💗 Keep reading for cute drinks!
Jan. 29 — Hello, internet friends!
I don’t think you need me to remind you that this January has been an intense year. The news reports are overwhelming, and the below-freezing temperatures have overstayed their welcome IMO. Still, that doesn’t negate the bright spots I’ve seen this week, like the lock-in Our Bar ATL held last weekend for Sweet Auburn’s homeless community during the winter storm. In addition to providing a warm space, the bar teamed up with Misfit Love Mafia to provide meals. I am continuously amazed by their routine teamwork, harm reduction, and community betterment.
In this week’s “Side Dish,” I give you my mini review on Laylo Cafe, an adorable new coffee and pastry spot in Chamblee.
🍇 Get the scoop on a new bar on the Beltline and the most recent West Midtown restaurant closure. There’s also details on So. Fox, Kinship’s upcoming Virginia-Highland restaurant, the social media bagel superstar opening next week on the Beltline, and the new management company taking over Forth Hotel in the Old Fourth Ward.
ICYMI, here’s a link to Tuesday’s “Family Meal,” where Beth reports on {s}table, the new Southern restaurant coming to Dunwoody. And Auburn Angel Executive Chef Robert Butts shares a childhood snow day stew recipe perfect for cold days.
See y’all next week.
🎂 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
Quick Bites
Restaurant openings
🍸 Bar Lewis opened directly across from Lewis Barbecue at Ansley Mall this week. Located right off the Beltline, Bar Lewis features ample patio seating, apt for people-watching and drinking cocktails. The interior, meanwhile, includes a kitschy 1970s atmosphere (think floral wallpaper, dark terrazzo, and framed cross stitch art).
🍵 Coffee, matcha, and dessert spot Laylo Cafe is open with a limited menu at the Manor Chamblee complex. Look for the full menu to debut on Feb. 6, and keep reading for a mini review.
☕ Foxtail Coffee Co. is opening a Dunwoody location at Ashford Lane on Jan. 30. It joins locations in Buckhead, Decatur, Midtown, and Tech Square.
Restaurant closures
🌯 Torchy’s Tacos on Howell Mill Road on Atlanta’s Westside will close on Feb. 4 after less than a year in business, as first reported by Tomorrow’s News Today.
🌮 It also appears that all remaining Yumbii locations have closed. Earlier this month, owners Carson and Katy Young listed the Midtown, Toco Hills, and Westside Yumbii locations for sale, along with the food truck and catering business.
Coming attractions
🍹 Bucket Listers is bringing “The Golden Girls” Kitchen to Pullman Yards next month. The pop-up cafe will open on Feb. 19 with a 1980s Miami vibe a la “The Golden Girls” kitchen, lanai, and frequent haunts like The Rusty Anchor. The menu features everything from cocktails served in glass purses to a selection of cheesecakes. Tickets go on sale Feb. 5.
🍻 ICYMI Reformation Brewery will open a new location in Kennesaw. Look for the brewery to open on Main Street in downtown Kennesaw next year.
Add to your calendar
🥑 Spiller Park Coffee just announced it’s ditching its egg and avocado surcharge to bring pricing back in line with the current market. “Our goal is to stay transparent, keep the menu approachable, and continue serving the good stuff without cutting corners,” a post on Instagram reads.
🍞 At Heart Panaderia is holding a pan dulce pop-up at Opo Coffee in Decatur on Jan. 31, starting at 10 am. Expect baker Teresa Finney’s greatest hits, including her conchas, cake slices, cookies, and savory vegetarian empanadas.
🌳 Food Well Alliance is currently holding its annual fruit tree sale. The online presale runs through Feb. 9. You can pick up preorders at the Grant Park Farmers Market on Feb. 15. An in-person sale takes place on Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 970 Jefferson St.
🍽️ Powerhouse chef collective Stolen Goods will hold its fourth annual Edna Lewis Sunday Supper on Feb. 22. The collaborative dinner will feature dishes from chefs Max Hines (Breaker Breaker), Demetrius Brown (Bread & Butterfly/Heritage), Justin Dixon (Humble Mumble), and Cleophus Hethington (Lucia LA). The multi-course, family-style meal costs $199 per person and includes a welcome cocktail and a parting gift to take home. Tickets on sale here.
😋 Taste of Alpharetta returns for its 34th year on May 14, from 5-10 pm. The festival is currently looking for restaurants to participate in this year’s food event. Restaurants can apply here through April 1.
Roswell Restaurant Weeks
SPONSORED BY VISIT ROSWELL AND ROSWELL INC.
🍽️ Roswell Restaurant Weeks returns for its 11th year, now until Feb. 7. This year, 59 participating locations are creating delicious prix fixe menus for you to enjoy. Roswell Restaurant Weeks celebrates the vibrant dining scene and culinary diversity found in Roswell.
🎁 Check out the new interactive event guide with ways for you to explore the restaurants, check in, earn badges, and win prizes.
🎉 Enjoy the most delicious time of the year in Roswell.
Top Stories From the Week
So. Fox to open in old Farm Burger space
🦊 Chef Myles Moody and sommelier Rachael Pack will open So. Fox in the old Farm Burger Va-Hi space this May. Named after an indigenous Southeastern grape varietal (the Muscadine or Scuppernong, also known as the “Southern Fox”), So. Fox will focus on hyper-seasonal cooking and low-intervention wine in a casual space.
⏩ Read more about So. Fox here.
Even more bagels come to the Beltline
🥯 Next Friday, Feb. 6, Connecticut-based chain PopUp Bagels opens its first Georgia location on the Eastside Beltline. But if you’re looking for a sliced bagel sandwich a la Emerald City Bagels (just steps away on the Beltline), you won’t find it at PopUp. These are “grippable, rippable, and dippable” soft bagels meant to dunk in schmear.
⏩ Learn more about PopUp Bagels here.
FORTH Hotel and restaurants under new management
🆕 Less than two years after opening, the Beltline-adjacent FORTH Hotel and its restaurants, which include Il Premio, Elektra, Moonlight, and a private social club, are now under Davidson Hospitality Group’s management.
⏩ Learn more about the hotel’s management shift here.
At the Market + Two Recipes
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS
🧈 Every week, Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets are partnering to bring you two recipes that you can make at home using ingredients from your local farmers market. This week, we’ve got an herby, homemade butter and dumplings to help celebrate the Lunar New Year in February. Check out both recipes here.
🫶 The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation has fueled every major IBD breakthrough. Think of someone you love living with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Honor them by giving today and supporting our Torch Gala on Sat., Feb. 7. SPONSOR MESSAGE
That Slaps!
🍓 I am not afraid to admit that I get a good bit of restaurant intel from social media. The other day, for example, I encountered a video showcasing Laylo Cafe, which is currently in “soft opening” mode in Chamblee. The cafe was worth the drive.
Laylo managed to make the industrial space feel serene with muted tones and a soft aesthetic. The mousse desserts at the counter look like they’ve been freshly knit. I tried a jammy strawberry oat matcha latte ($10.50) and an Earl Grey cake made with joconde biscuit, blueberry and chestnut cream, and Earl Grey mousse ($13.50).
🍇 If I have to say anything critical, it’d be that Laylo Cafe is definitely more of a gathering space than somewhere to hole up and get work done, at least for me. The music was simply too loud — and too good — for me to focus, and that’s on me, not them. Laylo Cafe is where you go to catch up with friends over matcha and desserts that aren’t overwhelmingly sweet, not to grind out stories.
The full menu and hours launch at Laylo Cafe on Feb. 6.
We’re always looking for recipes to highlight on Rough Draft. If you have a favorite dish from a restaurant you want the recipe for, please send me an email to sarra@roughdraftatlanta.com.
