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DEL.ICIO.USNew 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.
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: Dining
Comments
By Joe
January 30, 2009 8:17 AM | Link to this
Really? Intimidated?
By Atlanta Native
January 30, 2009 9:08 AM | Link to this
Maybe she was caught stealing a menu.
By Baxter
January 30, 2009 9:13 AM | Link to this
Not that eating out isn’t fun and all but really? Atlanta needs MORE Buckhead LIfe Restaurants?? Most of his restaurants, like all the other high priced eateries in town were loved by those with expense accounts…hopefully those days are gone.
By Aussie_in_ATL
January 30, 2009 9:41 AM | Link to this
What’s so intimidating about this guy? I would enjoy talking with him - he’s a successful entrepreneur.
By Mike
January 30, 2009 10:11 AM | Link to this
A “little more high end” than Pano’s and Paul’s? Does that mean endangered species and gold-plated desserts?
The first time I ate there the service was impeccable - efficient but not obtrusive. The last time I ate there they seemed to take their serving style from Applebee’s, or maybe even Hooters -“friendly” and “conversational.” They were presumptive and insulting.
For months the valet parking there has been filled with gaudy cars. Clearly they’ve been courting people with money to burn rather than the locals that built their business.
By BTDT
January 30, 2009 10:42 AM | Link to this
“a little more high end”? Give me a break!
Most of the expense account diners in these places are so bagged by the time the entree arrives they couldn’t tell the difference between foie gras and a Big Mac!
By katherine
January 30, 2009 10:47 AM | Link to this
Can someone from the AJC pleaaasse get the crab cakes recipe! They are the best in Atlanta!
By Chief Wiggum
January 30, 2009 11:25 AM | Link to this
I echo what the others have said. In an economy like this, it looks pretty ridiculous to open something even more “high end”. I admit, I don’t have my finger on the pulse of Atlanta’s society and rich-n-famous, but are there enough people to justify all this over-indulgence? Call me a simple rube, but there is the law of diminishing returns on expensive food. I don’t think that a $40 entree is twice as good as a $20 entree. There’s a point where it’s just ridiculous. Maybe I’m a cheapskate, but I’ve yet to spend more than $20 on an entree, and I don’t plan on it.
By Fond Memory
January 30, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this
My husband proposed to me at Pano’s and Paul’s in 1979 and we’ve celebrated a few anniversaries there over the years…very fond memories! We shall have to visit again before they close.
By Mary
January 30, 2009 12:21 PM | Link to this
Ditto what most of the others have written. My husband, then fiancé, went there after we were married in 1980 and again one other time. While we enjoyed it, we were in our 20’s and decided it wasn’t worth the expense. When we both made plenty of money to be able to go there and think nothing of it, we decided there were lots of other restaurants that had equally good if not better food without the attitude, so we never went back. We will certainly NOT be going to his new restaurants. If the author thinks this guy is so intimidating, he’s clearly never worked with many if any C-level executives of huge companies which I have so I’m certain this guy wouldn’t either.
By Paul from Milton
January 30, 2009 12:28 PM | Link to this
My wife and I have talked with Pano several times at P&P’s. Given what he has meant to the city and what he has achieved, he has every right to be intimidating and arrogant. Instead he has always been polite, gracious and generous and made us feel like the most special guests in the restaurant. We’ll miss P&P’s but can’t wait to try his new places. As long as he is involved we can be sure of a wonderful dining experience.
By Kennesaw Dave
January 30, 2009 12:34 PM | Link to this
C’mon people, why does it matter one way or the other whether the next eatery they open is “a little more high-end?” Yes, locals are part of the patrons that have eaten at Buckhead Life restaurants but you need to remember that the majority of the people that eat at these places are primarily business people conducting meetings or entertaining clients. Like any good businessman, Pano is modeling his next venture around who his main patrons are. So stop with the whole wealth-envy whining already. If you think his new place is too pricey then either don’t go or just eat there on special occasions. We live in a business oriented city not one that does a lot of catering to locals. Get use to it.
By Lettie
January 30, 2009 12:51 PM | Link to this
The best Fried Lobster Tail I have ever had!! I will truly miss Panos and Paul.
By RB in PTC
January 30, 2009 1:13 PM | Link to this
Kennesaw Dave you nailed it. While I have never been to Pano’s and Paul’s, I have been to many of the Buckhead Life resturaunts and almost always with business associates (customers and/or suppliers). My wife and I go once in a while for special occasions, but these types of resturaunts are geared for business.
By AJ
January 30, 2009 3:05 PM | Link to this
I agree with Kennesaw Dave too. Yes, the economy sucks and I do feel AWFUL for the people who are having a hard time with it, but that doesn’t mean the world stops. Pano is a business man and he’s opening a business that he believes will be successful even in this economy. I remember reading the same types of comments when they converted the Disco Kroger to the new Fresh Fare by Kroger. People were saying, “How can Kroger open a high end store in this economy?” My view is, without large companies or individual entreprenuers opening up new businesses, the economy will never get better. Instead of CRYING about it, you should be saying a big THANK YOU.
By KC
February 6, 2009 1:37 PM | Link to this
Good riddance to this old-school bastion of snobbery and elitism. While we love many restaurants in the Buckhead Life group - the Atlanta Fish Market and Buckhead Diner are worth every minute in traffic - my wife and I HATED Panos and Pauls. Terrible service, cramped and uncomfortable tables, and a degree of indifference that I have not met at ANY other restaurant this side of Paris. My parents gave us a gift card and we politely declined - a free meal is not worth the hassle of this establishment. Alas, we will not have to turn them down again.
By Confused?
February 6, 2009 4:48 PM | Link to this
Why is Paul’s name still included, even with the “( )”? He left the restaurant 10 years ago. Too bad they had to trade on his name over the last decade while the restaurant slowly and inevitably slipped.