Longtime comfort food restaurant Blue Ribbon Grill will reopen at a new location in the Embry Hills neighborhood. The team behind the eatery will also open a new European concept next door.
Blue Ribbon Grill has operated at 4006 Lavista Road in Tucker since 1985. The restaurant has gone through several owners, most recently husband and wife Eric and Jennifer Greene, who purchased it in 2021.
Jennifer Greene said they closed the restaurant in February after their rent was increased.
“People were very upset last year when we announced that we were going to have to move the restaurant because it had been in that same shopping center this whole time,” Greene said.
After months of searching, the couple finally found a new home for the eatery at 3352-C Chamblee Tucker Road in the North Hills Shopping Center.
The Greenes will also open a European concept, Jenovelle, at 3352-B Chamblee Tucker Road. Both restaurants are expected to open in late summer.
After the pair returned home from a visit to France several years ago, they decided they wanted to open a European-inspired eatery, but when COVID-19 hit they weren’t able to secure funding.
Instead, they purchased Blue Ribbon Grill as a way to learn about the business.
“We fell in love with the place and the staff, and we decided after working there for a while that we really wanted to continue the Blue Ribbon Grill tradition,” Greene said.
The buildings are around 4,100 square feet combined, Greene said, but a wall will separate the two concepts.
Greene said the Blue Ribbon menu might be trimmed a bit, but it will retain popular items like the Blue Ribbon Meatloaf, the Famous Blue Reuben and martinis. The bar menu will expand with a few new food items and more consistent drink menu.
The Greenes will also update the look of the restaurant to make it brighter and “less cluttered,” she said. There will be a blue and white color scheme, a blue bar and walnut-colored wood, but they’ll maintain the 80s theme.
Jenovelle will be styled after a European cafe with cafe tables, a daily case and a retail gift shop in the middle of the space.
“We are excited that we are trying to represent all of Europe, and that’s 44 different countries in Eastern and Western (Europe),” Greene said.
The counter-service restaurant will serve breakfast and lunch with appetizers, soups, stews, sandwiches and salads. Diners can expect items like charcuterie boards; Belgian waffles; chamomile French toast; smoked salmon avocado toast and Scotch eggs; qifqi, or Albanian rice balls; a Spanish sandwich with serrano ham; and breakfast tea with a scone or croissant. The daily case will have items like pastries, German cakes, macarons and chocolates.
The gift shop will feature food and items imported from Europe, as well as retail items.
Both restaurants will be closed Monday and only open for brunch on Sunday, and Blue Ribbon Grill will likely have extended night hours.
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