Brown Bag Seafood opening in Colony Square and more metro Atlanta dining news from the week

Brown Bag Seafood Co., a Chicago-based fast-casual seafood restaurant, will open this summer in Midtown Atlanta’s Colony Square. It will be the chain’s first location outside of the Chicago area.

Planned for the space adjacent to Sukoshi, Brown Bag Seafood will offer a unique, seafood-based menu in a format popularized by build-your-own-burrito chains. The concept aims to provide healthy, customizable meals with quick counter service and a casual environment. Donna Lee, the entrepreneur behind Brown Bag Seafood, plans to work with local seafood distributors to source sustainable fish and other ingredients. She also plans to design the space with an ambiance true to Atlanta by working with local artists.

“When we first visited Atlanta, our team immediately felt a sense of comfort,” said Lee in a prepared statement. “Atlanta has such a rich seafood culture, and we can’t wait to be part of it. We selected Colony Square to expand our brand outside of Chicago because of its location in the heart of Midtown and always-on energy.”

The company plans to hire about 15 team members to work at its Atlanta location, which will be part of the 160,000 square feet of retail space planned at Colony Square as the development continues to build out the property through 2020.

More news from the week:

• Chef and writer Meridith Ford opens Cremalosa American Gelato today. Located just east of downtown Decatur, the gelateria will serve small-batch gelatos, sorbets and other treats made in-house, with influences from Ford's Southern upbringing.
• The Omni Hotel at CNN Center is bringing four new restaurants to downtown Atlanta as part of the renovation project at its south tower. These will include a sports bar, breakfast and lunch spot, a coffee shop and a new lobby bar.
• The Imperial Fez, a Moroccan restaurant known for its immersive dining experience, will relocate to Norcross after 30 years on Peachtree Street in South Buckhead.
• Ruby Chow's, the latest restaurant from chef Guy Wong, opened Feb. 20 in Old 4th Ward. After closing Miso Izakaya in 2018 and selling Le Fat last year to focus on the new venture, chef Wong will be back in the kitchen cooking his new menu of Asian fusion small plates.
• Batter Cookie Dough opened a second location this week at Powers Ferry Square in Buckhead. The sweet shop, known for its edible cookie dough made with heat-treated flour and no eggs, has also expanded its offerings to include ice cream. The original Batter Cookie Dough shop is located in Ponce City Market.
• La Parrilla will open a new location in Sandy Springs, as reported by What Now Atlanta.