Several metro Atlanta food and beverage industry veterans are striking out on their own with a new Caribbean-inspired concept.
Tasha Cyril, Sopeak Pang and Clive Ruddock, who have all worked in management roles at Ms. Icey’s Kitchen & Bar in Decatur and Apt. 4B in Buckhead, as well as partner Zoe Baker, are opening Belle & Lily’s Caribbean Brunch House. The restaurant will be located at 3350 Chamblee Tucker Road in Atlanta’s Embry Hills neighborhood and is expected to open as early as Oct. 1.
The space was previously home to Havana Soul Cafe, which closed earlier this summer. Steve Josovitz and The Shumacher Group, Inc. represented the seller.
Cyril said she had hoped to open a breakfast spot for years, and saw the availability of the Chamblee Tucker location as a perfect opportunity to kick her dream into high gear.
“Our restaurants have been destination restaurants,” she said. “We realized that people will travel for good food and a good experience, no matter where it is.”
Credit: Jonathan Cooper
Credit: Jonathan Cooper
The menu was conceived by Cyril and her cousin, Aliyah Cyril, who will serve as executive chef (the restaurant’s name is a nod to the pair’s nicknames). Dishes will reflect their Caribbean roots, including seafood tostones with crab and lobster served on fried green plantains; conch fritters; a seafood skillet scramble; and Caribbean rum-flavored pancakes with ginger hibiscus syrup.
Heartier lunch offerings will include some Cuban dishes, including grilled chicken with black beans and yellow rice, to cater to customers of the previous tenant.
On the beverage side, look for classic brunch cocktails, beer and wine to start, with the potential to add a full bar in the coming month.
Though Cyril envisions the restaurant as having a dine-in focus, takeout and delivery will be offered. The space, which has seating for about 40 guests indoors, will have a “simple, modern, Caribbean feel that kind of hugs you,” she said. Look for “light, tropical” design elements that “aren’t overly done.”
Cyril hopes to play on a sense of nostalgia with small touches including serving food on the aluminum plates she grew up eating from during visits to her grandmother’s house.
“We want there to be talking points for people, so it’s a more interactive experience than, ‘OK, I came, I ate and I left.’”
Once open, Belle and Lily’s will likely be open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays.
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