9 (p.m.) to 5 (a.m.) coffee, tea, dumplings in Marietta
Tuesday, Sept. 8 — Happy Tuesday! Welcome to the table.
This week’s “Family Meal” features a story from our social media producer and voice of Rough Draft reels, Summer Evans. She recently spent an evening at Terminus 72, a new late-night coffee shop in Marietta with atypical hours. It’s open from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., offering a third space for college students, night owls, and third-shift workers to gather. And Terminus 72 serves dishes like curry ramen, kimbap, and dumplings in broth.
➡️ Read more from Summer’s profile below.
Love a good club sandwich but find the classic hard to come by in Atlanta? I tell you why the club on the lunch menu at Murphy’s in Virginia-Highland should be on your radar.
Finally, Shirley Paucar, founder of Sweet Toppings ATL, shares her recipe for mini bolón bites, fried Ecuadorian dumplings made from green plantains usually filled with melted cheese.
Cheers!
🍸 Beth
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Terminus 72 Brings Marietta a
Late-Night Spot for Coffee, Tea, Dumplings
🦉 A block away from historic Marietta Square sits a new coffee shop with unusual hours meant for night owls, college students, and third-shift workers seeking space to gather, work, and study.
Ika Xiao, who immigrated to the U.S. from Shanghai, China, opened Terminus 72 on Polk Street in early July. But unlike most coffee shops that open with typical daytime hours, Terminus 72 opens at 9 p.m. and closes at 5 a.m.
Xiao opened the “experimental cafe” in Marietta to showcase Chinese culture in the city. When you walk through the door of Terminus 72, you’re met with Chinese calligraphy as part of the design, matcha KitKats on the tables, and soft Asian instrumental music playing in the background. The atmosphere is warm and eclectic, with colorful murals of flora and fauna adorning the walls. The calm, cozy space seats just 24 people.
7️⃣2️⃣ She came up with the name by combining Atlanta’s original moniker, Terminus, with the seventh month of the year (July) and her birthday (July 2).
Terminus 72 serves non-alcoholic drinks, from iced lattes to Chinese oolong to Japanese sencha (green tea). Xiao crafts each drink by hand with a manual espresso machine, French press, or pour-over. She wants to lean into the nostalgia of simpler times, especially in the current era of automatic and “grab-and-go” coffee orders, something Terminus 72 doesn’t offer.
The shop features a small food menu divided into “quickies” like curry ramen and “experimental” dishes such as “Slam-Dump Shanghai,” or vegan dumplings in broth.
DIY and secondhand furniture are spread throughout the small space, with no outdoor seating available. When you arrive, you pick up a number, find a seat, decide what you want to order, then approach the counter. Sometimes it can take people between 20 to 30 minutes before ordering, but no one seems to mind the wait.
📚 On a recent visit, a wide range of people settled in at Terminus 72 for the night, including area college students looking for a place to study, EMT workers on a break from runs to nearby Kennestone Hospital, and friends meeting after work to catch up.
Chattahoochee Tech student Gisele Lopez discovered the late-night spot on social media.
“I thought [the operating hours] were a typo or something, but I saw it on TikTok and confirmed that it was actually open 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.”
Xiao said the viral TikTok video generated so much attention that customers have been flocking to the small cafe in droves. But as much as she appreciates the business, she’s hesitant about the sudden spotlight.
West Cobb resident Matt Stigall is one of Xiao’s regulars. He helps out from time to time, handing out numbers or tending to customers waiting outside to keep the coffee shop from exceeding capacity.
☕ Stigall said he’s thankful for third spaces such as Terminus 72: “All the night places, not just in Georgia, but all over the country have shut down. There’s not a lot of places to be at at night, so when I saw this, I thought, ‘Yeah, we definitely need this.’ I’m here probably once a week.”
As a late-night spot, Terminus 72 also gives locals an alternative to the bar scene, which is exactly what Roswell resident and voice actor Andrew Lander was looking for: a place to work, meal prep, and unwind.
“After the World Cup was here, I felt like I really needed more of that community. And doing that over drinks is one way, but it seems that the people here are more artsy and low-key,” Lander said.
👥 Xiao hopes that Terminus 72 becomes a space for the community, possibly for book clubs to meet, to host art events, and even somewhere she can conduct her own interviews with guests in the future.
“I want this to be very local, something that we can all connect in, which is why I believe it’s so effective because people are like, ‘Wow, this is possible. We have a second home. We have a third space,'” Xiao said.
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Editor’s Pick
🥪 If there’s a club sandwich on the menu, chances are, I’m going to order it. At its most basic, the club consists of sliced turkey or chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and mayo layered between three slices of lightly buttered, toasted white bread cut into triangles. The sandwich typically comes with a side of fries — or at least it should, IMHO.
The club isn’t the sexiest of sandwiches, but it’s a crowd-pleaser nonetheless. However, not many clubs have wowed me in Atlanta. I’ve found the sandwich either underwhelmingly bland, or so overwrought it barely resembles a club and ought to be called something else.
🥑 Give the club on the lunch menu at Murphy’s in Virginia-Highland a try. Murphy’s keeps the club mostly classic, adding avocado to the lineup and opting for smoked candied bacon.
While a classic club includes a third slice of toasted bread in the middle to stabilize the sandwich stuffed with multiple, wet ingredients, the soft texture of the avocado acts almost like a glue when mushed together with the other ingredients, helping to hold everything in place.
👍 Not too heavy on the mayo, with the avocado lending subtle nuttiness and the candied bacon bringing in hints of smoky sweetness, the little adjustments to the club at Murphy’s still keep the sandwich classic at its heart. I didn’t even miss that the sandwich lacked a third layer of toast. And yes, Murphy’s serves its club with a side of fries.
🌱 Come spend a day on the farm! Love is Love’s Fall Plant Sale & Family Day is Sept. 12 in Mansfield. Shop certified organic plants, enjoy FREE gardening and foraging workshops, farm tours, local food, artisans, kids’ activities and more. Details here. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Recipe: Mini Bolón Bites
🇪🇨 This week, we’re sharing the recipe for mini bolón bites from Sweet Toppings ATL. Bolón is an Ecuadorian dumpling made from green plantains.
“One of the most traditional ways to enjoy it is bolón de verde — a hearty ball made from green plantain and typically filled with cheese, chicharrón (crispy pork), or a combination of both. Paired with a cup of coffee, bolón con café is more than breakfast; it is a tradition,” said Shirley Paucar, founder of Sweet Toppings ATL.
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