Jolene Jolene sports bar finds new home and more from Atlanta’s food scene
The Select in Sandy Springs found a new executive chef, a sports bar specializing in women’s sports landed a permanent space and Buckhead got another steakhouse. These are just some of this week’s happenings from the metro Atlanta food and dining scene.
Jolene Jolene has found its permanent home in Kirkwood
Atlanta will soon join a rare club as one of the few cities to have a sports bar dedicated to women’s sports.
The sports bar pop-up Jolene Jolene is opening a brick-and-mortar location in Kirkwood this summer. It will take over the Argonaut’s space at 1963 Hosea L Williams Drive, which has closed.
Chelsea Fishman, founder of Jolene Jolene, said she had been searching for a permanent space for months, but after being turned away by countless landlords as a first time business owner, or being priced out of rent, she knew she’d have to find another way to open her concept.
A serendipitous meeting with David Cunningham and Brandon Nelson, the owners of the Argonaut, offered her that opportunity. Fishman met with them earlier this year to pick their brains on the Kirkwood neighborhood. When they met, Cunningham and Nelson were already thinking of selling the restaurant. Between some events going on in Cunningham’s personal life, and also operating Grant Park Social, which remains open, Cunningham said he had decided to let go of the Argonaut.
“I wasn’t willing to let go of this place and just (have it) go to anybody, you know, I had to be able to relate with them. I had to feel good about it,” he said.
Fishman’s vision for an elevated sports bar, and the fact that she lived in the neighborhood, made Cunningham feel like she might be the exact person he was looking for to pass on the torch. He also felt like the neighborhood missed having a sports bar like Kirkyard Public House, the concept that had previously existed in the Argonaut’s space.
Fishman was also happy to keep on the Argonaut’s original chef, Gerson Balmont, and any staff who wished to remain.
After launching a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $60,000, Fishman took over the Argonaut from Cunningham and Nelson and assumed their lease.
The Argonaut owners will remain on for the next several months to help with the transition, Fishman said, and she and Balmont will collaborate on Jolene Jolene’s menu. A few of the Argonaut’s dishes might stick around, she said — like the burger and the fish sandwich — but otherwise they’ll rework it to serve more “elevated bar food.”
That includes a “girl dinner,” she said, which will be served charcuterie board-style but composed of an assortment of other various snacks, plus an espresso martini.
“I want everything to just feel very intentional, very fun, but also really good,” she said.
Fishman hopes to open Jolene Jolene by the summer. She’ll be transforming the space into something that works better as a sports bar. That includes more open seating with several community tables, adding several more TVs and repainting to create a brighter atmosphere with a colorful mural on one wall.
Jolene Jolene has built a following in the few years that Fishman has been running it. Her bar has a focus on women’s sports, which means it will prioritize those games, but it will still show men’s sports as well.
“I want to be a staple of women’s sports, but I want to be a staple of Atlanta, and so we do want to celebrate our teams,” Fishman said.
Jolene Jolene will join a select few sports bars that prioritize women’s sports, including the Sports Bra in Portland, Title 9 Sports Grill in Phoenix, Arizona, and Rough and Tumble Pub in Seattle.
Operating in a brick-and-mortar, somewhere that fans and newcomers can reliably come to watch games, will help to grow and normalize the community of women’s sports fans, Fishman said, especially when people who aren’t tuned in come dine at Jolene Jolene and are drawn back by the community and the great sports.
“The people that follow women’s sports, they’ve always been there, and it’s kind of like we’re all coming out of hibernation,” she said.
Some people ask her why a place like this is necessary, and why fans can’t just request that sports bars turn on a specific game. “The whole point is that you can come here and you don’t have to ask. It’s already on,” she said.
“You may not come in a fan, but you might leave one,” she added.
1963 Hosea L Williams Drive SE, Atlanta. jolenejoleneatl.com
The Select in Sandy Springs announces new executive chef
Sandy Springs restaurant the Select has hired Lorien M. Vilchez as its new executive chef, according to a news release.
Vilchez will be the first female chef to lead the restaurant. Her 20-year career includes time spent on the team of Atlanta’s Lazy Betty, Centennial Yard’s Hotel Phoenix, Humble Pie and the Four Seasons Hotel Miami.
At the Select, she will incorporate Peruvian and Caribbean flavors and French technique into the menu with new items like the shrimp saffron gnocchetti sardi, a dish featuring charred tomatoes, fennel, Calabrian chilis and pangrattato, or crispy bread crumbs.
“I’m honored and truly delighted to be the first female executive chef to lead the kitchen at the Select,” Vilchez said in a prepared statement. “The environment here has been so welcoming, and I’m excited to incorporate my culinary style and flavors in new dishes that will be offered alongside longtime favorites.”
6405 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs. 770-637-2240, theselectatl.com
Clark’s Steakhouse opens in Buckhead
Clark’s Steakhouse opened in Buckhead April 23 with a combination of New York steakhouse sensibilities and Southern influences, according to a news release.
The restaurant comes from Rich Clark, the restaurateur behind C&S Seafood and Oyster Bar in Sandy Springs, Brookhaven and Cumberland.
The menu from executive chef Zan Malik is centered around live fire and includes a range of Meat by Linz steak cuts including Japanese and local wagyu. There will also be wild game like a venison chop, duck breast and quail sausage, as well as seafood, such as wood-grilled branzino, and shareable sides like whipped sweet potato. Expect a nostalgic dessert menu featuring Coca-Cola German chocolate cake.
The wine program was curated by sommelier and director of operations and beverage Alexa Robertson, whose list features 550 selections and focuses on some of the world’s most storied regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy and Napa. A cocktail menu includes classic drinks like a martini and the Aztec Ember, a take on an Old Fashioned with tequila, mezcal rinse, mole, agave nectar and orange bitters.
The steakhouse’s 6,000-square-foot interior offers 170 seats and a 30-seat racetrack bar. The restaurant is open 5-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and 5-9 p.m. Sundays. (Bar opens at 4 p.m. every day). Lunch service will begin April 28.
2827 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta. 404-343-1831, clarkssteak.com
Georgia Tech graduate competes on MasterChef
Daniel Meng, a 2025 Georgia Tech graduate and food content creator, is competing on Season 16 of MasterChef, according to a news release.
Meng, who is from Johns Creek, has joined the “Global Gauntlet” season of MasterChef where home cooks from the U.S. will represent four territories across the globe. Meng was one of five cooks to be selected to represent Asia-Pacific. His Mapo tofu ravioli won him the white apron and a place on the show, Meng shared on his social media account.
Meng previously founded CHEFS at Tech, a club that helps students build cooking and nutrition skills, and he has built an audience on his Instagram account, Mengseats, where he shares easy and college-friendly recipes. The next episode of MasterChef premieres April 29 at 8 p.m.
Other news of interest
Aaron Phillips, the former co-executive chef of Michelin-starred Lazy Betty, has left the restaurant, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported this week.
Waldorf Astoria Atlanta Buckhead will offer a limited-time cocktail beginning April 26 inspired by “The Devil Wears Prada 2” film. The Devil’s Martini will be served at the Brassica Bar and features Sakura vermouth, hibiscus flower extract and a preserved Wakamomo peach garnish.
3376 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 404-995-7500, Brassicarbar.com
The Atlanta International Night Market, a nonprofit that hosts large-scale festivals showcasing international cuisine, music and art, was ranked 5th in USA Today’s Best Night Market Contest as part of its 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, according to a news release. The nonprofit was established to help support emerging vendors and celebrate cultural diversity in Atlanta. It holds events in cities across the metro area, including Chamblee, Norcross and Lawrenceville.
Enzo Steakhouse & Bar is now featured in the Delta Sky Club in Concourses B and D at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as part of Delta’s Local Flavors program, according to a news release. The program celebrates local chefs and restaurants that shape Atlanta’s dining scene. The Delta Sky Club menu will include black garlic marinated short rib; a salt-crusted beet salad with roasted heirloom beets, burrata and toasted hazelnuts; and Enzo’s tiramisu.
Delta Sky Club. Concourses B and D. enzo-itl.com
Tip Top Proper Cocktails, the Atlanta-based canned cocktail brand, is debuting the Oaxaca Old Fashioned cocktail in partnership with the drink’s creator, Phil Ward of New York City’s Long Island Bar, according to a news release. Tip Top recipe developer Miles Macquarrie of Kimball House worked with Ward to create the canned version of the drink that blends tequila, mezcal, agave nectars and bitters. It will be available as part of Tip Top’s Tequila and Mezcal Variety Pack.
Openings
Stellow Coffee & Floral, which began as a coffee and flower cart, has opened a brick-and-mortar cafe in Chamblee, according to a social media post.
3466 Chamblee Dunwoody Way, Chamblee. 470-502-2889, stellow.com
J. Alexander’s, a chain restaurant serving steak, seafood, sushi and sandwiches, opens a location at the Battery development Monday. The outpost will include a garage door-style opening to the bar, an outdoor patio and walk-up ordering window on game days and cocktails to-go.
455 Legends Place, Atlanta. 470-361-0644, jalexanders.com
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, a Hawai‘i-based restaurant chain, opened its fifth Georgia location in Duluth on April 2. The menu includes Spam musubi, garlic shrimp, loco moco and chicken katsu.
2442 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth. hawaiianbarbecue.com
Announcements
Silverspoon Cafe is set to open in downtown Atlanta in May, What Now Atlanta first reported.
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.
