2 Chainz-Backed Escobar Restaurant Reverses Decision to Reopen the Dining Room

As restaurants across metro Atlanta reopen for dine-in service today, rapper 2 Chainz and partner Mychel “Snoop” Dillard reversed their decision to reopen the dining room at Escobar Restaurant & Tapas in Castleberry Hill. The restaurant now joins a growing list of Atlanta-area establishments opting to remain takeout only until further notice.

The partners first announced last Thursday that the dining room would reopen on Peters Street, reemploying Escobar’s 120 furloughed staff members. But, after weighing the set of 39 health and safety requirements from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, the pair reconsidered that decision on Friday afternoon.

In an interview clip with talk show host Tamron Hall, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says 2 Chainz personally reached out to inform her of the decision not to reopen Escobar’s dining room this week. “He reached out to me and told me that he would not be opening because he is listening to reason and logic and what he is saying is that I am not going to risk putting my employees in harm’s way because we are opening up too soon.”

A number of Atlanta-area restaurants confirmed plans to reopen for dine-in service this week, including Waffle House, Moe’s Original BBQ, Rocky Mountain Pizza, and Bantam Pub, and restaurants throughout Marietta, Sandy Springs, and Roswell, north of Atlanta.

Bottoms has widely criticized the decision to allow businesses like spas and hair and nail salons to reopen and restaurants to resume dine-in service. Following the governor’s press conference last Monday, the mayor told ABC News Prime she was unsure of the data Gov. Kemp referenced to make his controversial decision to lift statewide restrictions on certain businesses, asking Atlanta residents to continue to remain home. Georgia’s shelter-in-place order is set to expire on Thursday, April 30, at 11:59 p.m.

The mayor issued an administrative order to convene an advisory council to “outline a safe and thoughtful framework” to get Atlanta’s “economy back on track without endangering public health.” During a teleconference with the Atlanta City Council last Thursday morning, the mayor also asked her legal team to look into the governor’s order and provide “feedback” on “what we can do as a city.” The governor’s latest executive order supersedes any similar orders mandated on the local level.

Gov. Kemp is expected to give his next public COVID-19 update on Monday, April 27, at 4:30 p.m. Watch the governor’s press briefing live via Facebook or gpb.org/coronavirus.

There are now 23,773 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia, with 942 reported deaths, as of 12 p.m. Monday, April 27. The next update takes place at 7 p.m. Monday evening.

Stay home if sick. Check the Georgia Department of Public Health website for guidance and twice-daily updates on the latest number of reported COVID-19 cases.

• Keep Track of How the Coronavirus Is Impacting Atlanta’s Food Scene
• Atlanta mayor says legal team is looking into Kemp’s decision to reopen Ga. businesses [WSB-TV]