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Permitting issues and construction and equipment shortages continue to cause frustrating delays for restaurant owners hoping to open their new establishments by the end of the year. However, several long-awaited restaurants will finally debut in neighborhoods throughout Atlanta this fall.
Eater is tracking the progress of the following nine restaurants anticipated to open this fall, serving everything from omakase feasts, Lao and Vietnamese fare, and pizza to crispy chicken sandwiches, food from a variety of pop-up chefs, and regional dishes from Acapulco, Mexico.
Snackboxe Bistro
Location: Duluth, 1960 Day Drive
Who: Thip Athakhanh and Vanh Sengaphone
Projected opening: September
A Duluth location of Snackboxe Bistro opens soon on Pleasant Hill Road. In addition to a full bar and the regular menu found at the Doraville location, look for new dishes in Duluth inspired by the city of Pakse (the capital of Champasak province in southern Laos). However, the main menu attraction in Duluth will be Lao barbecue. A street food staple found in markets throughout Laos, the grilled meats are distinguished by an herbaceous and aromatic caramelization infused with lemongrass, garlic, and zippy hints of citrus. Other street snacks exclusive to Duluth will include fried chicken feet, fried chicken livers, and fried chicken gizzards.
Biggerstaff Brewing Company — Now Open
Location: Old Fourth Ward, 521 Edgewood Avenue
Who: Clay Davies and Sarah Davies
Projected opening: September
Biggerstaff Brewing Company begins serving its beer next door to Staplehouse Market very soon. Now open for coffee daily, the brewpub transforms into a cafe in the mornings, serving Intelligentsia coffee and espresso drinks as well as pastries. Owners Clay Davies and Sarah Davies also nabbed Staplehouse chef and owner Ryan Smith to help create the food menu for Biggerstaff. The menu from Smith and chef Davis King will feature charcuterie and shareable snacks and sandwiches and salads, all meant to pair with Biggerstaff’s beers, which include IPAs, sours, coffee brews, and a smoked pale ale.
Juniper Cafe
Location: Bolton, 2250 Marietta Boulevard
Who: Chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips, Carl Van Tyle Gilbert
Projected opening: September/October
Chefs Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips, the owners of Candler Park tasting menu restaurant Lazy Betty, open Vietnamese restaurant and bakery Juniper Cafe at Westside Village in Bolton soon. Hsu and Phillips partnered with Lazy Betty general manager and beverage director Carl Van Tyle Gilbert in the northwest Atlanta restaurant. Chef Tim Rufino, currently a senior line cook at Lazy Betty, will lead the kitchen at the restaurant, which will serve pho, noodle salads (bún), banh mi, sausages, and spring and summer rolls, along with fresh pastries and shaved ice desserts. In addition to coffee, tea, and house-made sodas, look for cocktails using Vietnamese flavors and ingredients from Gilbert as well as beer and French and American wines on the bar menu.
Big Boss Chinese — Now Open
Location: Midtown, 100 10th Street
Who: Chef Guy Wong
Projected opening: Late September/October
After several delays with construction and permitting, it appears chef Guy Wong (Ruby Chow’s, Miso Ko, Ton Ton Ramen) is back on track to finally open his next restaurant in early fall on 10th Street in the former Chinese Buddha space, once owned by his mother. Wong has described Big Boss Chinese as the “more casual little brother” to his Old Fourth Ward restaurant Ruby Chow’s. Once open, the restaurant will serve “Chinese American classics” paired with beer, wine, sake, and bubble tea.
Mujo
Location: Howell Mill/Westside, 691 14th Street
Who: Castellucci Hospitality, chef J. Trent Harris
Projected opening: Late September/October
Castellucci Hospitality, the restaurant group behind the Iberian Pig and Double Zero, opens an intimate sushi restaurant Mujo next door to its Howell Mill Road restaurant Cooks and Soldiers this fall. The former pop-up, led by New York City sushi chef J. Trent Harris, ran its takeout operation from the kitchen at Cooks and Soldiers for several months last year. In addition to to-go offerings, Mujo’s dinner menu will feature fish sourced from Japan served as both “modern edomae” style sushi (fish typically marinated and preserved for several days) and hot and cold dishes as part of a kappo-style omakase experience. Expect sake, wine, and cocktails from the bar.
Dead End Drinks
Location: Edgewood/Kirkwood, 130 Arizona Avenue
Who: Andy Minchow and Caitlin Crawford
Projected opening: October 1
Starting October 1, longtime Arizona Avenue bar and restaurant Ration and Dram will be known as Dead End Drinks and its kitchen will transform into an incubator for roving Atlanta chefs and pop-ups. Cocktails will continue being a big focal point here and popular Ration and Dram dishes like the chicken and dumplings, McDowell’s breakfast sandwich, and pantry board items will still be available for takeout. Over the years, Minchow and Crawford have opened the restaurant to pop-ups and chefs and hosted a number of themed dinners and brunches, especially during the holidays. Check out the current pop-up schedule here.
Glide Pizza
Location: Decatur, 308 West Ponce de Leon Avenue
Who: Rob Birdsong
Projected opening: November
Irwin Street Market takeout window Glide Pizza opens its second location at recently opened Decatur brewery Inner Voice later this fall. Owned by Rob Birdsong, Glide brings its popular Brooklyn-style pizzas to the Decatur taproom, subleasing the kitchen from the brewery and serving from a slice window inside, which will be open to brewery customers and the public. Once the takeout operation gets up and running there, Birdsong also plans to offer delivery via electric Edison bikes (“Glide rides”) used to deliver orders in Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward.
How Crispy
Location: Summerhill, 71 Georgia Avenue
Who: Greg Best, Bart Sasso, chef William Silbernagel, Luke Wilkinson
Projected opening: November/December
Sandwich shop How Crispy opens this fall along Georgia Avenue’s emerging restaurant row in Summerhill. The walk-up window sandwich joint will serve its signature crispy chicken sandwiches, first introduced through a series of pop-ups hosted at the Summerhill location, along with other sandwiches. While mainly a takeout operation, there should be some seating at bar stools at the front window of the shop.
Yet-Named Restaurant from El Tesoro
Location: Oakhurst, 910 West College Avenue
Who: Alan Raines and Sam Eaves
Projected opening: December
Alan Raines, the owner of Edgewood neighborhood restaurant El Tesoro, and Sam Eaves plan to open a yet-named restaurant and mezcal bar in the former Lawrence’s Cafe space in Oakhurst by the end of the year. The menu for the restaurant centers on mezcal drinks and coastal dishes from the family of El Tesoro kitchen manager chef Hugo Suastegui and his hometown of Acapulco, Mexico.