fritti also serves Neapolitan-style pizzas. Mister 01 includes locations in Buckhead and Sandy Springs.
Close Company, the new Beltline cocktail bar from Death & Co., will open on Nov. 6 on the plaza Level of Tower 2 at the New City development along Angier Avenue.
🎃 The Great(est) Pumpkin
A California man took pumpkin-growing to the extreme this year, winning the annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off contest with a gargantuan gourd tipping the scales at 2,346 pounds. That’s a little over one ton of pure pumpkin.
📆 Add to Your Weekend Calendar
On Oct .18, Chef Jeremy Sewall of Row 34 and Erin Murray of “The Local Palate” will host a lunch and book signing event at Lucian Books & Wine in Buckhead. The lunch event celebrates the release of their new cookbook, “Everyday Chef”, and begins at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $85 per person and include a three-course lunch and a signed copy of the cookbook.
Taste of Chamblee returns on Oct. 18, from 3-8 p.m., with over 50 local restaurants and bars participating. The festival also features live music, an area for kids, a beer garden for watching college football, and a Wine Down Tent for cocktails and wine. Free to attend.
Atlanta’s African Restaurant Week continues, with a free tasting event and festival on Oct. 18 at 381 Edgewood Ave., from noon-7 p.m. The week spotlights small, independent restaurants and the food and culture of the African diaspora. Check out the Atlanta restaurants participating in this year’s restaurant week. Free to attend.
Like oysters and want to help save the waters in which they live? Head over to Kimball House in Decatur on Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. for the annual Landlocked event, hosted by nonprofit organization Oyster South. The day party features dozens of chefs and farmers from around the South doling out a variety of oyster and barbecue dishes, along with other food and drinks. Tickets are $203 per person and include unlimited food and drinks, a raffle, and a live auction. A portion of the ticket price also serves as a donation to Oyster South.
Diwali, the five-day Hindu festival of lights, kicks off on Oct. 20. Decatur’s Chai Pani will celebrate Diwali on Oct. 21, from 5-10 p.m., with food and drink specials, a DJ, photobooth, sparklers, and other festive activities. The night culminates in the restaurant’s annual fireworks show at 8 p.m.
Taste the World in Chamblee
SPONSORED BY DISCOVER DEKALB
🍽️ Hungry for fun? A Taste of Chamblee is serving you full plates on Oct. 18 from 3 p.m.-8 p.m.
Imagine global bites + Chamblee flavors, artisan markets, live music, LED screens with big matches, beer gardens, and family-friendly spaces. Young chefs are waiting to showdown in a taco-themed battle you don’t want to miss. No ticket required – just join us, explore at your leisure, and fuel your stomach and your sense of adventure.
✨ We hope you’ll make Chamblee your flavor destination this October!
Top Stories From the Week
Raging Burrito for sale, but not closing in Decatur
🌯 Decatur Square restaurant Raging Burrito is for sale, but it’s not closing, according to one of the owners. The decision to sell comes down to co-owner Scott Herman’s plans to retire, and his business partner, Parham Savadkoohi, wanting to step away from the restaurant business.
However, as news spread this week of the impending sale, people began flooding social media with their concerns over the possible closure of Raging Burrito. Savadkoohi immediately shut those fears down and reassured people they weren’t selling to “just anyone.”
➡️ Read the full story from Beth here.
Midtown’s sprawling Spring Quarter development debuts first restaurants
🍣 Three years after breaking ground, Midtown development Spring Quarter welcomed its first two restaurants: Chef Fuyuhiko Ito’s (Umi, MF Buckhead) Celestia, a cocktail bar and lounge, and ISHIN, an adjacent omakase counter.
Celestia’s current menu focuses on “contemporary international” cuisine, including dishes like wagyu ravioli, oysters and caviar, and lobster. ISHIN, a 16-seat omakase counter, offers two seatings, starting at 5:30 p.m., five nights a week. Here, you’ll find a chef’s choice selection of nigiri, crudo, and yakizakana (grilled fish).
Located on the 8th floor of the Ten Twenty Spring office tower on Spring Street, expect sake, wine, and cocktails at both Celestia and ISHIN.
➡️ Read more about the restaurants from Sarra here.
Surprise! Glide Pizza will open in South Downtown, ahead of the World Cup
🍕 Just weeks after opening his first full-service pizzeria in Decatur, Glide Pizza owner Rob Birdsong announced plans to open a second, full-service location next year on Mitchell Street in South Downtown.
Slated to open ahead of the World Cup matches taking place in June and July at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the pizzeria will share a 40-seat courtyard space with chefs Todd Ginsberg and Josh Kim’s new Mitchell Street restaurant.
The design will lean nostalgic, similar to Glide Pizza in downtown Decatur, and feature a slice counter, seating for 50 people, a DJ booth with regular DJs, and turntables for playing vinyl records.
➡️ Read more from Beth’s exclusive here.
🚌 Tucker families: Now is the time to tour Greater Atlanta Christian School and see why your neighbors choose GAC for top-tier academics, Christian faith, and a caring Infant–12th grade community. Plus, a.m. and p.m. bus routes offer convenience for Tucker families. SPONSOR MESSAGE
At the Market + Two Recipes
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS
🥣 Each week, Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets are partnering to bring you two recipes that you can make at home using fresh ingredients from your local farmers market. This week, it’s soup season! We’ve got two tasty soups for you to try, one from Thailand and one from Morocco. Click here to read both recipes.
🖋️ Today’s Side Dish was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
