Smorgasburg Atlanta announces 40 vendors for 1st season — and more from metro Atlanta’s dining scene
This week on the metro Atlanta dining scene, Smorgasburg’s first-season lineup came into focus, a teenage entrepreneur opened his second hot dog restaurant and a renowned Florida steakhouse announced an exclusive, one-night takeover of a Midtown restaurant.
Smorgasburg Atlanta announces first-season vendors
The weekly food festival Smorgasburg Atlanta has announced the 40 vendors that will populate its first season, which will begin Oct. 18 and take place each Saturday until Dec. 20. The initial lineup includes several well-known names from the metro Atlanta restaurant scene, like the Mexican restaurant El Ponce, viral pizza restaurant Phew’s Pies, Decatur Indian restaurant Zyka and the Peruvian pop-up Hermanita from the chef behind Tio Lucho’s.
The list also features many newcomers to the restaurant scene, a key part of the Smorgasburg experience.
“Smorgasburg Atlanta is more than a food festival, it’s an incubator for chefs and food entrepreneurs. Much of my experience has been focused on creating spaces where small businesses can take risks and grow, which is exactly what we’re building here,” general manager Paris Jeffcoat said in a press statement. “Our goal is to give guests a pleasing variety worth coming back for every week while simultaneously providing chefs with a platform to reach new audiences and be discovered. Atlanta is a city that supports its own, and Smorgasburg is here to amplify that spirit by highlighting the incredible food and people behind the heart of the experience.”
Here’s the full list of vendors released this week: Bara ATL, Hudson & Alphonse, Pretty Little Tacos, Pat’s Poutine, Shogun Matcha, Madre Garcia’s, RXLA, Cafe Bourbon Street, Eggroll Boyz, Phew’s Pies, Avian and John, Not As Famous Cookie Company, La Macaron Guy, La Picana Grill, HibachiRito, Chispas Snacks ATL, Levi’s Jerk Pit, Zyka Indian Restaurant, Hermanita, Across the Coast Seafood, Thicc Burger, Fu Pei Mi, Eggalicious, El Santo Gallo Taqueria, El Ponce, Casa Ceviche, Different Twist ATL, Argentine Eats, Saffron Work, Yaardie Eats, Tori, Toxic Tailgate, Nana’s Chicken & Waffles, Finca to Filter, PB Jam Band, Delilah’s Everyday Soul, First Batch Artisan and Astros Corn Dogs.
Smorgasburg Atlanta will be open Saturdays from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. beginning Oct. 18.
134 Forsyth St. SW, Atlanta. smorgasburgatlanta.com
Teen entrepreneur opens second Atlanta restaurant
Young entrepreneur Mason Wright is bringing his hot dog stand, Mason’s Super Dogs, to the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail. It will be the second location of Mason’s Super Dogs after Wright, now 19, began selling hot dogs from a cart on the Morehouse College campus at age 12.
The new location of Mason’s Super Dogs held a grand opening celebration Friday at its new address, 850 Willoughby Way, near the Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark.
The first location of Mason’s Super Dogs remains open in the Creekview Plaza Market shopping center on Snapfinger Road in Stonecrest.
850 Willoughby Way NE, Atlanta. masonssuperdogs.com
Legendary Florida steakhouse will hold Atlanta event
Bern’s Steakhouse, the iconic Tampa restaurant known for its in-house dry-aging program and wine cellar with more than half a million bottles, will bring its culinary team to Atlanta for one night next month. Bern’s will take over Reverence in Midtown’s Epicurean Hotel on Oct. 7 for a ticketed, multi-course dinner featuring a selection of wines from the steakhouse’s cellar.
The team from Bern’s will include owner David Laxer, executive chef Chad Johnson, head sommelier Brad Dixon and pastry chef Hannah Thomas. After a short reception, diners will be seated for a five-course dinner that includes caviar, dry-aged beef carpaccio and a taste of three aged strip steaks. Wine tastings are included and will feature vintages no less than 12 years old.
Tickets to the experience cost $375 per person and include valet parking and gratuity. Reservations and more information are available on OpenTable.
Reverence. 1117 W. Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta. 470-283-2590, reverenceatlanta.com
Other items of interest
Molly B’s, a vendor at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, will have a special new food item Sunday that was introduced with the help of Atlanta Falcons offensive linemen Chris Lindstrom and Matthew Bergeron. The jumbo Dirty Bird turkey leg is coated in Falcons-inspired Dirty Bird dust and served with a peach-habanero dipping sauce. The restaurant will also introduce a new dessert: peach cobbler parfait with funnel fries.
Molly B’s first opened as a standalone restaurant overlooking the field. The original concept closed early in 2024 and was transformed into an exclusive lounge. A concession stand, located in Section 133, was also introduced and is accessible to all ticket-holders.
The Cenacle Bistro, which claims the title of the first Black-owned restaurant in Austell, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary Saturday with a day of family fun, games and entertainment, according to a news release. The restaurant will keep the celebration rolling on Sunday with a seafood buffet and live music.
2844 Veterans Memorial Highway SW, Austell. 770-966-2711, thecenaclecoffee.com
Restaurant openings
Rreal Tacos will open its new location on the Atlanta Beltline on Monday, the restaurant chain announced on social media with the help of its new ambassador, the rollerblading influencer known as Beltline Kevin (and a copy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
699 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-941-9690, rrealtacos.com
Roaring Social will open its “treasury” location in downtown Decatur on Sept. 18, according to a news release from ownership group Competitive Social Ventures. The Roaring ’20s speakeasy-themed eatertainment venue will feature a full-service restaurant, bar, live music stage and boutique bowling lanes within its 7,500-square-foot space. Guests will enter the restaurant through a vault door in a former bank located across the street from the Decatur courthouse.
101 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur. roaringsocialdecatur.com
Mobay Spice reopened Monday after a renovation that expanded the Caribbean restaurant’s space in the Toco Hills Promenade strip mall in North Druid Hills, restaurant representatives confirmed to the AJC.
2957 N. Druid Hills Road, Atlanta. 404-941-7028, instagram.com/mobayspiceofficial
Restaurant announcements
Salted Melon, a growing Charlotte, North Carolina-based fast-casual chain focused on healthy fare will open its first Atlanta location early next year, according to a news release. Construction on the restaurant, which will be the chain’s fourth location overall, will begin this fall at the Andrews Square development in Buckhead.
Cultivate, which closed locations in west Midtown and the Battery within the past year, will once again have a location on Howell Mill Road when it takes over the space formerly occupied by Snooze A.M. Eatery, Tomorrow’s News Today reported.
Restaurant closings
Zeats, a franchise restaurant chain out of Michigan, closed its location in Atlanta’s Upper Westside neighborhood this week, according to Tomorrow’s News Today.
About the Author
Henri Hollis is a reporter and restaurant critic for the Food & Dining team. Formerly a freelance writer and photographer with a focus on food and restaurants, he joined the AJC full-time in January 2021, first covering breaking news. He is a lifelong Atlantan and a graduate of Georgia Tech.
