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Former Woodfire Grill Chef Tyler Williams Is About to Open a Pizzeria on Lake Burton

The restaurant opens next week.

Tyler Williams.
Tyler Williams.
Alex Lassiter

Tyler Williams, who served as executive chef at the now-shuttered Woodfire Grill from January 2013 to May 2014, is getting back in the restaurant game. Williams plans to open By Hand, a Neapolitan-style pizzeria, next week on Lake Burton in Rabun County, reports Atlanta Magazine. The restaurant will reportedly serve salads and four 14-inch pies, and Sicilian-style slices may show up on the menu in the future.

Since leaving Woodfire Grill, Williams has been making pop-up appearances around Atlanta. His career path — moving from a high-profile restaurant in a major Georgia city to a vacation outpost — is similar to that of Whitney Otawka. Otawka was executive chef at Hugh Acheson's Cinco y Diez in Athens before it closed, and now she's culinary director at Greyfield Inn on Cumberland Island.