Viet-Cajun restaurant Bon Ton will close on Sept. 30 after nearly a decade on Myrtle Street in Midtown. Co-owner Darren Carr sent an email to Rough Draft announcing the closure, following it up with an announcement on Instagram.
Carr also confirmed that The Waiting Room, the vibey cocktail lounge above Bon Ton, closed this week after three years in business.
“All good parties must eventually turn the lights on. After nine years of service, endless pours, and zero boring nights, Bon Ton has announced it will officially serve its last drink and dish on September 30th,” the Instagram post and email read.
“When Bon Ton first set up shop on Myrtle Street in Midtown back in 2017, the mission was simple: make great food, pour serious drinks, and build a space where nobody takes themselves too seriously,” Carr wrote. “Nine years, thousands of orders of Snow Crab, and a few broken glasses later, that dream became a legendary local staple.”
Rather than close immediately, Carr said Bon Ton will bid farewell to Atlanta with four weeks of revelry.
Bon Ton opened in 2017 in the former Top Flr space in Midtown as a collaboration between Carr, bartender Eric Simpkins, and Hieu Pham of Crawfish Shack. The New Orleans-style restaurant and bar became known for its food, along with cocktails like the frozen Irish coffee and Hurricane.
Simpkins, a veteran bartender who operated The Lawrence on Juniper Street in Midtown, teamed up with Carr to form Big Citizen Restaurant Group, opening other Atlanta restaurants, including WonderKid at Atlanta Dairies, The Waiting Room, and Rwby. The latter took over The Lawrence after it closed in 2023. Rwby has also since closed. The Juniper Street restaurant is currently home to La Santa Tacos & Bar.
With the closure of Bon Ton and The Waiting Room, no Big Citizen restaurants remain open in Atlanta.
Simpkins returned to his roots as a bartender and bar lead in 2024, landing behind the bar at Nadair in Woodland Hills. Nadair closed earlier this summer. But Simpkins was just named bar lead at Aria in Buckhead, overseeing the cocktail program at the critically acclaimed restaurant.
Rough Draft reached back out to Carr and Simpkins for more details on the decision to close Bon Ton, as well as their future plans. Carr referred to his previous statements. Simpkins has yet to return a request for comment.
