Restaurant Closures + Openings + Slutty Vegan Update
It’s restaurant opening season
Thursday, Nov. 5 — Hello, internet friends.
🤧 First, I’d like to express my solidarity with everyone currently sick because whatever is going around is a whopper. Cancel your plans if you aren’t feeling well, stay hydrated, and consume soup containing chicken, garlic, or ginger, or ideally, all three.
In this week’s Quick Bites, get updates on several restaurant openings around metro Atlanta, a temporary restaurant closure in Alpharetta, and a pop-up coffee shop becoming permanent in Edgewood. There’s also a roundup of dining events, including a cookbook signing at Ansley Mall and a pie-making class in Avondale Estates.
Plus, keep reading for a roundup of the October restaurant openings you may have missed and a story on what’s next for Star Bar after it closes at the end of the year. And Sammie Purcell brings you a story on election night at Manuel’s Tavern. She spent the evening there on Tuesday getting reactions from those gathered to watch the returns and asking why they chose Manuel’s.
🗳️ Speaking of Manuel’s, read this week’s “Family Meal” for Beth McKibben’s piece on how the tavern became Atlanta’s unofficial political hub and election night hotspot. There’s also a recipe for a PSJ (pumpkin-sage julep) from Bicicletta in Peachtree City.
See y’all next week,
🍰 Sarra
🏀 Hawks Cup Night is here! See Jalen Johnson and the Hawks take on Trae Young and the Wizards this Friday, Nov. 6, plus a special halftime performance by Georgia’s own Bubba Sparxxx. Get tickets today! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Quick Bites
Openings
🔔 Bellfire and Old Nick’s are now open at The Lawrence Hotel in downtown Lawrenceville.
🌱 Singer-songwriter Chaka Khan opened Chaka’s Plantbaed Cafe, a vegan restaurant, at Serenbe in Chattahoochee Hills.
🍔 Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint is now open in Virginia-Highland.
🍹 A third location of cocktail and taco bar Muchacho opens in Decatur tomorrow.
🍨 Amorino Gelato is now open in Johns Creek. A grand opening takes place tomorrow and includes free gelato cones for the first 1,000 guests.
🥐 Tous les Jours Bakery is now open in Midtown and will celebrate its grand opening at 10 a.m. tomorrow. The first 130 customers will receive a free tumbler with purchase. Customers who spend $30 or more will receive a free tote bag.
🍻 StillFire, Tucker’s newest brewery, celebrates its grand opening with events and giveaways from Nov. 6-8.
Closings
🍺 Three Taverns Brewery closed its flagship location in Decatur. Locations at the Atlanta Dairies in Reynoldstown and on the Eastside Beltline near Ponce City Market remain open.
🥖 Dolce Spoon Bakery in Alpharetta has also closed.
🥞 Michelin-recommended restaurant Hen Mother Cookhouse in Alpharetta is temporarily closed following a small fire. The Johns Creek location remains open.
🫖 Dr. Bombay’s Underwater Tea Party, which moved from Candler Park to Grant Park last April, has relocated again, to A Little Baked Bakery in Ellijay.
Coming attractions
🧸 Bearly Awake Coffee plans to open a location in the Edgewood neighborhood.☕ Enid Coffee announced a second pop-up location in Decatur.
🇰🇷 Soon’s Bakery in Suwanee is rebranding as Tokki, a Korean-inspired dessert cafe.Industry updates
☕ Storyteller Goods in Reynoldstown expanded its hours from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
🌮 Chicheria Mexican Kitchen in Underwood Hills and Buena Vida Tapas Bar in the Old Fourth Ward will rebrand to locations of Amasa Mexican Kitchen. The first location of Amasa opened in Alpharetta earlier this fall.
🏅 Congratulations to Tucker Brewing Co. for wins at the Great American Beer Festival competition. The Tucker Lager earned a gold medal in the International Pilsner-Style category. Southern Storm took home the silver medal in the South German Wheat Ale category for the second year in a row.
🎂 Beloved Southern restaurant The Colonnade received a centennial proclamation during the Nov. 2 Atlanta City Council meeting. The restaurant officially turns 100 years old in 2027.
🎄 Amore e Amore transformed its Inman Park dining room into North (Highland) Pole for the holiday season. Holiday pop-up bar and restaurant season is set to begin soon.Add to your calendar
👨🍳 Le Cordon Bleu, Phaidon, and The Cook’s Warehouse at Ansley Mall will host master chef Eric Bédiat for a cooking demonstration and book signing Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. General admission costs $10 and includes access to the demonstration and book signing, a taste of the finished dish and a wine pairing, and entry in a raffle to win a set of cookbooks.
🍁 The Epicurean Theatre in Midtown will host A Perfectly Paired Friendsgiving, a Thanksgiving-inspired tasting and pairing event, Nov. 13, starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $65.
🍄 Foodwork and Neighborhood Supper Club will host chefs Courtney Fraley and Adam Head for a five-course mushroom dinner at Ellijay Mushrooms Nov. 14. The experience also includes a farm tour and kid-friendly activities. Tickets are $175 per person and $65 per child. Some ticket proceeds will benefit Ellijay Mushrooms.
🥳 Block & Drum in Chamblee will celebrate its second anniversary with a Nov. 15 party featuring live music, drinks, and food from The Alden at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $29.99 per person. A $169.99 package includes a tasting from The Alden chef and owner Jared Hucks.
🥧 Last Dance in Avondale Estates will host a holiday pie class Nov. 24 at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $80 and include a guided chocolate-pecan pie workshop with Chris Marconi, snacks, and two glasses of wine.
New $5.995M Morningside luxury estate
SPONSORED BY ATLANTA FINE HOMES
🏡 Built in 2026, this new estate in Atlanta’s Morningside neighborhood offers 10,500± square feet on 1.1± acres.
Listed for $5.995 million, the six-bedroom home on Wildwood Road features dual Calacatta Viola marble kitchen islands, a main-level primary suite, and expansive indoor-outdoor living spaces. The finished terrace level features a wine room, a billiard lounge, a fitness studio, and a dedicated golf simulator space, opening to a resort-style pool and spa.
Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty is Metro Atlanta’s No. 1 residential real estate company and No. 1 in luxury home sales above $1 million.
👉🏼 Explore our current listings.
Top Stories
Did you miss these October restaurant openings?
🍽️ October was a busy month for restaurant openings. New additions to Atlanta’s restaurant scene range from Italian spots in Alpharetta and Decatur to a lunch counter in South Downtown, a dirty soda shop in Brookhaven, and a cocktail and oyster bar in Johns Creek.
Catch up on the October restaurant openings here.
Little Five Points bar to close after 35 years
⭐ Star Community Bar will close at the end of the year after a 35-year run in Little Five Points. However, the space won’t stay empty for long, as Red Light Cafe, currently located at Amsterdam Walk, will take over in January.
⏩ Read more about what’s next for the space once Red Light relocates.
Why Manuel’s Tavern continues to draw crowds on election night
✔️ Manuel’s Tavern has been hosting election night watch parties since founder Manuel Maloof started the tradition back in 1970.
Rough Draft’s Sammie Purcell wanted to understand why Manuel’s continues to draw people on election night, and set out on Nov. 3 to chat with folks gathering to watch the returns there.
⏩ Read more about Sammie’s election night experience at Manuel’s.
🏀 Hawks Cup Night is here! See Jalen Johnson and the Hawks take on Trae Young and the Wizards this Friday, Nov. 6, plus a special halftime performance by Georgia’s own Bubba Sparxxx. Get tickets today! SPONSOR MESSAGE
At the Market
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS
🎃 Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets partner each week to bring you two recipes to make at home using fresh ingredients from your local farmers market. This week, pumpkin is on the menu. We’ve got recipes for a pumpkin Gruyère dip and a pumpkin orzo. Check out both recipes here.
That Slaps
🇵🇷 Have you visited or eaten in downtown Hapeville recently?
My husband and I stopped by Weepa Puerto Rico on the way back from the Georgia Renaissance Fest last weekend. The Puerto Rican restaurant opened earlier this year on North Central Avenue in downtown Hapeville.
We enjoyed everything, especially the guava wings, but I have to say the macaroni salad really stood out. It has a nice briny flavor and chunks of green olives, kind of like if pasta salad and a martini had a baby.
✈️ And next time we’re in the area, we plan to make a date out of it and visit the Delta Flight Museum nearby.
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 email me.
