2 ambitious Black-owned restaurants lead September openings in Atlanta
September featured two of Atlanta’s most anticipated restaurant openings this year: Heritage and Mule Train.
Both restaurants are owned and run by Black chefs with serious fine-dining resumes and ambitious plans to take their deeply personal cooking to new heights.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Heritage executive chef Demetrius Brown did not shy away from the idea that his new Summerhill restaurant was “aiming for the stars.”
“Whether we succeed or fail, we’re going to be the benchmark for everybody else to live up to, or exceed,” he told the AJC.
Nearly three weeks after Heritage began service, married chefs Mike and Shyretha Sheats will open Mule Train in South Downtown. Their restaurant, which grew out of the pop-up Plate Sale, is inspired by the couple’s deep Georgia roots, they revealed in an exclusive interview with the AJC.
Many dishes at Mule Train will use Georgia ingredients in a variety of different ways, like a slow-cooked squash finished in a squash-juice lacquer, or a grilled pork dish glazed in jus made from pork bones.
Outside of Heritage and Mule Train, many of September’s openings represented new locations of existing restaurants, like Condesa Coffee, Cotto Modern Italian, Green Coyote Cantina, Nicky’s Undefeated and Southern Belle Chicken Co.
Just a handful of notable restaurants closed in what turned out to be a less-active month for the Atlanta restaurant scene.
Metro Atlanta restaurant openings
7 Brew, the fast-growing drive-thru coffee chain, opened its latest metro Atlanta location in Lawrenceville on Sept. 22, the company announced.
905 Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road, Lawrenceville. 7brew.com
Amasa Mexican Kitchen opened in Alpharetta on Sept. 18, the restaurant announced. The Baja-inspired Mexican restaurant has a completely gluten-free menu and comes from the team behind Chicheria Mexican Kitchen and Old Fourth Ward restaurant Buena Vida Tapas & Sol.
15 Academy St., Alpharetta. 470-299-5596, amasamexican.com
BARA ATL, which began as a Trinidadian food truck, opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Chattahoochee Avenue in Atlanta’s Underwood Hills neighborhood. The restaurant serves build-your-own bowls with Caribbean flavors and dishes like curry crab and dumplings.
999 Chattahoochee Ave. NW, Atlanta. 678-675-1179, baraatl.com
Condesa Coffee opened a second location in Grant Park with a ribbon-cutting celebration that featured Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens on Sept. 9. The local coffee shop has a third location coming to Decatur later this year, according to its website.
1015 Boulevard SE, Atlanta. 404-855-5532, condesacoffee.com
Cotto Modern Italian opened Sept. 17 in the former Stockyard Burgers space in the Vinings Jubilee development. This is the second location of the restaurant in addition to its outpost in Gainesville. It comes from the Fork U Concepts team, which also operates eateries such as Taqueria Tsunami and Silla del Toro.
The interiors were overhauled after Fork U closed its restaurant Stockyard Burgers in March, though the fireplace in the center of the restaurant remains intact. Cotto’s menu features northern and southern Italian food with a modern twist, chef Scott Kinsey said. Expect dishes like burrata, Caesar salad, lasagna Bolognese, gnocchi with shrimp, veal piccata and pizzas.
2850 Paces Ferry Road SE, Atlanta. 678-310-1095, cottoitalian.com
Green Coyote Cantina opened a second location in Avondale Estates, Rough Draft Atlanta reported. The original location has been open in East Cobb since 2022.
70 N. Avondale Road, Avondale Estates. 770-648-2267, greencoyotecantina.com
Heritage, which began as a pop-up from Bread & Butterfly executive chef Demetrius Brown, opened in Summerhill on Sept. 10, the AJC previously reported. The fine-dining restaurant will offer an a la carte menu and a chef’s tasting experience, serving food that reflects Brown’s own life story, with influences from the Caribbean, Africa and the American South.
63 Georgia Ave. SE, Atlanta. 470-567-3054, heritagesupperclub.com
Mister O1 Extraordinary Pizza, the Miami-based chain, opened its newest Atlanta location Sept. 1 in Inman Park, the restaurant announced on social media.
299 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. 770-431-1500, mistero1.com
Mule Train will debut on the last day of September in South Downtown, the AJC previously reported. The ambitious restaurant from the husband-wife team behind the pop-up Plate Sale will focus on modern Southern cuisine with deep roots.
87 Broad St. NW, Atlanta. instagram.com/muletrainatlanta
Nicky’s Undefeated, the Tucker restaurant specializing in cheesesteaks and hoagies, held a soft opening for its second location in Kennesaw in early September.
“For all of our north metro Atlanta fans that have been trekking to Tucker for two years, we’ll be closer now,” the restaurant shared in a Facebook post.
1300 Ernest W. Barrett Pkwy. NW, Kennesaw. 470-412-0600, nickysundefeated.com
Paris Baguette opened a new location in Alpharetta on Sept. 16, the company announced. The bakery cafe is the 10th Paris Baguette in Georgia, and the chain has more than 4,000 locations worldwide. The new Alpharetta outpost is operated by franchisee Layne Alkaasamani, a Brazil native who attended culinary school in Switzerland, according to a news release.
4119 Lake St., Alpharetta. parisbaguette.com
Rosetta Bakery, the Miami-based chain for coffee and pastries, opened its newest metro Atlanta location at Dunwoody’s High Street development on Sept. 12, the company announced on social media. The bakery was first announced nearly two years ago, but the company ended up opening a location in Buckhead first.
120 High St., Dunwoody. rosettabakery.com
Satellite Arcade Bar, a full-service restaurant and bar from the team behind Starrcade in Kennesaw, opened in Marietta on Sept. 18, according to a social media announcement. The bar features a lineup of classic and modern arcade games, pinball and multiplayer games, with food from chef Adam Smawley. Satellite does not allow kids after 4 p.m. and stays open until midnight or later Tuesday-Saturday.
3372 Canton Road, Marietta. 678-660-5660, starrcade.com/satellite
Southern Belle Chicken Co. is now open at Vela Park Food Works near Atlanta’s East Lake neighborhood, chef and owner Joey Ward announced on social media in mid-September. This is the second location of Ward’s fast-casual fried chicken restaurant; the first opened at The CTR, the downtown mixed-use development formerly known as CNN Center.
1881 2nd Ave., Decatur. southernbellechickenco.com
Toastique, a gourmet toast chain based in Washington, D.C., opened a location in West Midtown’s Brickworks development Sept. 12.
1000 Marietta St. NW, Atlanta. 404-925-6741, toastique.com
Metro Atlanta restaurant closings
Birria El Gordo closed Sept. 3 after more than six years in business, the Marietta restaurant announced on social media. “Unfortunately, the continued rise in food costs and the overall cost of operating a restaurant have made it impossible for us to continue the business,” the announcement said.
Bon Ton, the Viet-Cajun restaurant in Midtown known for its fried seafood feasts and strong cocktails, announced on social media it would be closing at the end of the month. “We’re not slipping out the back door quietly — we’re throwing a full-blown month long victory lap,” the announcement said. “Come pull up a stool, get grease on your hands and toast to nine glorious years of beautiful chaos.”
However, it’s not too late for Bon Ton fans to get one last cocktail at the bar — the restaurant extended its run 10 days after the overwhelming community response, it announced on social media.
Donnie’s Country Cookin’, an old-school Southern restaurant open in Brookhaven for nearly 40 years, announced it would close Sept. 25, Tomorrow’s News Today first reported.
Humble Mumble closed its sandwich stall at the Collective at Coda in Midtown, Rough Draft Atlanta reported.