Greg Best reveals new Krog Street Market restaurant plans

Serving as head barkeep at H&F, Best was recognized with two consecutive nominations as both James Beard Awards Outstanding Bar Program semifinalist and finalist, while Smith was serving as general manager and branding coordinator.

And Best and Smith were integral in the opening and operation of the growing family of H&F brands, including H&F Bread Co., H&F Bottle Shop, and, of course, the famous H&F Burger. Still, they parted ways with H&F a year ago, in September 2013, following Minchow’s departure in 2012.

In a recent conversation, Best would not reveal the new KSM restaurant’s name or concept, but he echoed the press release, saying, “The full service location will certainly offer food and drink in a comfortable manner.” And he did offer several tidbits and teasers about the vision for the space.

Best also talked about the departure from Holeman and Finch, and the bar and restaurant scene in Atlanta and beyond. After a year of mostly staying silent, it was clear he had a lot to say.

Here’s most of our conversation:

Could you bring us up to the date on how you and Regan landed at KSM?

It started pretty simply. It got to a point with Holeman and Finch and our partnerships with those businesses, where we were tremendously proud of the work that we had done, but the nature of those businesses took on a personality that we didn’t have the ability to flex with anymore. The burger thing kind of became the guiding force.

It became the monster that got away from its creator?

Well it became a very successful thing. As far as a business decision, I learned more from that whole experience than I ever dreamed I could. I learned a lot about what hype marketing is, and how to really manipulate the supply and demand, and maximize the guest experience with something that can be as simple as a cheeseburger. But I wouldn’t call it a monster. It just eclipsed the other things that in the early days of Holeman and Finch we were capable of doing.

What was that?

Consciously, mind you, it was a little rebellious, as far as our approach to the whole food and drink restaurant dynamic. And so the more and more that became unattainable, the more I hungered for it. I felt that the city, and the media in the city, and our cliental, all did us the tremendous honor of giving us credit, meaning all of my partners and I, for being game changers. That was really important to me, and I felt that our city as a whole needed more people pushing those boundaries, and trying to be game changers, rather than replicating very similar things.

Is that still the case?

I think we are starting to see in developments like Krog Street and on Ponce and what’s happening in Inman Park and on the Westside some smaller businesses pop up and push boundaries, so that’s good. It’s not as bleak as I thought it was a year ago. But a year ago, that was kind of the impetus to drive the conversation for Regan and myself to say, hey we’re young, we’re unattached, we don’t have children, we have this tremendous success behind us, and this great learning experience. We opened four different businesses in five years, all of which I think were successful in some way.

But you were really ready to try something new?

Yes. We were empowered by all that and thought, hey, let’s just jump off the cliff again. Let’s try to do something different and push some of those boundaries again. Our former partners were in a different place than we were. It was a very natural separation of paths.

So you decided you wanted something a little closer to your passion?

Totally. What drives my passion in this business is the esoterica. It’s that kind of gray area and exploring all the gray area. As a human being, I don’t like when I get into a pattern that I don’t have to think about anymore. We had a cool thing but it didn’t feel rock and roll to me anymore. It felt like I was in a band that was touring four years after the last last album was out and there was no longer a passion to write a new album. Regan felt the same way. And so we decided let’s do this again. But maybe a little bit more irreverent. We felt like that if anyone is in the position to do something that doesn’t match what’s going on, it’s us. We’re just weird people and we wanted get back to the fun, strange, avant-garde rock and roll thing. That was what really drove the conversation a year ago.

And you severed all ties to H&F?

We decided to sell our shares in the businesses, because frankly speaking, as a former business operator, I didn’t really want to retain shares in a business I no longer had creative control in. Being the kid of entrepreneurs who failed at more businesses than succeeded, I also understand the value of not having a safety net. You work harder. It’s more meaningful when it’s make or break. Some people probably think that’s a little crazy but that’s just the way we felt it had to be done.

What have you been doing during your time off?

We spent the last year traveling around the Southeast, and going and hanging out with friends that have opened amazing places all over the country. We took advantage of the road trip time to be inspired by what’s happening. I want to be clear, though, that we didn’t go anywhere to get ideas to bring back to Atlanta. I think too many people tend to assume that if somebody has a good idea they copied it from somewhere. Being inspired by what someone is doing is tremendously important and valuable as long as you’re not doing a carbon copy.

And what did you conclude?

We knew we wanted to open up a bar and restaurant again. That’s what we love. We love serving people. We love the food and drink atmosphere. We love exploring ways that the food and drink atmosphere can be built and how we can curate that environment. That’s a big thing for Regan and I. We’re always thinking of things like what would it be like if you were eating and all the chairs were those inflatable workout ball things? A lot of it you would never do. But it’s just fun to have that conversation.

Where did the conversation lead?

Essentially, we decided we want to harness the spirit of let’s not take this too seriously. Everything now is taken so seriously. Everything. The wine list. Cocktail programs. Charcuterie programs. Whatever it is, it’s all too serious. Food and drink should sate you physically but also psychologically. You’re putting up a high barrier when it’s too serious. People will never feel completely relaxed. And so they come away not fully sated, and it sucks.

What’s the opposite of all that?

Historically, places that don’t take themselves too seriously are the neighborhood beer bars, or the tiki bars. We’re not looking to replicate any of these things. I would never have an outright tiki bar because that’s not where my passion is. But the philosophy of a tiki bar as escapist madness is wildly interesting to me. It’s the same for Regan and the couple of other folks in our partnership. Let’s look at that manic escapist mentality and start plugging away at that as our core.

You really are saying a lot without saying too much.

The place that we are opening, I can say, is going to provide the level of standards that we have, which are very high as far as quality of food and ingredients. That’s where we came from even before Holeman and Finch. And people can say what they want about Emeril’s, but working for Emeril for a decade taught us a lot about standards. For us, having high service standards, having high quality of goods, that’s all very important. But it’s not what we want to talk about. That should be the expectation.

How does Krog Street Market fit in with that?

The reason that we were so excited to go into Krog was it’s the first place being created in the city where you can get a really different sensory experience every time you’re in there. There are some talented folks going in there, and they are all doing things that are juxtapositional. The idea that you could go there two or three times in one week and have a completely different experience is why we chose Krog. We knew we wanted to be the jokesters in the bunch. And so that’s exactly the role that we are going to attempt to play in this little game.

Any other details you can share now?

It’s going to be pretty small. That Holeman and Finch size really appeals to us. This time the bar will be as important but scaled down. I don’t want people to get the idea that we’re opening the next cocktail epicenter. Because we’re really not. Cocktails are really important to us and it’s the language I speak better than any other language. But at this place we want it to be balanced, and as much a restaurant as you want it to be. This could be your one destination for the night.

You obviously have a culinary team that’s yet to be revealed.

Yes. That’s true. There are a couple components of our team that we are waiting on a specific timeline to reveal. But the culinary team are folks who have roots here in Atlanta.

What is the timetable for opening?

In perfect world, if we can make this thing happen before the end of the year, that would be awesome, and we’re going to push for that. But our expectation is that it will be the first quarter of 2015.

Have you lied about anything during this interview?

No. {laughs} I would never lie to you. But I have left some things out.

Any other tidbit or clue you’d like to leave us with?

How about the idea that this is going to be a carpetbagger’s paradise? That should be a curious head-scratcher. There’s some component of this place that’s meant to feel like they let all of us Yankees stay down here for too long, perhaps, and now we’re going to start some trouble.