What to know about Politan Row at Ashford Lane food hall, now open in Dunwoody

Politan Row at Ashford Lane food hall is now open in Dunwoody.

Located at 4500 Olde Perimeter Way in the Ashford Lane retail development, the 17,000-square-foot food hall opened Feb. 2 with a slate of cuisines from around the world.

The project comes from Politan Group, the company behind the Politan Row at Colony Square food hall in Midtown and a forthcoming food hall at Forum Peachtree Corners.

The nine food stalls for the hall include:

Luis Mendez of Bucatini Ristorante at Politan Row at Ashford Lane. / Courtesy of Bucatini Ristorante

• Bucatini Ristorante. Bucatini comes from Luis and Maria Mendez, longtime restaurateurs who relocated to Atlanta in 2021 from Miami. A native of Venezuela, Luis spent years working in kitchens across Italy, and said he plans to “prepare cuisine with respect for traditional recipes and their heritage.” Menu highlights include homemade pasta dishes including carbonara made with ingredients sourced locally and from Italy.

• Delilah’s Everyday Soul. The first location of this soul food concept from Delilah Winder and her daughter and son-in-law Delana Winder Reeves and Jason Reeves opened in 2021 in the Chattahoochee Food Works food hall in the Works development. The menu features such soul food staples as fried chicken, fried green tomatoes and macaroni and cheese that was named best in the country on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2003. Delilah Winder, who previously owned restaurants in Philadelphia, has appeared on Food Network’s “Throwdown With Bobby Flay” and CBS’ “Chef on a Shoestring,” and is the author of “Delilah’s Everyday Soul: Southern Cooking With Style.”
• Master Pho. This stall offering classic Vietnamese pho, bahn mi, and grilled entrees comes from Thao Le, the original operator behind metro Atlanta restaurants I luv pho and I luv hotpot.
• Pretty Little Tacos. The Creole-Mexican Street food stall from chef Michaela Merrick highlights birria tacos. Merrick opened her first Pretty Little Tacos at Politan Row at Colony Square, and is about to open a standalone location on Moreland Avenue in Atlanta.
• Gekko. Chef Jack Bai, who also owns a Gekko location at Politan Row at Colony Square, offers hibachi and ramen.
• Tandoori Pizza & Wings. Chef Archna Becker, who owned the now-shuttered Buckhead Indian restaurant Bhojanic, has found success with Tandoori Pizza & Wings, which has a location at Politan Row at Colony Square, offers Indian twists on pizza and wings, as well as other dishes.
• 26 Thai. Chef Niki Pattharakositkul owns several metro Atlanta locations of 26 Thai, including one less than a mile away from Ashford Lane in Perimeter Mall. The restaurant offers Thai staples including pad Thai and tom yum.
• Smokehouse Q. This marks the fourth location for Gregory Vivier’s restaurant Smokehouse Q, which serves a variety of smoked meats and sides and has locations at Politan Row at Colony Square as well as food hall Marietta Square Market and a standalone restaurant in Roswell.
• Sheesh. This Mediterranean comes from Charlie Sunyapong and Paul Thai, who own Stäge Kitchen & Bar and Peche in Peachtree Corners.

In addition to its food stalls, Politan Row at Ashford Lane is also home to full-service restaurant Mamacita’s Cuban Cantina, from longtime Georgia restaurateurs Giby and Hoby Abreu.

The Abreus, who both have Dominican Republic heritage, grew up eating a lot of food from neighboring Cuba, much of which they’re using as inspiration for Mamacita’s menu.

“A majority of the recipes come from my mother and grandmother that we’re tweaking a little bit,” Giby said. In addition to Cuban sandwiches, customers can expect seafood dishes and staples like ropa vieja, as well as Cuban coffee drinks.

Located in the back of the food hall, Mamacita’s will seat around 60 guests, including bar seating. The restaurant will feature its own beverage program, with a focus on tropical drinks including mojitos and pina coladas served in hollowed-out pineapples.

A rendering of the interior of Politan Row at Ashford Lane in Dunwoody. / Courtesy of Politan Group

Food from the menu of Pretty Little Taco. / Courtesy of Pretty Little Taco

Politan Group CEO Will Donaldson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview in August 2023 that the company targeted local vendors who are seeking to expand and grow their brands. Seven of the eateries are women-owned, and 100% of the food businesses are owned by women, people of color, or both.

Like the food hall at Colony Square, the Ashford Lane food hall has a central bar called Bar Politan as well as a themed cocktail lounge. The latter, called Okay Anny’s, is a sequel to the ‘70s-themed hidden Colony Square bar Jojo’s Beloved Cocktail Lounge and is overseen by Jojo’s co-creator and Politan’s director of operations Benton Bourgeois.

Food from the menu of Tandoori Pizza & Wings. / Courtesy of Tandoori Pizza & Wings

Okay Anny’s — a reference to the refrain from the 1988 Michael Jackson song “Smooth Criminal — combines “the feel of a classic 80s fern bar vibe with a bright, bombastic 90s color palette,” according to a news release, along with mirror blinds, vapor wave, and colored acrylic.

The bar, which will also feature music playlists from the era, will have a cocktail program highlighting martinis that were popular in the ‘90s as well as new twists on Kamikazes, Colorado Bulldogs “and more Cosmo riffs than a TGI Fridays in 1991,” according to the release.

Politan Group has a growing portfolio of food halls around the country, with locations in New Orleans, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Miami.

“All of our food halls are different, but when you walk into each one, you know it’s ours,” Donaldson said. While the Colony Square food hall has a mid-century modern vibe, the Dunwoody location will use design elements from the Regency era.

The Ashford Lane hall also offers several private event options for 25-500 guests, with catering available from the hall’s vendors and bars.

Pork sandwich from the menu of Smokehouse Q / Courtesy of Smokehouse Q

Politan Row at Ashford Lane takes over the space vacated by the Hall at Ashford Lane, which closed in July 2023 after less than two months, with several former employees accusing the owners of failing to pay them, among other charges.

Other food and beverage concepts in the Ashford Lane development include Omakase by Yun, Grana, Hawkers, Superica, Hobnob Neighborhood Tavern, Culinary Dropout and Brown Bag Seafood Co.

The Politan Row projects are part of an ongoing food hall boom in metro Atlanta that, in recent years, has included the opening of Chattahoochee Food Works, Ph’east, Market Hall at Halcyon and The Collective Food Hall at Coda, with several other food halls in development.