Specials Pizza, Le Flâneur now open in Savannah, plus a flurry of festivals

Specials Pizza, the new restaurant from the team at cafe and wine bar Late Air, is now open on De Soto Avenue in Savannah’s Starland district; the new Recess Hotel & Club Savannah includes the French restaurant Le Flâneur; and three annual events return for 2026: Eastern Wharf Food Truck Festival, Forsyth Farmers Market’s Fall Harvest Picnic and Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival.

Specials Pizza now open in Starland district

Specials Pizza opened in September on a quiet side street in Savannah’s Starland district along the Bull Street corridor just north of Victory Drive.

Specials Pizza offers both full pies and slices, plus a chopped salad, calzones, meatballs and other plates. The menu features four specialty pizzas, including one with mushroom, garlic and creme fraiche.

The new restaurant and bar is owned and operated by Colin Breland, Madeline Ott and Daniel Harthausen. Breland and Ott opened the nearby Late Air in late 2022. Harthausen joined the Late Air team as head chef in 2024.

Breland said that the concept for Specials developed over a couple years of brainstorming ways to capture both the growing number of young families and the nightlife in Savannah.

“Late Air has become a place for weekday date nights, dinners with friends or wine-heavy evenings at the bar with snacks,” said Breland. “We wanted to build a space that could serve as your daily lunch spot but also offer great cocktails after dinner hours.”

Breland said the team decided to invest heavily in the sound system to anchor the late night energy.

“Our main intention was to create an uncomplicated place — just somewhere to eat pizza, listen to good tunes and grab drinks,” Breland said.

Specials Pizza, 2520 De Soto Ave. Savannah. specialspizza.com

French restaurant Le Flâneur now open in new downtown hotel

The historic Manger Building on Johnson Square in Savannah first opened its doors as a hotel in 1912 but eventually hosted offices and other commercial uses for decades. The New York City-based real estate development and hospitality firm LEFT LANE has transformed the building once again into a hotel: Recess Hotel & Club Savannah.

The hotel’s principal restaurant is Le Flâneur, which showcases many of the building’s original features. The menu blends classic French flavors with a contemporary sensibility under Executive Chef Zach Chancey, and the restaurant is open every day beginning at 7 a.m.

The breakfast menu includes a selection of housemade viennoiserie, an avocado tartine and a classic crepe. Lunch includes oysters, a niçoise salad and Moules frites. Saffron risotto, sea bass meunière and a cheeseburger are among the many options on the dinner menu.

Recess is also home to the Lobby Bar and The Servery, a Japanese automat-inspired takeout window. Kilter Rooftop Bar, which is open to hotel guests and some Club Recess members, offers signature cocktails and Asian-inspired small plates.

Le Flâneur, 7 E. Congress St., Savannah. 912-680-1970, stayrecess.com/eat-and-drink/le-flaneur

Upcoming food and dining events on the Georgia coast

Eastern Wharf Food Truck Festival

The third annual Eastern Wharf Food Truck Festival will feature 28 food trucks offering classic American fare, Southern favorites and international cuisine. The event will also include live music by Savannah bands Rockin’ Scott & the Hot Shots, Little Gracie, Unifya and others.

Low Country Taps mobile bar and Mint To Be Mojito’s mocktails and cocktails will also be available. Mint To Be Mojito Kitchen is scheduled to open at Eastern Wharf later this fall.

The festival will also feature a meet and greet from 1-3 p.m. with players from the Savannah Bananas, who will take photos with attendees and sign autographs.

1-6 p.m., Oct. 3. 102 Port St., Savannah. theparkateasternwharf.com/food-truck-festival

Forsyth Farmers Market’s Fall Harvest Picnic at Daffin Park

The Forsyth Farmers Market’s annual Fall Harvest Picnic will serve locally sourced hamburgers, hot dogs, sides, desserts and more under the live oak canopy in the center of Daffin Park in Savannah on Oct. 11. Vegetarian and vegan options will also be available. Attendees are invited to bring picnic blankets and lawn chairs.

The Savannah Jaycees will offer a range of activities for kids, including pumpkin painting and arts and crafts. Skip Jennings and The Fractions will provide live music throughout the afternoon.

The ticketed event will support the Forsyth Farmers Market’s year-round community outreach programs designed to increase food access and improve community health, including 912 Food Farmacy and double SNAP/EBT benefits at the Saturday market at Forsyth Park.

3-5:30 p.m., Oct. 11, Daffin Park, 1301 East Victory Drive, Savannah. Tickets are $35 for adults, $15 for ages 5-12 and free for children 5 and under. eventbrite.com

Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival

The 19th annual Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival, held in the island’s National Historic Landmark District from Oct. 23-24, will feature more than 20 food vendors, more than 130 arts and crafts vendors, live music and fireworks on opening night.