Victory Sandwich Bar in Decatur will become American-Italian restaurant and bar Besto at the end of July.
The Decatur location of the sandwich shop and cocktail bar opened on Church Street in 2013 and is known for $6 sandwiches like the Han Cholo and Weed Eater, sides of cold ramen and flavor-of-the-day popcorn, and Jack and Coke slushies.
Victory will close on July 20. The Decatur restaurant space will then undergo a quick refresh of the interior – changing out signage and decor – before reopening as Besto on July 28.
Part of the Vic Brands restaurant group, the company also owns S.O.S. Tiki Bar around the corner in Decatur, along with Lloyd’s and Stereo on DeKalb Avenue and the original Victory Sandwich Bar in the heart of Inman Park. There are no plans to close that location of Victory.
With Decatur shifting to a more family-oriented city over the last decade, and fewer affordable restaurants available in the area, Jones said rebranding Victory to Besto allows the group to continue offering “reasonable dine-in and to-go” options on Church Street.
“We’ve been in Decatur for 12-plus years now, and the demographic has changed around us. When we opened, there was a vibrant scene of younger folks living and working in Decatur,” Vic Brands co-founder Ian Jones told Rough Draft. “It is no longer an affordable place for people in their early 20s and 30s to live, as they are generally priced out of housing in the area.”
What to expect at Besto
Besto will lean casual and slightly “Old World” in vibe. A counter-service lunch menu will include Italian-style sandwiches, salads, and cannolis for dessert, along with coffee. At dinner, the menu shifts to full service, with American-Italian style entrees like a meatball sub, eggplant parmesan, chicken Milanese, and antipasto salads.
Like Lloyd’s, Besto will offer weekly specials, including lasagna on Wednesday nights and spaghetti dinners on Sundays. Fans of Lloyd’s martinis will find those at Besto, too, with a martini happy hour nightly from 5 to 7 p.m.
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Jones and his business partner Caleb Wheelus first opened Victory Sandwich Bar 15 years ago on Elizabeth Street in Inman Park. Victory relocated to its present location on Bernina Street in 2015 to make way for the Inman Quarter development on Elizabeth.
This isn’t the first rebrand for the restaurant group. In 2015, Vic Brands cocktail bar Paper Plane rebranded to S.O.S. Tiki Bar in Decatur. After opening Lloyd’s in 2018 as a bar and lounge, the group rebranded it to a pizzeria during the pandemic. Next door on DeKalb, Victory Coffee and Calamity would later become coffee shop and vinyl listening bar Stereo.
Vic Brands also owned Blade Runner-inspired cocktail bar Little Trouble at Westside Provisions District. It closed in 2023. New Orleans-based whiskey bar Barrel Proof opened in the space earlier this spring.
In other Decatur restaurant news, the team behind the Dank’s Deli pop-up will take over the Mother’s Best Fried Chicken restaurant space on Church Street to open Dan’s Snack Bar later this year.
Besto, 340 Church St., Decatur. Opening July 28. Victory Sandwich Bar closes July 20.
