TV chef talks food at new Roswell creator complex and more from Atlanta’s dining scene
A popular pink-themed brunch restaurant will relocate to Buckhead this summer, a new Thai restaurant from the team behind 26 Thai debuts Monday at Ponce City Market, a gluten-free bakery will pop up in downtown during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and more of this week’s food and dining happenings around metro Atlanta.
Pizza, lobster and a mechanical bull find a home in Roswell
Looking for a venue that offers lobster, Chicago-style pizza, line dancing, a jail cell and the Oval Office all in one place?
Thanks to You42 Studios in Roswell, that option now exists, and it’s located in the former Andretti Indoor Karting & Games building, where a separate volleyball gym is tucked into the back.
You42 Studios is a large entertainment and creator complex that offers rentable studios and podcast rooms for content creators, as well as event space. The indoor streetscape branches off into rooms designed to look like the Oval Office, a New York bodega, a jail cell and a broadcast news studio.
And it will soon have two restaurants plus a Western-themed bar open to the public. Chef Katsuji Tanabe, who was previously on “Top Chef,” “Chopped” and “Tournament of Champions,” among other shows, developed the menu for all three concepts. Atlanta-based chef Travis Cintron has also joined Tanabe as the food and beverage director.
This is Tanabe’s first foray into the metro Atlanta restaurant scene, but he owns Bittersweet Pastry Shop in Chicago and Flour and Barrel in North Carolina.
“I consider myself a very selfish chef. So, everything that I put on the menu is something that I crave,” Tanabe told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I wanna make sure people cannot make this at home.”
His first restaurant at You42, AJ’s Pizzeria, features a menu of Chicago-style tavern pizza, wings and chopped salads. The counter-service restaurant is outfitted like a retro arcade-era pizza shop with white and red checked tablecloths; it also offers delivery and pickup.
Upstairs, the 2,940-square-foot western bar Big Shots features line dancing, beer and a mechanical bull. The menu is filled with all the items Tanabe said he likes to eat at a bar, including chicken wings, fried chicken, pizza and bags of fries loaded with peppers, onions and chicken.
The anchor restaurant, High Horse, is set in a 2,586-square-foot space with live-fire cooking and, in alignment with the studios surrounding it, an environment meant to entertain. The menu includes seafood towers, steaks, spinach salad prepared table-side, foie gras creme brulee, grilled oysters with Japanese butter and cornbread muffins. For dessert, guests can make their own cotton candy.
A beverage menu features “theatrical” cocktails, according to a news release. The interior is dark and moody with green leather booths, brass shelving and dark wood.
“I think the concept of the whole space of using entertainment and media, I always say that we really don’t sell food,” he said. “We sell entertainment, and food is just a vehicle.”
AJ’s Pizzeria and Big Shots are currently open, and High Horse is set to debut in the coming weeks.
11000 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell. you42studios.com/dining
Terminal 26 opens at Ponce City Market
Terminal 26, a Thai restaurant from the team behind 26 Thai, will open June 8 in the former W.H. Stiles Fish Camp space at Ponce City Market. Terminal 26 is inspired by the floating markets of Thailand and will be open for lunch and dinner.
Expect menu offerings like a crispy oyster pancake; floating market red curry; spicy mango salad; tamarind snapper; chicken khao soi roti wrap; khao soi noodles and street shrimp pot with glass noodles, shrimp, ginger and Thai herbs. A dessert menu includes khanom tuay (a steamed coconut milk custard) and mango sticky rice.
The beverage menu will feature wine, beer and cocktails like a frozen Singha slushie, also known as “jelly beer” in Thailand, according to a news release.
Sisters Niki and Tanya Pattharakositkul are behind this restaurant. Niki Pattharakositkul opened her first eatery, 26 Thai, in 2016 and has expanded to nine locations. Her sister joined her as a co-founder, and the pair have opened Pink Lotus in west Midtown and Blackjack Bar Tapas in Midtown, and their team is set to debut Khao Thai Isan in downtown Atlanta.
675 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. terminal26.com
Other news of interest
Trilith Guesthouse announced it has appointed Jay Swift as its new executive chef, according to a news release. Swift has held roles at many Atlanta restaurants, including South City Kitchen, the Iberian Pig and TWO Urban Licks. He will now oversee all dining operations at the boutique hotel in Town at Trilith, including Prologue Dining & Drinks, Oliver’s Twist Bar & View, in-room dining and private event catering.
350 Trilith Parkway, Fayetteville. 866-791-7417, trilithguesthouse.com
Hell Yeah Gluten Free, a bakery that specializes in gluten-free pastries, will host a pop-up inside the Atlanta Daily World Building in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood as part of an activation tied to the World Cup, according to a news release.
The pop-ups are part of the Downtown Pop-Up Opportunity Fund, a Downtown Atlanta Inc. initiative designed to help local businesses, “activate historic corridors and drive long-term cultural and economic investment” ahead of the World Cup, according to the release. The program is bringing temporary retail concepts to vacant and underused commercial storefronts across downtown Atlanta.
There will be 13 pop-ups in total with concepts offering bicycle and walking tours, vintage clothes, gifts and paper goods, juice, macaroons, ice cream and pastries.
During Hell Yeah Gluten Free’s pop-up, it will serve gluten-free cinnamon rolls, biscuits, breakfast sandwiches and coffee beverages. It will be open 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Sunday starting June 12.
145 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta. hellyeahglutenfree.com
Buford Highway Restaurant Month will run through the month of June with a soccer-themed scavenger hunt. Diners can pick up a player card and visit participating restaurants throughout the month in search of hidden soccer balls. Take a photo with the soccer ball, upload your receipt and collect 10 stickers for a chance to win prizes. Pick-up locations include Chamblee, Doraville and Brookhaven City Halls, as well as at participating restaurants.
Through June 30. Multiple locations. welovebuhi.org/soccer-bufordhighway
Vinny’s Mutual Aid Bakery, a bakery pop-up from Vince Pellegri that donates a portion of its proceeds to mutual aid causes, announced that it is looking for outside funding in order to continue expanding operations. Since founding the pop-up two years ago, Pellegri has self-funded all the operations, but he hopes this effort will allow him to move the business into a larger kitchen space, acquire bakery equipment and support vendor market fees, according to the fundraising page.
Restaurant openings
Alonetogether, an upscale restaurant from Houston chef Jonny Rhodes, has opened in Midtown with a menu rooted in Haitian-French-Creole cooking with Thai influences. Expect menu items like a seafood platter; Clara’s Kalalou Soup, a tribute to Rhodes’ mother; a 32-day dry-aged ribeye au poivre; and bone marrow ice cream served on the bone with stewed cherries, thyme and sea salt. The bar will offer a selection of nonalcoholic drinks like passionfruit and blood orange elixir with soursop and tamarind and toasted peanut soda.
This is a return to the hospitality industry for Rhodes, who closed his Houston restaurant, Indigo, and grocery concept, Broham Fine Soulfood & Groceries, in 2021. He spent the next five years traveling the world.
1270 W. Peachtree St. NW, Atlanta. instagram.com/alonetogether_atl
Dough in the Box, a local doughnut shop with locations in Austell, Marietta and South Fulton, has opened in South Downtown near Spiller Park and Tyde Tate Kitchen, according to a social media announcement. It offers a menu of doughnuts, pigs in a blanket and bagels.
239 Mitchell St., Atlanta. doughinthebox.com
Mikkelson’s Market, a specialty grocery store from the team behind JenChan’s, has expanded with a menu of sandwiches like a fried mortadella, a pork roll with egg and cheese and a banh mi available from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
210 Flat Shoals Ave. SE, Atlanta. 404-268-6798, mikkelsonsmarket.com
Honey Bubble Tea has relocated to Memorial Drive in the Madison Yards development. It is next to Mama Lin’s Chicken Delight, a new fried chicken restaurant from the same chef and owner, Mei Lin. Lin, who also owns the Consulate in Midtown with husband Doug Hines, opened Honey Bubble Tea on Ponce de Leon Avenue more than 13 years ago, but closed that location late last year before moving to Memorial Drive. Mama Lin’s Chicken Delight is a fast-casual restaurant offering fried chicken sandwiches inspired by Lin’s family recipes, according to a news release.
935 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta. 404-835-2009, instagram.com/honeybubbletea
Bolivar Coffee, a Colombian cafe with a location in Smyrna, has opened its second outpost in Marietta. It offers a menu of coffee drinks, pastries, sandwiches and desserts like alfajores, obleas and pandebono.
1651 Powder Springs Road, Marietta. 678-896-6731, bolivarcoffee.com
Whataburger, a burger chain with locations across the metro Atlanta area, has opened another location in Carrollton.
1119 S. Park St., Carrollton. whataburger.com
Restaurant announcements
Pretty Bird Rotisserie, a new rotisserie chicken restaurant, is set to open June 15 on the Westside in the former Zunzi’s space, Tomorrow’s News Today first reported. It comes from Jon Beatty, a franchisee of Cheba Hut locations in Atlanta and Athens.
1971 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. instagram.com/prettybirdatl
High Noon Brunchery, an entirely pink brunch restaurant, is moving from its original location in downtown Douglasville to Buckhead, according to a social media post. It will close its Douglasville outpost June 7 and reopen in Buckhead in mid-July. The new Buckhead address has not been shared.
8440 Courthouse Square E., Douglasville. 678-398-7853, highnoonbrunchery.com
Clove, an Indian fusion restaurant, will open in Duluth in June, according to a news release. It comes from brothers Anuj and Pankaj Wadhawan and chef Parveen K. Sharma, who hope to highlight the traditions of Indian cuisine with “innovative culinary techniques,” according to the release.
3083 Breckinridge Blvd., Duluth. instagram.com/tasteofclove
Closures
Indulge Popcorn, a gourmet popcorn shop in Lenox Square mall, announced on social media it will close its operations on June 27 after nine years of business.
About the Author
Olivia Wakim is a reporter on the lifestyle 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.
