Tiny Lou’s, Hotel Clermont part ways with Indigo Road Hospitality Group

Editor’s note: Updated to include comment from Indigo Road Hospitality Group founder Steve Palmer.

Indigo Road Hospitality Group, which opened Tiny Lou’s inside Hotel Clermont in 2018, has parted ways with the hotel.

Tiny Lou’s pastry chef Claudia Martinez and executive chef Jeb Aldrich confirmed that the hotel, which is part of the Nashville-based Oliver Hotels group, decided to manage the restaurant in-house.

Aldrich left Tiny Lou’s in late November, and Martinez will leave at the end of this month. Both will continue to work for Indigo Road. Aldrich, who previously ran the now-shuttered Noble Fin restaurant in Peachtree Corners with his father, Jay Swift, and has worked at several other metro Atlanta restaurants, said he and Martinez would be able to share details about their future plans with the hospitality group at the beginning of the year.

“I wish them all the best,” Aldrich said of Tiny Lou’s. “They have a great team.”

“Due to Covid, hotel ownership has made the decision to take all food and beverage operations in-house,” Indigo Road founder Steve Palmer told the AJC in an email. “I am grateful to have been a part of the hotel opening and in the creation of Tiny Lou’s. Working at the historic Clermont property, especially with such a talented team, was a great experience and I wish them continued success. Following the recent changes, we are looking at opportunities for former executive chef Jeb Aldrich and pastry chef Claudia Martinez, both long-term members of the Indigo Road team, to continue to be a part of our restaurant family.”

Aldrich and Martinez both made their mark during their time at Tiny Lou’s, with Aldrich “drawing up a selection of inventive options, American in spirit and heavily influenced by French style and technique,” according to a 2018 AJC review.

Martinez was named a 2020 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef and was among the culinarians honored on the 2019 Eater Young Guns list.

Remaining Indigo Road restaurants in metro Atlanta include O-Ku, Sukoshi, Colletta and Oak Steakhouse. The group also operates restaurants in Tennessee, Washington D.C., North Carolina and South Carolina. West Midtown restaurant Donetto closed earlier this year.