Two plant-based restaurants will make their debuts in Atlanta next year.
Planta will open in spring 2023 in the former Watchman’s space at 99 Krog St. in Krog Street Market, offering such menu items as pizza, pasta and a dish called Bang Bang Broccoli.
The Asian-inspired, late-night Planta Queen will open at 3035 Peachtree Road NE in Buckhead Village next summer, with vegan sushi, dumplings and noodles.
Both locations will feature full bars.
Florida-based Planta, founded in 2016 by Steven Salm, has locations in several cities, including Chicago, New York and Bethesda, Maryland.
Krog Street Market, which is part of the Krog District that also includes Junction Krog District, Atlanta Stove Works and SPX Alley, is also home to food and beverage concepts including Superica, Soul: Food and Culture, Bar Mercado, Gu’s Dumplings and Jai Ho Indian Kitchen.
Food and beverage concepts at Buckhead Village include Storico Vino, Gypsy Kitchen and Le Colonial. Set to open in the coming months are Carmel, The James Room and Yeppa.
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Fifth Group Restaurants founding partner Robby Kukler will retire at the end of October after nearly three decades with the restaurant group. Kukler, who founded Fifth Group with Steve Simon (Kris Reinhard and Stuart Fierman are also partners), will serve in a part-time in an advisory role during the transition period.
The restaurant group operates 14 restaurants across metro Atlanta including South City Kitchen, which will turn 30 in April 2023. Other Fifth Group eateries include La Tavola, Lure, Ecco, Alma Cocina and The Original El Taco. The group also owns Bold Catering & Design.
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Non-alcoholic bottle shop The Zero Co. is set to open by the end of the year at 626 North Highland Ave. NE in Poncey-Highland. The shop comes from Cory and Malory Atkinson, who also own Elemental Spirits Co. on the same street.
The shop will offer partner with distributor The Zero Proof to offer more than 300 non-alcoholic beers, wines, spirits and beverages.
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Daniella Lea Rada recently joined the Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta as its executive pastry chef. She previously worked for Buckhead restaurant Le Bon Nosh and St. Regis Atlanta hotel, as well as several restaurants in her native Venezuela.
In addition, the Four Seasons has reintroduced its Sunday brunch, served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Featured dishes from executive chef Edgar Kano include cajun shrimp and grits, red velvet waffles, crab macaroni and cheese and a variety of meats from a carving station. A special cocktail list was developed by Vinnie Dugan, previously of Seven Lamps and Rumi’s Kitchen, who recently joined Four Seasons as general manager of restaurants.
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Olivia McCoy has joined The Daily Chew as the restaurant’s head chef. McCoy will oversee the kitchen in addition to being responsible for the overall menu design and recipe and dish development.
The self-taught chef started out as an assistant pastry chef at Aziza and also worked as lead production baker at PERC Coffee. Most recently, she served as the head pastry chef at Decatur restaurant Kimball House.
The Daily Chew, founded by chef Julia Kesler Imerman, who also operated Stop Think Chew, opened in late 2021 at 2127 Liddell Drive NE. The restaurant offers “farmer-forward food and beverage selections with ingredients sourced as locally and sustainably as possible,” according to a press release.
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The team behind Strange Taco Bar and Local Republic in Lawrenceville have plans to open LR Burger at 3151 Main St. in Duluth, What Now Atlanta reports.
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A new-to-market restaurant called Doc Bs is set to open next year in a 7,000-square-foot building next to Lazy Dog at Perimeter Mall in Dunwoody, Tomorrow’s News Today reports. The “upscale American” eatery opened its first location in 2013 in Chicago and has locations in Florida and Texas.
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Cafe Coffee Man is set to open by the end of the year at 1192 Huff Road in West Midtown, What Now Atlanta reports. The business, founded by Devin Hunter and Nick Lopez, will serve espresso drinks, cold brew, coffee mocktails and other drinks. The space will also have a coffee roastery.
Hunter and Lopez also have plants to open a walk-up window in the forthcoming Buckhead location of Recess and a coffee bar in Bar Vegan inside Ponce City Market.
Lopez and Hunter started Coffee Man in 2019, selling DIY cold brew kits online, and have since expanded with new offerings.
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Pizza Jeans closes in its current location on the second floor of Ponce City Market ahead of its move to its new location on the first floor of the building, Eater Atlanta reports.
The counter-service pizza shop will serve whole pies, giant slices, hero sandwiches and other dishes made with locally-sourced ingredients. Food can be taken to go or be eaten at tables in the Central Food Hall, and delivery will also be available.
On the beverage side, offerings will include drinks like Frozen Jack and Coke, Spicy Paloma and Pickleback shots, as well as draft beer and wines with a focus on woman-owned or -operated vineyards and those that employ sustainable farming practices.
Joining Pizza Jeans co-founder Chris Wilkins as operating partners will be restaurateur Billy Streck and his childhood friend, Jeremy Gatto. Streck owns or co-owns several restaurants in metro Atlanta including Hampton + Hudson in Inman Park and Lyla Lila in Midtown, as well as pizza eateries Nina & Rafi in Old Fourth Ward and the recently-opened Pielands in Virginia-Highland.
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