Go beyond restaurant delivery with these metro Atlanta delivery pop-ups

Tomato Basil Soup from chef Remi Granger's Better the Next Day food delivery.

Credit: Brian Manley

Credit: Brian Manley

Tomato Basil Soup from chef Remi Granger's Better the Next Day food delivery.

In this pandemic world, getting dressed to leave the house often seems a tall order. Even the promise of delicious food sometimes isn’t enough to muster the energy to throw on pants without an elastic waistband. If you’re looking to lean into your laziness, there are plenty of metro Atlanta pop-ups that will bring everything from bread to vegan Italian food to your front door. Feeling a little more ambitious? Check out these pop-ups offering curbside pickup and takeout.

Better the Next Day. Chef Rémi Granger, whose executive and sous chef résumé includes Atlanta restaurants Gunshow, Bread & Butterfly, the Brasserie and Atlas, started this pop-up after being let go from his restaurant job due to COVID-19-related cutbacks. Available for delivery within 10 miles of downtown Atlanta, Better the Next Day offers a variety of dishes from Granger’s recipe catalog including French Onion Soup that won on a recent episode of “Beat Bobby Flay” as well as soups, salads, pasta kits, pasta sauces, and other items. Offerings are posted once a week on Instagram at @BetterTheNextDayATL.

The Gem Bakery's salty chocolate chip cookie.

Credit: Sarah Harlan

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Credit: Sarah Harlan

The Gem. Sarah Harlan, who has worked in the hospitality industry, launched The Gem’s Secret Sweets pop-up “as a way for people to feel safe and good about ordering desserts, with options a little bit different from something they would make for themselves,” she said. Harlan sends out an email announcement on Monday describing the dessert, the quantity, and the price. If you like the description, you can opt-in and sweets will be delivered to you on Friday or Saturday. Sweets have included ginger and peach pie with oat streusel, salty chocolate chip cookies and an earl gray snacking cake with orange ganache and pistachio. Boxes, which range in price from $30-40, include dessert for a few people for a few days. The Gem contributes 10% of proceeds to a local non-profit; this month, donations will be made to the ACLU in memory of John Lewis. Sign up to receive The Gem’s newsletter here.

Iridescent Bakeshop. Feed your pastry craving with goodies from Ashley Hill, the baker behind Iridescent. Each $20 box includes one sweet bun, one savory bun, one surprise pastry and two different types of cookies. Past pastries have included Bacon Tomato Buns, Corn Serrano Cheese Buns, Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins and Cherry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies. Don’t eat meat? Specify you’d prefer a vegetarian option when you order to make sure your savory bun doesn’t include bacon. Deliveries to Atlanta and Decatur are made Mondays and Wednesdays. Orders can be placed by direct messaging @iridescentbkshp on Instagram with your name, phone number, delivery address and number of boxes, or by visiting iridescentbakeshopatl.square.site/.

Bites from Manah Bites.

Credit: Rhayani Ribeiro

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Credit: Rhayani Ribeiro

Manah Bites. Rhayani Ribeiro and her husband, Leonardo, are behind Manah Bites, which specializes in Brazilian snack savories by the cup including coxinhas, Brazilian chicken croquettes. The menu also includes a variety of “bites” with fillings including cheese and corn and kibe bites with bulgur and minced beer. Ribeiro said the couple plans to expand, “and go nationwide with our cups of mini bites of heaven.” Place orders for delivery via Instagram.

Omakase from Send Sushi.

Credit: @chilstudios

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Credit: @chilstudios

Send Sushi. This omakase pop-up from friends Ron Cheng and Gusan Jang pivoted from an in-person reservations-only dinner to home delivery after the pandemic hit. Sourcing directly from purveyors in Japan, Send offers a full omakase experience with “inclusion and equality as a core value.” The pop-up donates a portion of proceeds each month to nonprofits including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Okra Project and the ACLU. Their plan for the coming months is to include a postcard with Atlanta artwork as a way to give back to local artists and also encourage people to buy stamps to support the U.S. Postal Service. Reservation slots open every Monday at 6 p.m. (for Thursday-Sunday deliveries). Deliveries are made inside the Perimeter, with some OTP meetups available. Reservations are available at exploretock.com/sendsushi.

Cocktails from Social Civics Cocktail Club.

Credit: Demario Wallace

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Credit: Demario Wallace

Social Civics Cocktail Club. Quench your thirst, get educated and give back with this Atlanta cocktail delivery from Demario Wallace, who has led the bar program at Atlanta restaurants including Aziza and Rina. Social Civics takes its inspiration from the first African-American bartenders, many born slaves or born to former slaves. Cocktail options, which are delivered inside the perimeter on Fridays, have included The Cato, made with Coconut Brookyln Gin, Amontialldo, Sour Cherry Shrub, Wormwood Honey and Peach Pit Bitters; Crouch Punch, served in a Capri Sun-style pouch and made with Jamaican Rums, Cognac, Mederia, Passion Fruit, Mint Tea, Cinnamon Agave and Hibiscus; and the fizzy Bullocks Bounty, made with Bourbon, Fino Sherry, Georgia peaches, Pineapple Mint and Saline. A portion of proceeds are donated to local non-profit organizations including Hands On Atlanta, and the Instagram account provides information on how followers can volunteer. Get a club ID number to place orders for Friday deliveries inside the perimeter by messaging on Instagram or emailing chef@demarioreshadwallacecuisine.com and including your name, Instagram handle, date of birth and address. There is also an option for pickup on Thursdays.

Pasta from Teppista.

Credit: Contributed

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Credit: Contributed

Teppista. Chef Rudy Keefer, who has worked in metro Atlanta for more than two decades and has been making pasta for 10 years, is behind this pop-up, which sources ingredients from local farms and butchers. Teppista offers homemade pasta kits (pasta, sauce, garnish) that customers put together, “inspired by regional Italian pastas as well as Atlanta’s unique culinary history,” Keefer said. The $15 kit options have included tagliatelle with 24-hour pork ragu; fettuccine with mushrooms and Gorgonzola cream; and Calabrese pepper rigatoni with lemon-pepper wet chicken ragu. Family options that feed four for $30 are also available. Delivery is available inside the Perimeter and once a week in Roswell and Alpharetta. Orders can be placed on Instagram at @teppista_atl. Interested in making your own pasta at home? Keefer provides tutorials on the Teppista YouTube channel.

A variety of sandwiches are on the menu at Vegitalia.

Credit: Contributed

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Credit: Contributed

Vegitalia. Dubbing itself “Atlanta’s first and only 100% vegan Italian restaurant,” Vegitalia delivers staples made vegan, including lasagna, antipasto, tortellini, shrimp Alfredo, chicken Parmesan and cannolis, around metro Atlanta Tuesday-Friday. Owner Kris Johnson “wanted to bring (her) Italian roots to her community.” The Atlanta native, whose parents are from Italy, felt that the city “was missing great vegan Italian cuisine.” Order delivery by emailing vegitaliaatl@gmail.com or contacting @vegitaliaatl on Facebook or Instagram.

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