So. Fox, Summerland, Y Bar lead Atlanta’s July restaurant openings

July’s metro Atlanta restaurant openings included some glitzy new concepts from well established restaurateurs, including So. Fox, Summerland and Y Bar e Ristorante.

But the month’s closings including several heartbreakers, such as Leftie Lee’s, the Avondale Estates bakery that closed its retail operation, as well as a couple of neighborhood favorites shut down by fires: Orient Express in Vinings and Thumbs Up Diner in Roswell.

This was the most balanced month of restaurant openings and closings so far this year, with at least 15 new restaurants and 14 closures. A few of the month’s closings are expected to be temporary, such as APT 4B, which is seeking a new location, and Joystick Gamebar, which already announced its new landing spot in East Atlanta Village. Both restaurants that burned also announced plans to reopen.

Y Bar e Ristorante from the Y Hospitality team features a U-shaped bar as its focal point. The restaurant and bar is inspired by the 1960s and '70s in Italy. (Courtesy of Sarah Lawless)

New metro Atlanta restaurant openings

Arabian Cafe & Cocktails held a grand opening celebration in Sandy Springs on July 24. The new Middle Eastern restaurant, bar and hookah lounge is at the corner of Northridge and Roswell roads, just south of the Chattahoochee River.

8347 Roswell Rd. NE, Sandy Springs. 470-359-7583, arabianatl.com

Besto opened at the end of July in the former Victory Sandwich Bar space in downtown Decatur, according to a social media announcement. The new Italian concept is operated by the same restaurant group as Victory.

340 Church St., Decatur. 404-377-9300, bestobesto.com

Beyond Juicery + Eatery, a chain offering smoothies, juices, wraps and bowls, opened a new location in Brookhaven.

4060 Peachtree Rd. NE, Brookhaven. 404-566-6707, beyondjuiceryeatery.com

That Sh!t Salmon at Che Butter Jonez. (Angela Hansberger for the AJC)

Che Butter Jonez, the cult-favorite burger stand, opened at its new home in Decatur in early July. The restaurant has shared its journey on social media and held a preview of the new space on July 4. The burger shop is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday-Saturday in its new space near Three Taverns Craft Brewery.

627 E. College Ave., Decatur. 404-919-4061, chebutterjonez.com

Bistecca alla Fiorentina at Fiorenza, a new Italian restaurant in Alpharetta. (Jesus Ramirez Photography, courtesy of Fiorenza)

Fiorenza, a Tuscan-inspired Italian restaurant from new restaurateur Jessi Qilafi, opened in Alpharetta at the beginning of July, according to a news release.

11500 Webb Bridge Way, Alpharetta. 470-359-6558, fiorenzaitalian.com

A rendering of the interior of Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings at the Mall of Georgia. (Courtesy of Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings)

Nan Xiang Soup Dumplings has opened a new location at the Mall of Georgia, the business announced in a news release in early July. The dumpling restaurant is part of a chain that began in New York that has been recognized in the city’s Michelin Guide.

3333 Buford Dr., Buford. 678-667-7688, nanxiangxiaolongbao.com.

Pretty Hens Rotisserie, a new rotisserie chicken restaurant, opened July 6 on the Westside in the former Zunzi’s space. The business was first announced with the name Pretty Bird Rotisserie with an opening date in mid-June, according to Tomorrow’s News Today. It comes from Jon Beatty, a franchisee of Cheba Hut locations in Atlanta and Athens.

1971 Howell Mill Rd. NW, Atlanta. 470-522-1419, prettyhensrotisserie.com

Read the Room, a new cocktail bar and listening room, opened July 10, the business announced on Instagram. The bar, which is only open in the evenings Thursday-Saturday, has taken over a space in the brick building on the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail at 691 John Wesley Dobbs Avenue NE, not far from Ladybird Grove and Mess Hall and across the trail from Kevin Rathbun Steak.

691 John Wesley Dobbs Ave. NE, Atlanta. 470-345-4550, readtheroomatl.com

Refuge Coffee Co., a cafe that uses its coffee shops to offer job training for resettled refugees and other immigrants in Georgia, held a grand opening at its newest location in Decatur’s Lulah Hills development on July 27. The cafe offers a variety of coffee and tea drinks and pastries.

3861 N. Druid Hills Rd., Decatur. 404-295-5247, refugecoffeeco.com

The grilled beef on the So. Fox menu comes with Vidalia onions, braised leeks and marrow. (Courtesy of Dave Crawford)

So. Fox, a wine-focused restaurant from the team behind Kinship Butcher & Sundry, opened July 2 in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland neighborhood.

This is the first full-service restaurant from Kinship owners Myles Moody and Rachael Pack. It opened next to their butcher shop in the former Farm Burger space, which closed last year.

So. Fox is named after Georgia’s indigenous grape varietal, the southern fox grape, also known as the muscadine, and offers an a la carte menu of hyper-seasonal cuisine from Moody and a beverage program focused on low-intervention wines curated by Pack, who is a sommelier.

1017 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-341-9374, sofoxatl.com

Smoked salmon on an English muffin and topped with an egg and Hollandaise sauce is on the menu at Summerland Cafe, Anne Quatrano's latest breakfast and lunch restaurant. (Courtesy of Summerland)

Summerland Cafe opened July 22 at the new Upper West Market in Atlanta’s Underwood Hills neighborhood. The cafe from Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur Anne Quatrano is a permanent fixture at the indoor farmers market, which is home to stalls featuring farmers, butchers and other food purveyors.

Summerland Cafe is named after Quatrano’s Cartersville farm. It offers a coffee counter, pastries, savory to-go options, a dining room and a patio, according to a news release. Quatrano’s other businesses include the legendary restaurant Bacchanalia and Star Provisions Market & Cafe.

1385 Collier Rd. NW, Atlanta. 404-365-0410, starprovisions.com/summerland

Tiendita, a retail pop-up selling Mexican food goods and more from the El Ponce team, opened mid-July in downtown Atlanta, restaurant representatives announced. The pop-up, which also offers a large crafting space, will run for at least a month in South Downtown, though the business could continue on a permanent basis.

217 Mitchell St. SW, Atlanta. 404-369-2862, tienditaelponce.com

Van Leeuwen Scoop Shop, an ice cream shop from the New York-based brand, opened at the Forum in Peachtree Corners on July 2. According to the brand’s website, it plans to open a third metro Atlanta ice cream shop in the Perimeter area soon, though it did not specify a date.

5143 Peachtree Parkway NW, Peachtree Corners. 718-550-5665, vanleeuwenicecream.com

WonTown, an Asian food hall at the Castleberry Park apartment complex in Castleberry Hill, opened July 10, the business announced on social media.

89 Centennial Olympic Park Dr. NW, Atlanta. 404-228-0404, wontownatl.com

Y Bar e Ristorante from the Y Hospitality team includes decor sourced from Italy, inspired by the 1960s and '70s. (Courtesy of Sarah Lawless)

Y Bar e Ristorante opened in Buckhead Village on July 17, according to a social media announcement. The new cocktail bar is run by the team behind Yeppa & Co., the popular Italian restaurant with a location just around the corner in the same development. Y Bar is open late, until midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on weekends, and does not take reservations.

3065 Peachtree Rd. NE, Atlanta. instagram.com/ybaratlanta

Sim Walker, owner of APT 4B, in the dining room of his now-shuttered Caribbean restaurant, which he plans to reopen in a new space. Food styling by Rachel Levy. (Chris Hunt for the AJC)

Metro Atlanta restaurant closings

APT 4B, the upscale Caribbean restaurant in Buckhead, closed with a party on July 18, according to a social media announcement. The restaurant cheerfully broke the news with a post that said, “We’re moving out of the crib!” According to the announcement, APT 4B will move to a larger space, though no other details were released.

“After an incredible run, it’s time to close the doors to the crib we’ve built together,” the announcement said.

APT 4B’s closing statement also teased future pop-up events at J’ouvert Kitchen in Buckhead and Station 11 in Midtown.

Big Bad Breakfast, the breakfast chain from James Beard Award-winning chef John Currence, closed its Atlanta location July 16, the restaurant announced.

“While this chapter has come to an end, the Big Bad Breakfast family is still serving scratch-made breakfast, brunch, and lunch at many of our other locations,” the announcement said.

Chick-fil-A at the Terminus 100 building in Buckhead will close after nearly 20 years, Channel 2 Action News reported. Its last day of service was July 31.

Joystick Gamebar has closed on Edgewood Avenue, though the business will move to a new location in East Atlanta Village, according to a social media announcement. The new iteration of Joystick will open in a matter of weeks, the announcement said.

Leftie Lee’s, the bakery and sandwich shop from chef Vivian Lee, closed its retail operation in Avondale Estates at the end of July, the business announced on social media. Leftie Lee’s has served kimchi buttermilk biscuits and Korean fried chicken sandwiches out of its space in the Olive + Pine development for three years. The shop grew to become something of a community hub, also offering catering, cakes and a summer camp for kids.

“Please come by within the next two weeks to say goodbye, share your favorite memories of Leftie Lee’s, and write us a farewell-for-now postcard,” the shop said in its closing announcement Friday. “This isn’t goodbye forever, just the end of this chapter.”

MetroFresh will not reopen its original Midtown location after a fire damaged the restaurant, which opened in 2005, according to a news release. MetroFresh has been closed since the fire on Feb. 27, caused by a lithium-ion battery that malfunctioned in a storage room.

“At this point in my life, it simply doesn’t make sense to rebuild from scratch,” said Mitchell Anderson, MetroFresh founder and chef. MetroFresh Uptown, the restaurant’s second location in Two Midtown Plaza, will remain open.

Mosaic Bistro & Pub in Chamblee closed for good at the beginning of July, according to an announcement on social media. Chef Joey Riley said the pub “simply could not overcome the obstacles we faced from the very beginning,” leading to its closure after less than a year.

Orient Express, a popular Asian restaurant in Vinings, is temporarily closed after a serious fire at the beginning of July, Channel 2 Action News reported.

Spiller Park closed its Westside location July 3 in a move that was first reported by Rough Draft Atlanta. In a statement posted to social media, the local coffee chain said the closure “makes room for some exciting things ahead.”

Thumbs Up Diner, a local chain with seven restaurants around metro Atlanta, suffered a fire at its Roswell location. The business shared that everyone at the affected restaurant was safe and promised the diner would reopen “as soon as we can.”

Victory Sandwich Bar in downtown Decatur closed in July after its ownership group announced the space would pivot to a new concept called Besto.