Hotly anticipated restaurants lead nearly 20 November openings around metro Atlanta
Several highly anticipated restaurants led a roster of 18 new openings around metro Atlanta in November. Chicago chain Portillo’s brought in huge crowds for the grand opening of its first Georgia location in Kennesaw, while the steakhouse Luella opened after a lengthy remodel of the space formerly home to the Ivy.
Few closings were reported in November, but they did include a high-profile, decades-old Buckhead restaurant.
Restaurant openings
Kilwins, an ice cream and candy chain, opened a location in Madison Yards on Nov. 1.
907 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. 404-228—2760, kilwins.com
T Cakes, a dessert bar that began as a farmers market stand, opened in Austell on Nov. 2, according to a news release. Its first brick-and-mortar storefront is in the Riverside Epicenter on Riverside Parkway.
135 Riverside Parkway, Austell. 404-781-9014, tvelvetcakes.com
Spiller Park opened its fifth location Nov. 3 in Midtown on the ground floor of the 999 Peachtree building. Owner Dale Donchey first opened Spiller Park in 2015 as a stall in Ponce City Market. The name is a reference to Spiller Field, a ballpark once located on Ponce de Leon Avenue, the self-proclaimed “baseball nut” said. He’s since added locations in Toco Hill, Midtown and South Downtown. It offers a menu of coffee drinks, tea and toast combinations.
999 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. spillerpark.com
Close Company, a cocktail bar from the team behind New York City’s famous bar Death & Co., opened a location in Old Fourth Ward Nov. 6.
The bar opened at 505 N. Angier Ave. NE in the New City Properties development off the Beltline. It has an approachable menu, co-owner Dave Kaplan said, with cocktails recognizable to most people and bar snacks like pastry pockets, popcorn and chips, following the model of the other Close Company locations in Nashville and Las Vegas.
505 N. Angier Ave., Atlanta. closecompanybar.com
Giulia, an Italian bakery, opened a second location in the Avenue East Cobb on Nov. 7. The bakery offers a menu of pastries, sandwiches and coffee drinks. Sahit Gjuka and his wife, Agreta, first opened Giulia in May 2024 at the Forum Peachtree Corners development. The 900-square-foot bakery is between Barre3 and new Italian restaurant Luga.
4475 Roswell Road, Marietta. 770-726-3360, giuliabakery.com
Beyond Juicery + Eatery opened Nov. 8 in Buckhead. The new health-conscious restaurant is the chain’s 50th franchise location.
1927 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 404-806-1609, beyondjuiceryeatery.com
Raani Coffee Roasters opened Nov. 8 in East Atlanta in the former Hodgepodge Coffeehouse space, Rough Draft Atlanta reported.
720 Moreland Ave. SE, Atlanta. raanicoffee.com
Cremalosa, a gelato shop that also features pastries and boozy milkshakes, has relocated from Decatur to a new space facing the Avondale Estates Town Green. The shop temporarily closed in June to prepare for the move. On Nov, 9, the shop became the first business to open in the Dale, a commercial development near the Town Green that will include 24,000 square feet of restaurants, retail and office space.
Cremalosa is owned by Meridith Ford, a pastry chef and food writer who was the AJC’s dining critic 2004-2010. She said she fell in love with gelato while working in pastry for Riccardo Ullio of Sotto Sotto, Fritti and Novo Cucina.
70 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates. 404-578-2739, cremalosa.com
Bao GoGo, a Chinese restaurant chain, opened a third Atlanta-area location in early November, Rough Draft Atlanta reported. The new restaurant is on Memorial Drive in the Reynoldstown neighborhood.
982 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. 404-963-7126, gogobaoatlanta.com
Bonchon, a Korean fried chicken chain, opened its third metro Atlanta location in Smyrna on Nov. 12, according to Tomorrow’s News Today.
4340 East-West Connector, Smyrna. 678-626-4048, restaurants.bonchon.com
The Local Tavern, a restaurant from the team behind Local on North in downtown Duluth, opened Nov. 17 in the former Red Pepper Taqueria space at Briar Vista Shopping Center in Toco Hill. The space includes a dining room with dark woods and muted lighting, a bar and lounge area and an outdoor patio, according to a news release. Expect American and Italian dishes on the menu that includes salads, steak frites, sandwiches, pork chops and seafood like branzino, grilled salmon and mahi mahi.
2149 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta. 404-968-9865, localtavernatl.com
Portillo’s opened its highly anticipated Kennesaw restaurant Nov. 18 — the chain’s first location in Georgia and 100th overall. The restaurant is a fast-casual chain known for its Chicago-style street food such as hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled burgers and chocolate cake. Enthusiastic diners gathered hours before the grand opening of the new Portillo’s at 790 Cobb Place Blvd. NW in the Town Center at Cobb development, sending a line around the parking lot and out of the development.
790 Cobb Place Blvd. NW, Kennesaw. 866-986-2333, portillos.com/kennesaw
Lazy Dog Restaurant at Perimeter reopened Nov. 19 after it was temporarily shut down by a kitchen fire.
4532 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. 770-376-0111, lazydogrestaurants.com/locations/perimeter-ga
Bar Ana, a late-night dessert and cocktail bar from Atlanta pastry chef Claudia Martinez and business partner Artie De Los Santo, opened in the basement of El Ponce on Nov. 20. The former El Bar nightclub at 939 Ponce De Leon Ave. NE has been transformed into Martinez’s dessert-focused bar with a menu of plated desserts and cocktails. During the day, Recuerdos, a coffee pop-up that centers on Mexican coffee and immigrant stories, will operate out of the space with a menu of espresso and tea drinks developed by owner Ivan Solis and pastries from Martinez.
939 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta. 470-763-9626, baranaatl.com
Azara, a new health-centered restaurant founded by a physician, opened on the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail on Nov. 21.
Created by Dr. Raj Pandya, Azara is an all-day restaurant with cuisine “inspired by the world’s longevity hotspots,” the opening announcement said. The menu combines Asian, Mediterranean and Latin influences, with ingredients like Sardinian olive oil, Ikarian herbs and Okinawan sweet potatoes.
550 Somerset Terrace NE, Atlanta. 470-312-2112, azaraatl.com
Fried Rice Master opened a stall in the Marietta Square Market on Nov. 22, according to a social media post. It offers fried rice and noodles with various proteins, chicken wings and a build-your-own tteokbokki option. Fried Rice Master also operates a location in Kennesaw.
68 N. Marietta Parkway NW, Marietta. 470-902-5297, instagram.com/frm_marietta
Luga, a full-service Italian restaurant from Ben and Seth Gjuka opened Nov. 24 in the Avenue East Cobb next to Giulia. Expect a seasonal menu with salads, Roman-style pizza and house-made pastas. The 4,400-square-foot building features layered textures, natural materials and botanicals, according to a news release.
4475 Roswell Road, Marietta. 470-787-2663, lugaitalian.com
Luella, a steakhouse taking over the building formerly occupied by the Ivy in Buckhead, opened Nov. 25.
Owners Jamey and Benjie Shirah closed the Ivy last December after 14 years. In an effort to move away from the nightlife scene, they redesigned the space into Luella, a steakhouse modeled after their restaurant Little Betty Steak Bar in Birmingham, Alabama, Jamey Shirah told the AJC in June.
Executive chef Stuart Rogers (previously of Your 3rd Spot, Lyla Lila and Oak Steakhouse) leads the kitchen, along with Kyle Biddy, the executive chef of Little Betty, according to a news release.
3717 Roswell Road, Atlanta. 404-968-9434, luellaatl.com
Restaurant closures
Dantana’s, the highly-visible sports bar at the Shops Around Lenox development in Buckhead, will close after 23 years, as first reported by Tomorrow’s News Today.
“During the nearly quarter century that we have served Atlanta, countless memories, friendships, and experiences have been created. It is humbling to look back now and reflect that our amazing team has provided millions of great experiences,” restaurant representatives said in a social media post.
The restaurant’s last day of service is Dec. 6.
Sankranti Indian Kitchen, a fast-casual chain, closed its locations in Decatur and Dunwoody last month, Tomorrow’s News Today reported.
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.
