Atlanta’s skateboarding chefs find community in the kitchen — and the bowl

Terry Koval (the Deer and the Dove, B-Side, Fawn) moved around a lot as a kid, living in various cities in Ohio, Colorado and Michigan before settling in Mauldin, South Carolina, with his family when he was 12 years old.

It was there that Koval, a self-described “short, chubby kid” who was often bullied for his appearance, discovered skateboarding.

“It was the late ’80s, and I saw these guys out and about skateboarding, and I just thought it was so cool,” said Koval.

He picked up his first board and was hooked immediately. Not just on the movement and the fancy tricks, but on the instant sense of community — something he said he desperately needed at the time.

“Skateboarding became a retreat for me. ... My life really could have gone down a different path,” said Koval.

Credit: Apple Photos Clean Up

Credit: Apple Photos Clean Up

The skateboarding community became his chosen family when Koval dropped out of high school and left home at age 15. He and two friends headed to Skatepark of Tampa, Florida, one of the sport’s premier East Coast venues. While Koval never turned pro, he credits professional athletes and others in that world with protecting him during a vulnerable time as a teen living on his own in a new city.

“It was a wild time and a place that was pure ’90s,” recalled Koval. “I met people from all over the world, and Brian Schaefer, the owner (of Skatepark of Tampa), became sort of a father figure for me,” he continued.

Schaefer remembers first meeting Koval while hanging out with mutual friends at Eastern Vert Skatepark in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and later giving Koval a place to live at Skatepark of Tampa.

“It was almost like a little clubhouse,” recalled Schaefer, who hosted a revolving crew of teens and young adults who were only a few years younger than he was.

“We had a room with four beds that was almost like a bunkhouse, and people could build or make their own rooms as long as they paid their rent or earned their keep doing work around the park,” Schaefer said. (Koval recalled waking up early in the morning to help Schaefer build ramps or clean the park before practicing bowl flips, boardslides and other tricks.)

Schaefer estimated that as many as 10 skaters lived at the park at one time, with Koval being the youngest and the “mascot” of the group.

“Terry was the life of the party and was everybody’s friend,” explained Schafer, who still keeps in touch with many of his former charges, including Koval.

“I’m very proud of him,” said Schaefer, who confirmed that the same qualities that made Koval a great skateboarder — expressiveness, creativity, camaraderie — make him a success in the kitchen as well.

Koval moved to Atlanta in 2000 to pursue his culinary dreams, working in storied kitchens at Buckhead Diner, Canoe and Wrecking Bar Brewpub before opening the Deer and the Dove in 2019 and Fawn earlier this year.

“Skateboarding ties into my cooking because it requires the exact same drive, passion and sense of community to work in a restaurant as it does to skate,” explained Koval. “A lot of folks in the kitchen come from the same kind of pedigree as I do; we’re really a band of misfits that have connected and formed a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood,” he continued.

Koval’s restaurants feature interior design elements that reflect his skateboarding past, including three originals from photographer Grant Brittain, best known for his iconic photos of legendary skater Tony Hawk. Pat McClain, a former professional skateboarder who built Decatur’s McKoy Skate Park and part of Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park, designed the bar and chef’s counter at Fawn. McClain incorporated a miniature skateboarding bowl into the corner of the moody, dimly lit bar, a nod to Koval’s affinity for the sport. “It’s a little part of myself and my past in the restaurant,” said Koval.

Nicaraguan-born Talavera also found friendship and connection in the skateboarding community after moving to the U.S. at the age of six.

“We moved to Alabama, which was a bit of a culture shock,” explained Talavera. “My stepfather, Frank, was the first guy that showed me how to skateboard, and I fell in love with it,” said Talavera, who moved to Atlanta when he was 13.

He started skating seriously at local parks and competitions in the Southeast, eventually turning pro with sponsorships from several skateboard brands and a skateboard shop.

“What I love about skating is that everyone is from different backgrounds and into different music and art, but everyone is so welcoming and willing to teach you,” he continued.

“I find skating so freeing, and it was amazing to meet a whole bunch of people and learn new things every day. The community is the best part about skateboarding,” said Talavera.

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

Talavera found his way into a kitchen after a broken foot ended his professional skateboarding career when he was 20. He started with a six-year stint at MF Sushi, followed by working on the opening team at Lily Sushi Bar in Alpharetta. He landed at Lure in January 2024.

“Just like with skating, in kitchens, you meet people from all over the world and you build this tight-knit community because you’re working together to accomplish the same goal,” he said.

The skateboarder-to-chef pipeline is not just an Atlanta phenomenon. Legendary professional skateboarder Salman Agah, a former teammate of Tony Hawk, founded the popular California-based Pizzanista! chain. Welsh professional skateboarder and stuntman Mathew Pritchard hosts BBC’s “Dirty Vegan” and authored a cookbook of the same name.

While Talavera and Koval no longer skate at the competitive or semi-competitive level, both still spend time at local parks when they’re off kitchen duty.

Koval often grabs his McCoy-designed Santa Cruz skateboard and heads to Newnan Skatepark or the public skate park in Cumming with his 12-year-old son, Jackson, or other skaters-turned-chefs from his restaurants.

“I’m 49 years old, and the sport has definitely changed, but if I want to go skateboarding and drop in on a bowl and cruise around and do some tricks, I still love that feeling,” said Koval, who can still nail a pop shove-it (an airborne 180-degree spin) like he did when he was a teen.

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

Talavera can be found at DeShong Park near his former home in Gwinnett County. “I like going out there and feeling like I can still do some tricks and some rides,” explained Talavera, who jokes about being the “old guy” around the park these days.

“But I love constantly meeting and encouraging younger people in the sport. And for me, I love the time to let my mind wander and let go of everything at the end of the day,” he continued.

Talavera said skateboarding provides him with an instant connection with people when he travels, often with his favorite Baker skateboard in tow.

“In the last two years, I’ve skated in Amsterdam, Prague, Oslo, Copenhagen, Paris, and it’s always amazing meeting new people. It’s this unspoken thing that connects us all,” he said.

And just like the sport that gave them a sense of purpose and community as teens, Talavera and Koval agreed — whether it’s working the line during dinner service or cruising around the bowl on a rare day off, it’s all about the friends you make along the way.