Lake and Oak BBQ Opens in the East Lake Neighborhood on July 3

A new Southern barbecue restaurant called Lake and Oak BBQ opens for takeout Friday, July 3, in the former Greater Good BBQ space in East Lake, owner chef Todd Richards confirms to Eater Atlanta. The Hosea + 2nd development restaurant is co-owned by the award-winning chef and cookbook author and fellow Atlanta chef Josh Lee.

For now, Lake and Oak is only open Friday through Sunday for takeout and is operating more as a weekend popup. The patio is available for seating, but there is no timeline set for when the restaurant will open for dine-in service. Online ordering begins on July 3 at 11 a.m. Food is picked up from a takeout window.

Richards, who also owns hot chicken food stall Richards’ Southern Fried at Krog Street Market, is the culinary director of Jackmont Hospitality, which operates One Flew South and Chicken + Beer at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Lee is the former executive chef of Superica and Chicken + Beer, and has worked over the years at other notable Atlanta-area restaurants like Delia’s Chicken Sausage Stand and Max Lager’s Wood-Fired Grill and Brewery.

Lake and Oak pays homage to “classic BBQ techniques.” Meats are smoked using a combination of charcoal and white oak and pecan woods. The opening menu features rib tips and half and whole slabs of ribs, smoked wings, a half smoked chicken, and brisket, along with sides like Brussels sprouts and cabbage slaw, collard green fried rice, and smoked mac and cheese. The menu will eventually include pulled pork sandwiches, catfish, baked beans, and jalapeño creamed corn, along with cocktails.

Lake and Oak BBQ

As for Richards’ forthcoming southwest Atlanta barbecue restaurant slated to open inside the Anderson’s Old Fashioned Bar-B-Que building in Florida Heights, the chef tells Eater it’s been delayed. Once open, the yet-named restaurant will serve Southern and Chicago-style barbecue as well as dishes from his cookbook and former barbecue restaurant Rolling Bones.

Richards opened Richard’s Southern Fried in 2016, followed by Chicken + Beer with Atlanta-based rapper Chris “Ludacris” Bridges on Concourse D at the Atlanta airport. The chef helped open One Flew South on Concourse E with chef Duane Nutter and barman Jerry Slater (H. Harper Station, the Expat in Athens). Then in 2018, Richards debuted his first cookbook called Soul: A Chef’s Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes.

Open Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Follow on Instagram and Facebook for updates and menus.

2358 Hosea L. Williams Drive NE, Atlanta. lakeandoakbbq.com.

• Richards’ Southern Fried Is Certified Open at Krog Street Market [EATL]
• Chef Todd Richards Plans to Open His Barbecue Restaurant in Florida Heights [EATL]