Charleston-based Lewis Barbecue will open its first Georgia location at Ansley Mall in Piedmont Heights on Dec. 8. The barbecue restaurant flanks the Beltline, with a blue bridge spanning across a gully that provides pedestrians and cyclists on the trail direct access to Ansley Mall.
A counter-service restaurant specializing in Texas-style barbecue (pit master and founder John Lewis spent his formative years in El Paso and Austin), Lewis Barbecue first opened in Charleston nearly a decade ago. The Charleston location was just added to the Michelin Guide to the American South as a Bib Gourmand.
Lewis told Rough Draft he’s been scouting venues for an Atlanta location for about six years. “I’ve been trying to find a perfect spot that met all the needs that we needed to do to this operation, which is pretty big,” he said.
Lewis hopes his Atlanta restaurant and bar can function as another gathering spot within the sprawling shopping complex bordering Midtown, Piedmont Heights, and Morningside. He’s spent the past six months familiarizing himself with the area and Ansley Mall. Lewis said he eats at neighboring Bantam & Biddy at least twice a week.
The trademark of Texas-style barbecue comes in the commitment to beef. In addition to sliced and chopped beef brisket, Lewis Barbecue offers beef back ribs daily and pastrami, chicken-fried steak, and prime rib as weekly specials.
“I think beef is better than pork,” Lewis said. “I mean, would you rather have a steak or a pork chop if you had to choose one?”
Texas-style barbecue also involves an entirely different cooking process. Instead of cooking over direct heat, pitmasters use offset heat.
“There’s a firebox all the way on one end and the meats are in a different chamber there,” Lewis explained. “It’s all live fire and live wood, but it’s indirect. It’s almost near 100-percent combustion on the wood, since you’re not cooking over coals. So, it’s not quite as smoky.”
Everything at Lewis Barbecue is cooked from scratch, meaning meats spend about 18 hours in the pit. Lewis engineered all the barbecue pits himself. “They’re specially designed just to make perfect, perfect, perfect brisket,” he said.
The streamlined ordering process consists of stations for cold sides, hot sides, and meats. It’s efficient, but intentional, like a Buc-ee’s with higher standards. Everything is sold by the pound. Regional Texas ingredients, like green chile (make space for the corn pudding and the barbecue sauce) and pinto beans (add pico de gallo on top), also make an appearance. And yes, you should absolutely spend the extra $1.50 on a hunk of cheddar cheese.
An open-air smokehouse on the roof overlooks the Beltline below. There’s a walk-up window for ordering takeout at the foot of trail bridge and an outdoor courtyard with seating for more than 200 people.
Bar Lewis, located opposite the restaurant, comes fully stocked with spirits and an extensive selection of bottled sodas, including Cheerwine, Red Rock, and Boylan Bottling Company. The atmosphere at the bar evokes 1970s-era Texas, with clusters of mid-century furniture pointing inward to form conversation pits, funky folk art on vintage wallpaper, and a terrazzo bar top bordered with paisley-embossed leather.
“Atlanta has one of my favorite food scenes in the country,” Lewis said of opening his first Atlanta restaurant. “Ansley Mall is a gathering place for all the neighborhoods around it. [The location is] the perfect fit, being right on the Beltline.”
Opening Dec. 8 at Ansley Mall. Lewis Barbecue, 1544 Piedmont Ave., Piedmont Heights. Hours: Sunday–Monday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.Â