Chef Gary Caldwell hired at One Flew South and more from Atlanta’s dining scene

This week in the Atlanta restaurant scene, chef Gary Caldwell left Marcus Bar & Grille, Smorgasburg announced it would pack up early, a partnership was announced between major local beverage producers and more.

Chef moves from Marcus Bar & Grille to One Flew South

Gary Caldwell was announced this week as the next executive chef of One Flew South, the James Beard Award-nominated restaurant at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The announcement indicates Caldwell’s departure from the same role at Marcus Bar & Grille, the Old Fourth Ward restaurant owned by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. Under Caldwell’s day-to-day leadership, Marcus Bar & Grille was named one of Atlanta’s 50 best restaurants by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Caldwell has extensive experience in the high-volume kitchens of New Orleans and Las Vegas, and he has previously worked at the Atlanta airport in the kitchen of Ludacris’ Chicken + Beer. One Flew South and Chicken + Beer are both operated by Jackmont Hospitality, so Caldwell is returning to a familiar company.

“One Flew South has a real reputation with travelers and people in the restaurant business,” Caldwell said in a press statement. “The restaurant has a Southern base but has always made room for food influenced by where people are coming from and where they are headed. I am glad to be back with Jackmont and ready to get to work with the team.”

Marcus Bar & Grille has not announced who might succeed Caldwell, though Sameuelsson will be in Atlanta himself later this month. He recently announced his next cookbook, “Back To Green” (Avery, $40), which will debut Oct. 20. A week later, Samuelsson will be at the Atlanta Central Library for a promotional event, the restaurant shared on social media.

One Flew South. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Concourse E. 404-209-8209, oneflewsouthatl.com

Smorgasburg Atlanta ends season early

The weekly downtown food festival Smorgasburg Atlanta announced Friday that it would end its fall season early.

“We’ve made the difficult decision to close for the remainder of the year,” the organization said on social media. “There will be no Smorgasburg Atlanta this Saturday, Oct. 3, or for the remainder of the 2026 season.”

The post promised a return of the food festival in 2027. Smorgasburg has grown from a single successful and influential weekly food event in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, by replicating its model in other large cities. The company also hosts Smorgasburg festivals in Los Angeles and Miami.

Kevin Gillespie announces departure from Atlanta

Well-known chef Kevin Gillespie, the force behind ambitious restaurants like Gunshow and the now-shuttered Nadair, announced on social media that he is leaving Atlanta and the restaurant business behind.

When Nadair closed earlier this year, Gillespie revealed for the first time that he had stepped away from the kitchen months earlier. He has dealt with physical health issues since 2018, when he was diagnosed with renal cancer and had his kidney removed. In the AJC’s review of Nadair in 2024, Gillespie admitted he did not know how much longer his body could withstand the toll of working in a professional kitchen.

Gillespie turned 44 on Wednesday and shared a soul-baring message about more personal health struggles he’d experienced over the prior year, which he called “life-threatening.” He explained how those struggles brought him to the conclusion that he must leave Atlanta, and the restaurant industry, for good.

“Carrying a mix of guilt and shame, I admitted that if I didn’t make some serious changes, both personally and professionally, I wasn’t sure I was going to survive where my mind was taking me,” Gillespie wrote.

Gillespie, who already lives in Maine part-time, said he will return to Atlanta this winter to pack up his home and say goodbye to friends, fans and restaurant regulars.

Monday Night Ventures partners with 18.21 Bitters

A new partnership of Atlanta-based beverage businesses will bring back a retail space for 18.21 Bitters and restore its canned drink line, according to a news release.

Under the Monday Night Ventures umbrella, Monday Night Brewing and Sneaky Pete Spirits Co. will share their space and operational capabilities with 18.21 Bitters, the announcement said.

Through the arrangement, 18.21 Bitters founder Kristin Wingfield will retain majority ownership of her company while moving production and fulfillment to the Monday Night Garage facility in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood. 18.21 will relaunch its line of canned beverages and open a retail space at Monday Night Garage.

With 18.21 making products in-house, Monday Night will be able to expand its nonalcoholic beverage offerings, the announcement said.

“The beverage landscape is changing, and we see an opportunity to build on what we’ve learned as a craft brewery,” Monday Night Brewing co-founder and CEO Joel Iverson said in a press statement. “We’ve learned how to make exceptional products, create welcoming places and deepen relationships. Through Monday Night Ventures, we’re combining that experience with the expertise of other craft beverage businesses to help each other grow. Beer remains core to who we are, and this gives us more ways to serve people with the same commitment to quality and connection.”

Monday Night Garage. 933 Lee St. SW, Atlanta. 404-400-5068, mondaynightbrewing.com

New restaurant openings & announcements

Bourbon + Lit, a coffeeshop, bookstore and bar, will open in the Uptown Atlanta development in the Lindbergh neighborhood, What Now Atlanta reported this week. The restaurant’s website shows a grand opening event “coming soon,” though a date was not specified.

528 Main St. NE, Atlanta. 470-805-1888, bourbonandlit.com

Buckhead Brewing, a new brewpub and sandwich shop, opened in the former Chido + Padre’s building this week, according to the restaurant’s Instagram. The sandwich shop and bar is built to be kid-friendly with an approachable menu of pub food like burgers, french fries, nachos and salads.

128 E. Andrews Drive NW, Atlanta. 404-748-9125, buckheadbrewing.com

Cuevacia, the Mexican restaurant from Spur Hospitality, will open a new location the forthcoming Lulah Hills development north of Decatur, restaurateur William Pitts announced this week. The new restaurant will begin serving its Oaxaca-inspired cuisine next year.

2050 Lawrenceville Hwy, Decatur. cuevacia.com

Muchacho, the all-day counter service restaurant from Electric Hospitality, will open a third location in Decatur, the company announced Wednesday. The new location will take over the Church Street building once home to chef Kevin Gillespie’s now-closed Southern restaurant, Revival.

132 Church St., Decatur. muchacho.com

Pilar Coffee, an all-day cafe from Florida, will open its first Georgia location at Ansley Mall early next year, according to developer Selig Enterprises. Pilar serves coffee, breakfast, lunch and grab-and-go food items.

1544 Piedmont Avenue NE, Atlanta. 850-865-7799, pilarcoffeebar.com

T’s Brunch Bar will open its fifth metro Atlanta location in Powder Springs in November, the restaurant group announced Friday. The popular brunch bars from entrepreneur Teneisha Murray-Butler advertise a “day party” atmosphere with items like cinnamon roll pancakes, the million dollar burger and biscuits with oxtail gravy.

5780 C.H. James Parkway, Powder Springs. tsbrunchbaratl.com

Trap Wingz will take over the former Urban Wings building on Piedmont Avenue at the edge of Atlanta’s Morningside/Lenox Park neighborhood, the restaurant announced on Instagram this week.