Larakin Opens This Weekend, Bringing an All-Day Coffee and Wine Bar to Midtown

Jordan Chambers, who co-owned Steady Hand Pour House in Emory Village with Dale Donchey (Spiller Park Coffee), returns to the Atlanta coffee scene Saturday, November 19, with his new coffee shop and wine bar Larakin.

Located on 12th Street near Piedmont Park in Midtown, Larakin opens for coffee this weekend, with tinned fish and light snacks beginning Monday, November 21.

Chambers plans to continue expanding the food menu into larger dishes throughout December, including pan con tomate, meat and cheese boards, and nachos topped with olives, pickles, lemon and olive oil and a choice of cured meat or tinned fish. The lengthy list of tinned fish options offered at Larkin all come served with butter, pickles, piparra peppers, and fresh bread.

Evening hours should kick off on December 8, along with BYOB wine until Chambers secures Larakin’s liquor license early next year. Once that license is in place, expect five wines by the glass and no more than 40 wines by the bottle.

“We’re taking the beer and wine licensing process as it comes and leaning into BYOB for now,” Chambers says. “I feel like the next couple of months of BYOB evenings are going to be some of the best nights we have.”

Sophia Van Dyk

Sophia Van Dyk

With the name inspired by an Australian slang term describing a scamp living life with fervor, Larakin merges two passions for Chambers in coffee and wine. Calling Larakin an “anytime venue” with an all-day menu, he sees the space as adaptable to people’s needs, whether that’s coffee and bread and butter in the morning, or a glass of wine and tinned fish and some olives at 3 p.m. chased with a cortado.

Sharing the ground floor of a short-term rental hotel, most of the seating for Larakin is found on the large patio overlooking 12th Street, which includes bench seating and a few tables and chairs. Chambers refers to the patio as the “heart of Larakin.” Inside is mainly standing room only, save a handful of stools and a couple of tall cocktail tables. Chambers says he’s allowing Larakin to evolve organically, taking his cues from customers, but without compromising too much on his vision for the space or the vibe.

“We’ll keep growing as we go, but there’s no sense in going overboard in the beginning, and that includes rolling out the food menu all at once,” Chambers says. “This is truly something that we’re starting here and not ending with here.”

He won’t prohibit people from bringing chairs inside to sit, however, especially as the weather gets colder or on inclement days. It’s just a tight squeeze inside, he says. Instead, Chambers is taking advantage of cold-weather patio trends at restaurants by installing high-powered heating lamps and even offering some seating in igloos.

“The true vision of the whole place is you walk up to the bar, you find a spot to order because people are standing at the bar having a drink or having some coffee, and you order and either hang out there or find a table outside,” says Chambers. “It won’t bother me if someone doesn’t like this place or get it. I opened Larakin as a hangout for people, whatever that means for them, we’re here for it.”

Check out the menu for Larakin below:

Tentative hours: Open daily 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Starting December 8, Sunday - Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Thursday - Saturday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wine is BYOB for now.

208 12th Street NW, Atlanta.