It’s one thing to grab a hot dog or a grilled chicken sandwich from the Hawk Walk and scrunch into your seat to eat while watching a game.
It’s quite another to luxuriate at a table perched on one of six tiers overlooking the court while dining on a sliced tenderloin steak melt.
Welcome to RED, the chic new eatery/lounge that opened last week inside Philips Arena, which is open to all guests.
It’s being touted as the first major conversion of the nearly 13-year-old venue, a $2 million upgrade that resembles the sleekest of Las Vegas sports books, but with an open kitchen, Ciroc bar and black, red and gray décor to complement the casual-upscale vibe.
Basic food choices range from a pair of barbecue beef brisket sliders or crispy chicken cheese sliders ($12 each) to burgers ($13) to stone hearth-fired flatbread pizzas (margherita, mushroom or sausage, $12 each). Those seeking heartier fare can tackle a 10-ounce prime rib-eye “minute steak” with fries ($22) or a fried lobster tail ($41). And the health-conscious also have some options with a handful of salads ($8) and vegetable plate ($6).
Bar selections include more than a dozen beers on tap, along with a collection of vodka-based specialty drinks and eight choices of wine.
The menu was created in coordination with Pano Karatassos from the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group; the eatery will be managed by Levy Restaurants, which handles the arena’s other concessions.
The name of the 10,000-square-foot RED, while a small nod to one of the Atlanta Hawks’ team colors, was chosen for more basic reasons: the reaction the color promotes.
“It speaks to the experience of why people get together and break bread and enjoy a dining experience, whether it’s at a concert or sporting event. People want to emotionally connect and have fun and suspend whatever they’re dealing with for the day, and at the end of the day if you just said, ‘red,’ it evokes something – emotion, passion,” said David Lee, vice-president of corporate partnerships and business developments for the Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena.
To create the 250-person capacity RED, located between sections 203-205 in a space expanded from the old Headlines bar, a few rows of seats were removed – the arena declined to cite specific numbers – but the result is terraced-seating with nary an obstructed view. Rows of flat screens also ring the inside of the eatery, so even if you miss a shot live, you can catch it on TV.
While RED, designed by Atlanta’s The Johnson Studio, will be open throughout Hawks and WNBA games – as well as 90 minutes prior and continue serving after games – it will also operate at concerts and other events, but perhaps on a modified schedule.
“The production of concerts might depend on if the artist will allow it to operate [during the show],” Lee said. A curtain will likely be drawn across the area during concerts so noise and lighting won’t distract, but after an event, RED will rock again.
“Right after a show, people’s adrenaline is running high so maybe you don’t want to leave yet,” Lee said, then added, “I think this makes our building feel new and different,” Lee said. “It creates a spirit of, ‘What’s next?’”
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