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Chicago’s Brown Bag Seafood Lands a Spot at Colony Square in Midtown

An Atlanta location of Donna Lee’s popular quick-serve sustainable seafood restaurant opens this summer next to Sushioki at Colony Square

Chicago restaurateur Donna Lee standing at the counter of one of her Brown Bag Seafood restaurants
Chicago restaurateur Donna Lee is opening an Atlanta location of her popular Brown Bag Seafood
The Wilbert Group
Beth McKibben is the editor and staff reporter for Eater Atlanta and has been covering food and cocktails locally and regionally for 12 years.

Chicago restaurateur Donna Lee is opening an Atlanta location of her popular Brown Bag Seafood Company restaurant this summer at Colony Square in Midtown. The counter-serve spot, located next to sushi restaurant Sukoshi at the complex, offers sustainable seafood on its menu at a relatively affordable price point served as salads, tacos, sandwiches, and grain bowls.

Lee and her team plan to use as many locally-based seafood distributors as possible at the Atlanta restaurant to continue Brown Bag’s mission of only serving “sustainably sourced seafood” approved by Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.

Atlanta marks Lee’s first location outside of the Chicago area. She chose Colony Square and the city, which includes a thriving seafood restaurant scene despite being landlocked, in order to bring a more casual, quick service seafood restaurant to Midtown’s weekday workforce and on-the-go community of residents and visitors.

Colony Square is currently undergoing a major revamp of its retail, residences, and restaurants. Once fully open, the complex will feature a 28,000-square-foot food hall, a hotel, a luxe dine-in movie theater, and several new restaurants, including a relocated Holeman and Finch Public House and a third location of Rumi’s Kitchen.

The Wilbert Group
The Wilbert Group

Brown Bag Seafood customers fill out their orders on reusable menus at the counter using dry erase markers by checking off their fish or protein of choice, how they want it served (bowl, taco, sandwich,) and a side to accompany the meal. The menu also features soups and larger entrees like a lobster roll, fish and chips, and a fish dinner plate as well as vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free options.

Lee founded Brown Bag Seafood in 2014. There are now 13 locations throughout Chicago.

The lobster roll at Brown Bag Seafood Neil John Burger
The Wilbert Group
The Wilbert Group