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Thursday, January 29, 2009
New Beginnings for Pano’s (and Paul’s)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
NO RESERVATIONS: Buckhead’s iconic restaurant Pano’s & Paul’s will close on February 14.
Photo: Philip McCollum/AJC
Talking with the founder of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group can be intimidating, even for a cynical dining critic. Pano Karatassos, after all, is one of the city’s most iconic restaurateurs. He is responsible, with only a handful of others, for bringing Atlanta dining into national prominence back in the late 70s and early 80s.
He and fellow chef Paul Albrecht (who moved on to open Paul’s in 2005) opened Buckhead Life’s flagship, Pano’s & Paul’s, back in February of 1979. Now, just five days before the restaurant’s 30 anniversary on February 19, Pano’s & Paul’s will fry its last fried lobster tail, mix its last martini and close its doors.
“I don’t think of it as closing,” Karatassos said in a phone interview. “I think of it as a move.”
And indeed, as one door closes another opens: plans are in the works for not one, but two new restaurants from Buckhead Life by the end of 2009. The first scheduled to open, Balon Rouge, will be located in the Sovereign at 3344 Peachtree Road. A stylish brasserie, P & P’s chef Gary Donlick is slated to helm the kitchen.
The second, simply called Pano’s, will open inside the St. Regis and tout a menu and ambiance that is “a little more high end,” according to Karatassos. “I want people to feel very comfortable there.”
Pano’s will offer a 90-seat dining room with room for two private spaces. “But it will have a neighborhood feel, just like Pano’s & Paul’s always has,” explained Karatassos. Pano Karatassos, Jr., the founder’s son, will help in the kitchen, in addition to his duties as executive chef of the company’s highly acclaimed Kyma, which specializes in high-end Greek and fresh fish. But the search is on for the right chef to helm Pano’s kitchen. Employees of P & P’s will spread to other Buckhead Life restaurants, if that’s what they desire.
And what better night to say au revoir than Valentine’s Day? Sunday, February 15, the restaurant will host a private reunion for original and past employees. “It’s for the old timers,” said Karatassos, “a chance to shake hands and toast the years.”
For more on the closing of Pano’s & Paul’s check out next Friday’s Go Guide.
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