Mezza Luna rebrands, Tuk Tuk closes and more from the Atlanta restaurant scene

The couple behind Mezza Luna is making big moves a few years after buying the Marietta Italian restaurant; Dunwoody will soon be home to a new patio bar and a new ice cream shop; Party in the Kitchen gets a September event date; and more of the week’s happenings from the metro Atlanta restaurant scene.

A rendering of Osteria Bella, the forthcoming Halcyon restaurant from Daniele and Bella Furfaro. (Courtesy of Osteria Bella)

Mezza Luna rebranding, owners opening new restaurant at Halcyon

The family behind the long-running Italian restaurant Mezza Luna announced this week that they will rebrand their popular Marietta dining destination and open a new restaurant at Halcyon in Alpharetta.

Mezza Luna will become Trattoria Bella later this month, according to a news release. The restaurant’s new name honors Bella Furfaro, co-owner of the business and wife of chef Daniele Furfaro.

Later this year, the family’s second restaurant, Osteria Bella, will bring Southern Italian cuisine to the space formerly home to Butcher & Brew at Halcyon. The menu will draw from Daniele Furfaro’s Calabrian roots with dishes like squid-ink tagliatelle with seafood; paccheri with braised duck ragu; and branzino in lemon-butter sauce with capers and cherry tomatoes.

Chicken piccata from chef Daniele Furfaro, co-owner of Osteria Bella and Trattoria Bella, which was formerly known as Mezza Luna. (Courtesy of Osteria Bella)

“I cook the food I grew up with in Calabria, and I want people to feel as though our family has welcomed them into our home,” chef Furfaro said. “Osteria Bella gives us the opportunity to share that hospitality on a bigger stage. Halcyon is already a place where people come together, and we look forward to creating a restaurant where every detail encourages them to stay and enjoy the experience.”

Daniele and Bella Furfaro moved from Italy to Georgia in 2014, according to the news announcement. They worked their way up to become part owners of Mezza Luna in 2020 before buying the restaurant outright three years later.

The couple plans to continue offering the special destination-themed events that have proven successful at Mezza Luna, with titles like An Evening in Tuscany or An Evening in Rome. More details will be shared on the new restaurant’s social media when an opening date is set and reservations are opened.

6690 Town Square, Alpharetta. osteria-bella.com

DeeDee Niyomkul and her mother, Nan Niyomkul, were photographed at Nan Thai Buckhead on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Nan Niyomkul has established a multigenerational connection with Thai cuisine and shares her culinary expertise with DeeDee, who owns Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft in Brookwood Hills and Nan Thai Buckhead. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Tuk Tuk closes after 16 years

Tuk Tuk Thai Food Loft, the casual, rooftop restaurant in Buckhead that opened in 2010, abruptly closed this week in a move that was first reported by Tomorrow’s News Today. The restaurant was run by the family behind Nan Thai Fine Dining and was the first to be helmed by chef DeeDee Niyomkul, daughter of Tamarind Group founders Charlie and Nan Niyomkul.

No explanation of the closure has been posted on Tuk Tuk’s social media pages, but a note from the owners on Google Maps said they closed Tuk Tuk to merge the business with the existing location of Nan Thai Buckhead.

The closure is the Tamarind Group’s second big move toward consolidating their restaurants under one brand name: Nan Thai. In late 2024, DeeDee Niyomkul’s second restaurant, Chai Yo Modern Thai, was rebranded as Nan Thai Buckhead. The group has also opened and closed other restaurant concepts over the years, including Tamarind and, later, Tamarind Seed.

The Tamarind Group now operates two restaurants: Nan Thai Fine Dining and Nan Thai Buckhead.

Other items of interest

Party in the Kitchen, the annual fundraiser for Open Hand Atlanta, will hold its 23rd edition this September. The event’s chef co-chairs are well-known Atlanta restaurateurs Kevin Rathbun and Peter Kaiser. Participating chefs include Terry Koval of the Deer & the Dove; Jessica Gamble of KR SteakBar; and Jason Stern of Tiny Lou’s, with more to be announced.

The event will take place Sept. 24 at the Foundry at Puritan Mill. Tickets to the main event cost $400.

Party in the Kitchen, Sept. 24 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. 916 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. NW, Atlanta. openhandatlanta.org/special-events/party-in-the-kitchen/

Stable Comfort Food and Cocktails in Dunwoody Village will celebrate the grand opening of its covered patio bar, the Stable Saloon, on Aug. 20. Tickets to the party cost $35 and will include live bluegrass music, an ASW Distillery whiskey tasting and the restaurant’s signature Springer Mountain fried chicken. Tickets can be purchased through OpenTable.

1317 Dunwoody Village Pkwy., Dunwoody. 470-709-4304, stabledunwoody.com

New restaurant openings & announcements

Harvest & Grace, a new fast-casual cafe, will open at the Town at Trilith later this year, restaurant representatives announced this week. The all-day cafe is owned by Matt Wachlin, the restaurateur behind Blue Eyed Daisy in Chattahoochee Hills.

210 Trilith Pkwy., Fayetteville. harvestgracecafe.com

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream will open its third metro Atlanta scoop shop in Dunwoody on Aug. 13. (Lindsay Levin, courtesy of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream)

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream will open its third metro Atlanta scoop shop Aug. 13 at Park Place in Dunwoody, the company announced this week. To celebrate, the shop will offer $1 ice cream scoops that day from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., and the first 100 guests will be given a Van Leeuwen tote bag. The shop joins the metro area’s two other locations at Ponce City Market and in Peachtree Corners.

4505 Ashford Dunwoody Rd. NE, Atlanta. vanleeuwenicecream.com

Joy & Zest, a new cafe from owner Pooja Gupta, has opened in Norcross with a menu of coffee and tea drinks, pastries and small bites. The cafe also offers a gift shop section with a variety of home decor, candles and accessories.

2055 Beaver Ruin Road, Norcross. 678-362-3223, joyandzestatl.com

Sankranti Indian Kitchen, a fast-casual Indian restaurant, announced in a news release it is planning to expand with two additional metro Atlanta locations. It will share details on the new stores in the coming months. It currently operates an outpost near Georgia Tech in Tech Square with forthcoming locations headed to Downtown and Buckhead, according to its website.

sankranti.com

&pizza, an East Coast-based pizza restaurant known for its oblong pizza shapes, will open its first Georgia location in west Midtown’s Interlock development this September, according to a news release. Franchisees Mike Supplice and Rodney Lewis II will debut the eatery in a 1,100-square-foot space with a menu of oblong pizzas, appetizers, salads and “little dipper” dessert balls.

1042 Northside Drive, Atlanta. andpizza.com

Bun & Bombay, an Indian cafe from former Chai Pani sous chef Salman Khan, has opened in the historic former Waffle House space in Avondale Estates, 285 South first reported. The menu features Indian street foods like samosas, chaat and vada pav, as well as other dishes like paninis, sliders, biryani and chai.

2711 E. College Ave., Avondale Estates. 404-205-5657, instagram.com/bunandbombay

The Danish Bakery & Smørrebrød Café, a cafe from couple Freddy Adkins and Mikkel Jensen, has plans to open a location in Midtown, Rough Draft reported. The owners have not yet found a space to house the concept, but when they do, it will offer a menu of Danish pastries, bread and open-faced sandwiches.