PHOTOS: How iconic Edgewood Ave. nightlife scene responded to pandemic

Intown Atlanta

PHOTOS: How iconic Edgewood Ave. nightlife scene responded to pandemic

Beginning last summer, bars and clubs in Georgia were allowed to reopen under statewide guidelines, but businesses on Atlanta's Edgewood Avenue instituted a range of different safety measures, some more relaxed than others.

Edgewood Avenue has evolved into a nightlife hotspot in the heart of the city. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Church, the bar, has been open with COVID restrictions since September. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Church's humorous, religion-themed interior decorations now hang next to signs with messages like “Bartenders will NOT serve you without a MASK on!” (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Church was among the many Atlanta bars and restaurants affected by the pandemic, but it's back open -- with restrictions. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Patrons at Church enjoy a socially distanced drink. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The exterior of Church features a mural of Stacey Abrams that wraps around the building at the corner of Edgewood and Boulevard. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Owner Grant Henry knows the Church mask requirement might not be popular with some prospective customers, and he isn’t making as much money now, but he sticks with the rules for the safety of his staff. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Church has reminders around the bar for customers to prevent COVID spread. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

All but one bartender was willing to come back to work at Church when it reopened, its owner said. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

“We were at a point where if we don’t reopen, I’m just going to go bankrupt and lose everything,” Henry said of Church's closing due to COVID. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Edgewood scene is a diverse corridor in the heart of the city where it’s easy to walk from bar to bar and hit several spots in one night. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The building that used to house Mother Bar and Kitchen is now Esco Seafood. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Georgia Beer Garden on Edgewood Ave plans to reopen this month. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

“There’s an energy on Edgewood that I don’t think you get in other parts,” said Johnny Martinez, one of the owners of Joystick Gamebar and Georgia Beer Garden, both located on Edgewood. “There’s a little bit of the wild, wild West to it, too.” (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

From its famous strip clubs to neighborhood watering holes, Atlanta’s nightlife culture has become an important part of the local economy, but it’s been especially vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Nearly 40,000 bar or restaurant jobs in metro Atlanta were lost in the last year, according to Georgia Department of Labor data from February. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

“These nightlife businesses are owned by community members. They are locally owned, and they don’t have that many resources to survive right now," said Emma Tinsley, the executive director of the Old Fourth Ward Business Association. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

“COVID has been like the Hunger Games. Whoever survives this is going to be better on the other side. That’s been our goal. Just to survive,” Martinez said, adding that the economic impact of COVID has “been like its own sort of virus that has taken some people out and some people not.” (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Joystick Gamebar is currently closed and plans to reopen soon. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Beloved spots like Mother Bar and Kitchen, Bone Lick Southern Kitchen and The Music Room were forced to close permanently due to COVID. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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Edgewood Avenue has evolved into a nightlife hotspot in the heart of the city. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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