Key Points:
- Farm Burger closing at the end of December after five years in Virginia-Highland.
- The owners of neighboring Kinship Butcher & Sundry opening a restaurant in the Farm Burger space.
- Five other Farm Burger locations remain open in metro Atlanta, including in Midtown, Decatur, and Dunwoody.
The Virginia-Highland location of Farm Burger will close at the end of December after five years to make way for a new restaurant from Chef Myles Moody and sommelier Rachael Pack, the owners behind neighboring Kinship Butcher & Sundry.
Prior to Farm Burger, the building, once a former gas station, housed a location of Yeah Burger, which closed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Farm Burger co-founder George Frangos said that it took he and his business partner “five minutes to decide” their interest when they toured the vacated property at the corner of Virginia and North Highland avenues.
Within a year of opening in Virginia-Highland, Farm Burger reintroduced a farmers market back to the neighborhood, hosted in restaurant’s parking lot.
“We’re very pleased with the stamp we put on that and [the] re-energizing of Virginia-Highland post-COVID” Frangos told Rough Draft. In addition to grass-fed beef burgers, Farm Burger is known for serving pasture-raised meats, chicken sandwiches, and seasonal salads.
Closing the Virginia-Highland Farm Burger, however, wasn’t an easy decision, but one that made sense for everyone involved, Frangos added.
Related: Kinship Butcher & Sundry expanding to Grant Park with a cafe
Kinship Butcher & Sundry opened next door to Farm Burger in 2021, bringing Virginia-Highland a local butcher shop selling coffee, sandwiches, wine, and local pantry items.
This past summer, Moody and Pack introduced k|n, a four-seat, 12-course tasting menu held at Kinship’s counter. Next fall, the couple will open a second location of Kinship at the Beacon in Grant Park, which will feature a full-service cafe. Frangos wants to help Moody and Pack build on their momentum.
“We really do love the community and the neighborhood. I’ve known Rachael and Myles since they opened, and they’ve been talking about this project and restaurant going back two years,” Frangos said. “There are times we talked about collaborating on their project, and [we] just decided in the end to support them and help them do what they want right here in the neighborhood.”
Frangos confirmed the space will undergo a full renovation, reopening as a new restaurant, rather than an expanded Kinship. Moody alluded to a possible restaurant back in October when he and Pack spoke to Rough Draft about the upcoming Grant Park location of Kinship.
“The question really becomes how far, how big we go [with k|n],” Moody said at the time. “I would love to have a fine dining restaurant some day, given my background, but that’s a lot easier said than done.”
It’s unclear if k|n will evolve into the Farm Burger space, or continue in some capacity at the new restaurant. Moody and Pack plan to provide more details on their new restaurant in the next few weeks.
And although Frangos hates leaving the neighborhood, he believes the Farm Burger space is the right venue for Kinship’s next project. Plus, Farm Burger diehards can still visit the Midtown, Decatur, and Dunwoody locations.
Frangos and organic farmer and rancher Jason Mann first opened Farm Burger in Decatur 15 years ago. The organic burger joint now includes nine locations throughout the Southeast, with four locations in metro Atlanta and a stand at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
In 2023, a location of Farm Burger closed after 12 years on Piedmont Avenue in Buckhead. Rreal Tacos took over the space last year. The Grant Park location closed on Memorial Drive at the beginning of 2024.