Something New Is Headed to the Former Home of Kevin Gillespie’s Beltline Restaurant

There’s new life in the works for the former home of chef Kevin Gillespie’s Cold Beer and Slabtown Public House located along the Eastside Beltline. The Atlanta Business Chronicle reports that a restaurant called The Baxter is slated to open in the two-level space in the mixed-use building Edge on the BeltLine.

The Baxter will be from restaurateur Scott Kern, known as a co-owner of McCray’s Tavern. That local chain boasts four McCray’s Tavern locations, with crowd-pleasing menu items like fried jalapeño-topped burgers or Cajun seafood pasta.

The space went through several iterations under Gillespie’s tenure, first as the stylish and ambitious Cold Beer, which closed in January 2022 after nearly three years in business. Its successor, Slabtown Public House with a pub-style menu and a laidback vibe, closed in September 2022 after less than six months in business.

“We have made the incredibly difficult decision to close Slabtown Public House permanently,” a statement provided to Eater in 2022 read. “The reality is that many small businesses have closed since 2020 either due directly or indirectly to the economic impacts of COVID-19; we are simply the latest to do so. In time we hope to be able to bring Atlanta new restaurants again...”