Butcher shop by day, Kinship is launching fine dining pop-up by night

A seat at the counter won’t be easy to come by. Reservations via Resy opened on Tuesday but sold out through 2025 in four hours, Pack said. Bookings for 2026 are expected to be released in December.

Credit: Dave Crawford

Credit: Dave Crawford

During a recent preview of the experience, Moody unveiled a progression of highly composed, seasonally driven dishes. It began with a summer tart of preserved chamomile and herbs followed by a raw oyster topped with fermented green tomato and capered coriander. There was Georgia royal red shrimp with Sungold tomatoes, fermented strawberry and bay laurel; quail with summer corn and grilled cream; dry-aged beef with fairytale eggplant and preserved roselle; and many others — ending with a mignardise of sweet bites. Guests also were handed takeaway gifts of a home-made candle and the evening’s menu tucked inside a handsewn paper slipcase.

Credit: Dave Crawfor

Credit: Dave Crawfor

As Moody, with the assistance of two sous chefs, worked behind the butcher counter to prepare each course, Pack handled front-of-house duties, resetting the counter, pouring the low-intervention wines that will be the focus of her curated pairings (which can also accommodate nonalcoholic requests), and discussing the provenance and stories behind ingredients, plateware, silverware and beverages.

Moody and Pack both hail from fine-dining backgrounds. Moody, an Atlanta native, began his cooking career at Holeman & Finch and Restaurant Eugene. He then moved to New York to work his way through Michelin-starred kitchens Blue Hill, Eleven Madison Park, and Scandinavian restaurant Aska in Brooklyn, where he met Pack. They worked there — with Moody as chef de cuisine and Pack as general manager and beverage director — until the pandemic upended the restaurant industry. The couple returned to Moody’s hometown in 2020 to open Kinship Butcher & Sundry.

Credit: Kathryn Ann Waller

Credit: Kathryn Ann Waller

“Even before we moved to Atlanta, we always wanted a fine dining restaurant,” Moody told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The pop-up is the first step in that direction. To that end, the couple has formed Pack Hospitality, a brand for their future culinary-minded projects. One of those is to cultivate their own produce for use at Kin. The couple currently tends two small plots at Tapestry Garden in Ormewood Park. However, in January they will assume the lease for the garden with plans to build out Under Acre Farm and hire a farm manager. “It’s a way to get our hands in the dirt,” Moody said.

“We also have plans for a casual restaurant and potentially other locations for Kinship across the state eventually,” Moody said. “That’s like a 10, 20 year plan,” he added. “I’ve seen a lot of businesses and restaurateurs expand a little bit too quickly, and I feel like quality suffers. I don’t ever want to deliver our guests anything other than the best of what we can offer. So we would rather take our time and do it right than do everything all at once.”

“We want to grow responsibly,” Park added. “It took four years for us to start these fine dining pop-ups, even though that was our intention from day one. We want to move carefully and respectfully.”