John C. Portman Jr. Returns With JP Atlanta

Famed architect and Georgia Tech alum John C. Portman Jr. is getting back in Atlanta's restaurant game. Portman, who launched former fine-dining staple The Midnight Sun at Peachtree Center in 1965, plans to open JP Atlanta in the new Hotel Indigo Downtown this December. The new project sets up shop in the same property Portman designed a half-century ago.

"The Midnight Sun came at a time when sophisticated fine dining in a continental setting was all but unknown here," Portman said in a prepared statement. "But our vision for Atlanta then, as it is now, was one of global reach, influence and importance. That demanded a restaurant of international prestige and power, so that's what we built."

The restaurant will offer a "tremendous level of culinary execution and attention to service in one of the city's most artistic and exciting restaurant environments," according to consultant Ray Camillo, who helped come up with the concept. The space's lavish design includes a 20-foot-tall skylight, "a grand staircase seemingly floating in space," and a glass canopy-topped bar.

Details on the menu haven't been confirmed, though officials at the restaurant tell Eater Atlanta it "will feature classic cooking styles and recognizable ingredients presented in new, interesting, and even surprising ways." JP Atlanta will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night service at the bar.