A second location of Chops Lobster Bar is heading to Centennial Yards
Chops Lobster Bar, the longtime Atlanta steakhouse from Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, will open a second location in downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Yards development later this year.
Chops Lobster Bar’s 13,000-square-foot downtown outpost at 85 Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW will offer a menu of seafood delivered fresh daily and USDA Prime aged beef, according to a news release. The warm wood dining room will be designed by Pat Kuleto, a restaurant designer who helped craft the iconic Buckhead Diner, and should look similar to Chops’ Buckhead location.
“Chops is more than a restaurant — it’s an Atlanta institution. It’s not just the exceptional food and service that make it iconic, but the memories it creates — celebrations, relationships and once-in-a-lifetime moments,” Brian McGowan, president at Centennial Yards, said in a prepared statement. “This is why we are excited about what owners Pano and Niko Karatassos will add to what we are building at Centennial Yards — a new place for people to have unique experiences.”
The nearly 50-year-old hospitality group operates six restaurants in Georgia, including Atlanta Fish Market, Chops Lobster Bar, Pricci, Corner Cafe, Kyma and Bistro Niko, one of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s 50 best restaurants. The group closed its iconic Buckhead Diner in 2021.
“Bringing Chops Lobster Bar to downtown Atlanta is an incredible milestone for us,” Pano Karatassos, co-president and culinary director of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, said in a press statement. “Our Buckhead location has become such a favorite of the community, and we’re excited to share that same fine-dining steakhouse experience within Centennial Yards.”
Chops first opened at 70 West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead in 1989. The downstairs space is dubbed the Lobster Bar, while its upstairs section is Chops steakhouse. The restaurant group also owns a Chops location in Boca Raton, Florida.
Buckhead Life Restaurant Group was recently awarded Restaurateur of the Year during the Georgia Restaurant Association Crystal of Excellence Awards in December.
I. Pano Karatassos, the founder and CEO of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, was also inducted into the GRA’s hall of fame.
Chops Lobster Bar will join other Centennial Yards tenants, including a third location of Busy Bee Cafe, Hotel Phoenix, Thai tapas restaurant Khao Thai Isan, Shake Shack, New York-based pub Irish Exit and concert venue Live Nation.
Centennial Yards is the $5 billion mixed-use property being redeveloped by real estate firm CIM Group. It aims to revitalize 50 acres of land in downtown Atlanta’s Gulch by adding 8 million square feet of new commercial and residential space.
About the Author
Olivia Wakim is a digital content producer on the food and dining team. She joined the AJC as an intern in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia with a journalism degree. While in school, she reported for The Red & Black, Grady Newsource and the Marietta Daily Journal.
