Asian-soul fusion restaurant coming to Atlanta airport started as a pop-up

It was the brainchild of Maximilian Hines as part of his pop-up collective, Stolen Goods. (Hines is also the executive chef at Breaker Breaker.)

Hines, who’s from the D.C./Baltimore area, grew up with a love for the comfort of Chinese takeout. And he noticed that his Asian-soul pop-ups were some of the most popular.

It had been known as “The Last Rangoon” and more recently as “Double Dragon,” when Hines collaborates with fellow Atlanta chef, Fu-Mao Sun.

And while the pop-ups will continue, the concept is taking a big step this year to serve passengers at the world’s busiest airport.

Credit: H&H Hospitality

Credit: H&H Hospitality

Hines and and fellow Atlanta chef and restaurateur Jason McClure were recruited to Concourse B by Atlanta concessionaire Randy Hazelton, a founding partner of H&H Hospitality.

Hines said he had watched other Atlanta pop-ups see recent brick-and-mortar success, including Tio Lucho’s and Gigi’s Italian, so he and McClure had previously floated the Asian-soul idea to Hazelton.

Hazelton, meanwhile, needed a replacement for a Slutty Vegan airport location that had just fallen through. He reached back out to the chefs.

Try their hand at an airport restaurant? “It was like, ‘Well yeah, that sounds insane … sure!’” McClure recalled.

“We’ve cooked in our fair share of closets and back alleys.”

Hazelton said he was looking for “innovative” brands to bring to the airport. “And I also think it has legs beyond this first location.”

The menu for the quick-service spot in Concourse B is still being finalized, but Hines said it will definitely feature the pop-ups’ greatest hits like Shrimp Lo Mein and “General Moe’s Chicken,” which is their riff on General Tso’s with a sweet and spicy sauce evoking D.C.’s famous mumbo sauce.

As for the name? It’s an intersection of “hip-hop, and soul food and Chinese food,” Hines — a major Wu-Tang Clan fan — said.

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

McClure said the airport location has been a fascinating new business model to plan.

“Because your guests are rotating constantly through, it’s actually a great petri dish to see how you can change the experiment and really hit without alienating guests early on, because you’re not serving the same people day in and day out.”

They hope Wu Tang will help “to bring a lot more of what makes Atlanta, Atlanta into this space, so it’s not homogenized and the same as every other airport in America,” he said.

“This airport is special. It deserves special concepts and projects.”