Key points:
- Collaborative pop-up LikeMinds will open in the former BrewDog space at Krog District in June and run through September.
- The LikeMinds founders are Atlanta hospitality veterans, including from Smith’s Olde Bar and Westside Motor Lounge.
- In addition to food and drinks, LikeMinds will host events, including live DJ sets, music performances, and games.
LikeMinds, a pop-up sports bar, will open in the former BrewDog space at Krog District next month. The controversial British brewpub closed suddenly in March at the Krog District, following the sale of BrewDog’s UK assets to US-based Tilray Brands.
BrewDog’s closure left behind a gaping 12,000-square-foot vacancy along the Eastside Beltline. LikeMinds hopes to fill that vacancy, albeit temporarily.
Open from June to September, LikeMinds is a collaboration between Westside Motor Lounge, Smith’s Olde Bar, Frazie’s Meat & Market, and Bunker Design, as well as other local partners.
Many of the founding members of LikeMinds include restaurant industry veterans, like Kelly Campbell and Elizabeth Feichter (Southern Culinary & Creative, original founders of the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival), Beau Nolen (Smith’s Olde Bar), Mark Frazier (Frazie’s Meat & Market), and Julian Hower (Fox Bros. BBQ, Smith’s Olde Bar).
Related story:
• Beleaguered UK brewpub BrewDog closes Atlanta location
The team behind LikeMinds has been developing the concept for nearly a year. However, they weren’t sure whether LikeMinds would come to life as an event, festival, or permanent venue.
“When the Krog District space became available, the answer turned out to be all three. Twelve thousand square feet, indoor and outdoor, sitting directly on the Eastside BeltLine — it’s a room that can host a weekly programming calendar, anchor a four-month festival arc, and operate as a full hospitality venue, all at once,” Campbell said.
The group considers LikeMinds a temporary neighborhood living room for the Krog District that happens to sit on one of the busiest sections of the Beltline in Atlanta.
Plans call for the sprawling space to be largely modeled after the concept for Westside Motor Lounge, a collection of indoor and outdoor bars, restaurants, and events spaces on the edge of English Avenue near Mercedes-Benz Stadium. At LikeMinds, people will experience a similar set-up, with both indoor and outdoor events and attractions, highly curated menus for specific spaces, and touches of hi-fi listening bar culture in a nod to Westside Motor Lounge’s Echo Room.
Nolen helped develop events and attractions for LikeMinds, such as regular live music, DJs, games, and sports-watching parties.
Expect dishes like corn fritters, galbi egg rolls, and loaded fries, in addition to entrees such as a vermicelli salad and smashburger. Frazie’s will also offer sandwiches, including the market’s popular Hoss sandwich made with 16-hour smoked pork shoulder tossed in bourbon barbecue sauce and the Flower Child with marinated Portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes, and arugula. Weekends will feature brunch from Vietnamese-Texas barbecue pop-up Pho Cue, which did pop-ups at Smith’s Olde Bar after the restaurant closed in Glenwood Park.
Look for cocktails from Dana Roberts of Westside Motor Lounge, along with beer, wine, THC beverages, and non-alcoholic drinks.
“This idea started with a simple goal—create a space where people can find their people,” Campbell continued. “What makes LikeMinds special is the team behind it. This is a group with shared history, shared values, and a real passion for hospitality coming together to build something that only exists for a moment.”
What will take over the space once LikeMinds completes its residency remains to be seen. Krog District owners 26 Street Partners did not reveal information on possible future tenants for the space.
LikeMinds, 112 Krog St., across from Krog Street Market. Opening in early June. Open daily.
