Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Buckhead will soon have a new bakery and coffee shop. Garnet Gal’s opened today, and is a venture by Pat Azogu, a career human resources professional turned baker and entrepreneur. Azogu is passionate about coffee and baking. After working more than 25 years in the corporate world, she wanted to do something different.
“I’ve been baking for about 30 years, then I bring a lot of employee relations and HR knowledge to the table,” said Azogu. “Combining the two, I’m off to a good start.”
With a statewide shelter-in-place mandate in effect, market conditions are less than ideal for Garnet Gal’s start. “It’s been a little different,” said Azogu. “Getting the shop open has been a little challenging. Sourcing for ingredients has been a bit challenging. But, we opened.”
As a long-time hobbyist baker, Azogu said that people have often encouraged her to sell her products. Now that she’s become a professional, she is focused on using organic, high-quality ingredients. She said that she uses organic ingredients whenever possible, and all of the flour used at Garnet Gal’s is milled on-site. Guilty pleasures like cookies are made a bit more nutritious by using ingredients like high-protein Ezekiel flour, which is milled in-house from a variety of sprouted grains and legumes.
“Once we get to the new normal, I think everything will be fine,” said Azogu. “This is really a community shop, so I think once people can gather, they’ll really enjoy coming here.”
Under the current challenging circumstances, Garnet Gal's is doing its best to help the community that Azogu hopes will support the shop. The coffee shop and bakery is selling individually-wrapped toilet paper and paper towels, in addition to menu items like vegetable pot pie, tomato corn cobbler and salmon salad sandwiches on house-made Parmesan herb focaccia. Azogu may even sell some of her flour, which can be hard to find on grocery store shelves right now. But be warned: Freshly milled flour behaves much differently than the white, store-bought stuff. "People will really just need to do their research," said Azogu. Or, you could leave the baking to the experts. Learn more at garnetgalscoffeeshop.com.
More dining news:
Ray's on the River, which recently reopened for takeout service, did not miss the chance to celebrate a couple who have commemorated their wedding anniversary at the restaurant every year for the past 20 years. Terri and Rich Sabo had their first date at Ray's on the River and decided to return every year as an anniversary tradition. With no in-person dining due to the coronavirus pandemic, the couple ordered curbside pickup and brought their own table, chairs, cutlery, tablecloth and wine glasses, and enjoyed their meal alongside the Chattahoochee River.
Smokey Bones has launched new cook-at-home meal kits featuring the chain's favorite meats and family-style dishes. Meal kits include Burger Basics, Chicken Basics and Backyard Basics for $24.99 each, as well as the Meat Masters Basics for $64.99 which includes four sirloin steaks, four beef burgers, brioche buns and six chicken breasts - "everything you need for a backyard barbecue," according to the restaurant's statement. Smokey Bones also offers free kids meals with the purchase of a regular entree, a 25% discount for healthcare workers and "Family Feast Deals" with a free bag of donuts. Learn more at smokeybones.com.
Forza Storico has reopened for takeout and will now carry retail items like its sister restaurant in Buckhead, Storico Fresco. The Roman-style pasta restaurant in West Midtown will now sell items like Bolognese lasagna, fresh-cut pastas, filled pastas, a variety of pasta sauces, meatballs, cured meats and some pantry items. The restaurant is also selling its wine on a takeout basis for 50% off and is offering a 20% discount on food orders picked up at the restaurant, though delivery is available through Postmates, UberEats and Grubhub. To ensure customer safety, the team has set up an outdoor market to sell its wares on the patio. Order by calling 404-464-8096 or visit forzastorico.com for more details.
Clues and Cocktails, an experiential bar from the owner of Room Escape Atlanta, is offering takeout with a side dish of mystery. Place your order and put on your thinking cap as you wait for your food to arrive. Over the course of a 30-minute game, you'll be asked to solve puzzles and break codes that will allow you to unlock your meal once it arrives. If you don't solve the puzzles, don't worry - the small padlock can easily be ripped off of the styrofoam takeout box. But where's the fun in that? Learn more and order your Meal with a Mystery at cluesandcocktails.com/togo.
Krystal, the Atlanta-headquartered fast food chain, is offering free delivery on DoorDash, UberEats and Grubhub starting today through April 20. Learn more and order at krystal.com.
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