Adam Evans, the opening chef and guiding force behind Ford Fry's Westside seafood destination, The Optimist, has resigned.
This via email from Valerie Failla Mosley, PR and Sales Director of Fry's Rocket Farm Restaurants group ( JCT. Kitchen & Bar, no. 246 . The Optimist, King + Duke, St. Cecilia, The El Felix, Superica, and Marcel):
Chef Adam Evans has resigned today. His last day at The Optimist which he opened with us just over three years ago will be August 14. The Ford Fry team will miss him dearly and we wish him the best — he is an incredible talent and has helped to make The Optimist the success it is today.
Since its opening, The Optimist has been lauded by Esquire, Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Southern Living, Atlanta Magazine, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Evans was nominated for Food & Wines's People’s Best New Chef award in 2015.
Here's what AJC dining critic John Kessler (who is moving on, too) wrote about The Optimist and Evans in a 2012 Year in Review roundup:
Ford Fry and chef Adam Evans got the tone exactly right for their Westside seafood restaurant. They call it a “fish camp” — which, of course, it isn’t. It’s an expensive urban dining destination, but it still manages to evoke the spirit of lusty fun at a shoreline spot. Peel-and-eat shrimp as fat and velvet-smooth as shrimp cocktail make for a fine start, as do clam rolls with kimchi vinegar and the terrific chowders and gumbos, all served with wonderful sides. Then come simple, clean entrees that pack the surprise wallop of understatement. This is the best kind of restaurant — one that keeps getting better.
Stay tuned for further developments.
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