A Latin American Restaurant Reopens in Downtown Atlanta With a New Chef and New Dishes

The downtown Atlanta location of Latin American restaurant Alma Cocina reopens Saturday, April 30, after temporarily closing two years ago for the pandemic.

With workers returning to offices and business travel and conventions resuming at hotels in downtown Atlanta, Fifth Group Restaurants partner Robby Kukler says they’re “eager” to reopen the original location of Alma Cocina at 191 Peachtree Tower later this month.

“Alma Downtown closed down in March 2020 due to the onset of the pandemic. Downtown traffic was slow to return and convention and travel business has just recently started to increase,” Kukler tells Eater.

Fifth Group Restaurants also owns La Tavola, Lure, three locations of Ecco, and several locations of South City Kitchen in Atlanta and the surrounding metropolitan area. A second location of Alma Cocina opened in Buckhead just weeks before the start of the global health crisis.

When asked how Fifth Group managed to retain the pricy downtown Atlanta space during the lengthy hiatus at Peachtree Tower, Kukler credits rent relief from the landlord in the early weeks of the pandemic and revenue generated by its other open and operating restaurants and catering business throughout the ongoing health crisis.

Alma Cocina

Many of Alma Cocina’s downtown Atlanta employees were relocated to other Fifth Group restaurants during the closure, Kukler says, with some staff members returning to work back at the Peachtree Tower location.

Alma Cocina first opened at 191 Peachtree Tower 11 years ago. Longtime Alma Cocina chef Chad Clevenger now leads the kitchen at Alma Cocina in Buckhead.

Chef Juancarlos “JC” Colon takes over at the downtown Atlanta restaurant and plans to add a few new dishes to the menu there, including crudo with burnt nori-avocado puree and Anaheim peppers, a guajillo grilled octopus with ancho carrots, and pork belly served with charro beans and fresh tortillas.

Alma Cocina-Downtown reopens April 30 for lunch and dinner.

Public Transit Info: Accessible via Peachtree Center MARTA train station and MARTA bus #40 along Peachtree Street.