Ponce City Market Restaurateur Expands Into Jonathan Waxman’s Former Space

Tal Baum, the owner of Ponce City Market Italian restaurant and market Bellina Alimentari, opens a new full-service restaurant called Atrium this winter in the former Brezza Cucina space on the first floor of the central food hall.

Led in the kitchen by Oliva Restaurant Group culinary director chef Brandon Hughes, the menu for Atrium will include vegetable and pasta dishes, crudo, and a selection of sharable entrees.

Baum has again tapped Atlanta-based firm Smith Hanes to create the design for Atrium, with the restaurant and menu described as “Modern American with European influence.” The firm handled the design of her restaurants Aziza and Falafel Nation at Westside Provisions District.

The design for Atrium features a tropical motif mixed with floral and large leaf patterns set against pinks, greens, and golds throughout the space, along with a mural by Savannah-based artist Kipper Millsap and elaborate floral arrangements from Pinker Times. Upon entering Atrium from the food hall, a lounge area will be separated by curtains. In the dining room, expect a long, pink banquette lined with tables, more seating scattered about the restaurant, and a central wraparound bar.

Smith Hanes Studio

Smith Hanes Studio

Baum opened Bellina Alimentari in 2015 inside the then fledgling food hall at Ponce City Market. In 2019, she opened Israeli restaurant Aziza and falafel stand Falafel Nation at Westside Provisions District, beneath Ford Fry’s steakhouse Marcel. Then, just two months prior to the pandemic-related shutdowns last year, Baum opened Israeli-style shipudiya or skewer house Rina at the Ford Factory Lofts on Ponce de Leon Avenue.

“All of our restaurants at Oliva represent chapters of my life and the various places in which I’ve lived. Rina, Aziza, and Falafel Nation symbolize my early life and growing up in Israel; Bellina Alimentari is an ode to my years living in Italy, and Atrium is a manifestation of a current chapter experiencing the evolution of dining in America,” Baum says in a prepared statement.

Eater reached out for further details on Atrium.

Last year, market owner Jamestown announced a 500,000-square-foot expansion of the property that will eventually include a 400-unit tower and 100,000-square-foot building featuring office, retail, and new restaurant stalls in the food hall.

Six new food and retail stalls open this year in the expanded portion of the central food hall, including a stall from Vietnamese restaurant Vietvana and a rotisserie chicken stall called Nani’s Rotisserie Chicken from Chai Pani and Botiwalla chef Meherwan Irani. The expansion adds an additional 5,000 square feet to the first floor of the food hall.

In February, Slutty Vegan founder Aisha “Pinky” Cole opened vegan restaurant and cocktail bar Bar Vegan on the second floor of the central food hall. Cole teamed up with Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks owner Derrick Hayes to open Dinkie’s inside Bar Vegan, a takeout restaurant serving vegan versions of Big Dave’s cheesesteaks and egg rolls. A location of trendy salad and grain bowl chain Sweetgreen opened at Ponce City Market in June next to SoulCycle on the North Avenue side of the complex.

• Israeli-Style Skewer Restaurant Rina Channels Tel Aviv Beach Vibes on the Beltline [EATL]
• Peek Inside ‘Modern’ Israeli Restaurant Aziza, Opening at Westside Provisions District [EATL]
• All Bellina Alimentari coverage [EATL]
• Ponce City Market Food Hall Expansion Includes New Stalls Serving Pho and Rotisserie Chicken [EATL]