Chef and restaurateur Ford Fry has announced two new concepts to take over the former JCT Kitchen space in the Westside Provisions District development this fall.
Restaurant Little Sparrow “will be a casual everyday experience inspired by old Brooklyn taverns and European cafés and bistros,” according to a press release, “free from pretense, yet elegant and refined.”
Located at 1198 Howell Mill Road across the bridge from Fry’s steakhouse Marcel, Little Sparrow is a nod to French singer Edith Piaf’s nickname. The design will feature leather, marble, zinc and steel.
Credit: Rocket Farm Restaurants
Credit: Rocket Farm Restaurants
“This space has always and will always cry out for an everyday go-to restaurant, so that is still our foundation, yet, on an ever so slightly more luxurious level,” Fry said in a prepared statement.”
Opening above Little Sparrow will be Bar Blanc, offering “a French-forward menu of steak and frites, in a lush and unapologetically historic setting.”
The first-come, first-served spot will feature a vintage bar and seating for about 35 guests inside and 50-60 guests outside, as well as an additional interior lounge.
Smith Hanes, founder of the local design firm Smith Hanes Studio, said the inspiration for Bar Blanc came from 1930s European bartender Harry Craddock, the author of the book “The Savoy Cocktail.”
Fry closed JCT Kitchen, his first Atlanta restaurant, in December 2021 after nearly 15 years. He has since opened a number of popular Atlanta restaurants. Locally, the Rocket Farm Restaurants portfolio includes No. 246, the Optimist, King + Duke, St. Cecilia, Superica, Marcel, BeetleCat and Little Rey. It also operates concepts in Nashville, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Fry’s native Texas.
Little Sparrow will be open for dinner nightly and Bar Blanc will be open Tuesdays-Saturdays.
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