If you ’re a fan of eat food in Atlanta ’s Old Fourth Ward , the name 4th & Swift – owned by chef Jay Swift , who earned realisation by reinvigorating the menu and vibe at one of ATL ’s most beloved spots , South City Kitchen – should ring a Vanessa Bell . The restaurant had an eight - year outpouring and feature some of the most inventive dish in Atlanta ( the fare is still live on their web site if you palpate like torturing yourself and imagining what the Bramlett Farms trout a la plancha with chanterelles , blackberry bush , pistachio nut , sweet basil , and coal broccolini try out like ) .
In terms of restaurants reinvigorating the O4W , some would take 4th & Swift constitute the first flagpole . Everything had a local – or regional – flair , thanks in part to its proximity to solid food purveyors down the interstate highway . And Swift earned heaps of extolment during the restaurant ’s reign , include Restaurateur of the Year at the 2012 Georgia Restaurant Association ’s Grace Awards ceremonial occasion . When he is n’t winning honored awards , he advance state of matter farmers markets as a member of the non - profit Georgia Organics . He ’s been invited to wangle at the James Beard House . And he ’s an avid patron of The Giving Kitchen , the organization that provides hand brake fiscal help to restaurant prole facing severity .
Staplehouse , the Atlanta eating house everybody ’s presently saying is the best new space to wipe out in America , donates all its post - operational revenue to The Giving Kitchen . Swift is one of Staplehouse ’s founding extremity . Therefore it was a rugged pill to swallow when we found out he rolled up his tongue suitcase and headed to Peachtree Corners to open a newfangled eating place calledNoble Fin– an American steak and seafood joint . It ’s hard to be upset with Swift for go full brave on us and taking his talents to Gwinnett County , though . That ’s where the money is … and presumptively , elbow room more podgy hoi polloi . But it does say something about Atlanta proper . We finally did n’t value the fancy local fish Swift plat , so he left .
Michael Jordan/Thrillist
There are also position like The Spence , which shutter this preceding summertime . But there was a time when it was Richard Blais ’ ace - supper sanctuary where everything looked straight out of a celebrity chef TV show . hang pots , pan , and knife , serving dishes that would smoke your core as it made its way to your table , and an open kitchen that allowed everyone to see what was happening on the line . Perhaps the trouble was the location . Being on a flight strip in the middle of Georgia Tech , where kids want burritos and debauched teriyaki , certainly is n’t conducive to upscale dining . And let ’s not forget Blais made his bones via burgers –FLIPwas one of the pioneers of ATL ’s monumental burger wave a few years ago , but ultimately had problems play $ 6 “ haute ” dogs to Virginia - Highland . And , permit ’s front it , if anybody has the money for premium hotdog , it ’s VaHi .
Going back to the O4W , and one of the trendier station that pot of family line still miss dearly , is P’cheen , which was run by a radical of collaborator that included Mike LaSage ofBone Lick BBQ , Alex Friedman ( presently atbartaco ) , and Keiran Neely , who runsThe Music Room– adjacent to the Edgewood positioning of Bone Lick . P’cheen close in early 2014 , and was replace by Last Word , which had break quite a reputation for cocktails and nutrient , but had sharp changes in direction and finally keep out down last month .
Neely does n’t heed being brutally honest when he speak about the gag law of P’cheen and how it signified all-embracing change coming to the O4W. “ The beginning of the end was when all the fresh restaurants started pour down up down Highland Ave and around the corner – the like of Barcelona Wine Bar , an severally owned mountain range with very deep pockets – and the subsequent outpouring of other brand - newfangled , aglitter , see - and - be - seen places , which were right smart more attractive to the new breed of single hipster aspirant , who had go to make their homes and spend their social time in the now extremist - coolheaded O4W. By 2012 , P’cheen was present vesture and bust ; it was definitely no longer the only place in the neighbourhood . The dynamics of the O4W residents had definitely changed . ”
Courtesy of 4th & Swift
" The beginning of the end was when all the new restaurants started popping up down Highland Ave . "
However , that does n’t intend he was well-chosen to see the restaurant that supervene upon P’cheen go away ; “ It ’s always distressing to see a mom - and - protrude , independently owned restaurant ending . Having been through the pain sensation of occlusion , I know what it ’s like . I guess the real questions are : do you guess there are similarity between why P’cheen closed and why Last Word closed ? Were P’cheen , and later Last Word , just too far off the beaten path with lack of parking ? Is Atlanta too mercurial ? Are we more interested in the see - and - be - seen – the bling bling – than the food / drinkable ? Yeah , some of us are . ”
But Neely ’s last statement begs a question : why are some of the bling - ier spot close as well ? When Angus Brown and Nhan Le opened a more mainstream ( but demonstrably fancy ) seafood spot , Lusca , in South Buckhead in 2014 , people take for granted that the duette who ’d sucker - punched ATL with Octopus Bar ( an instant favorite later - nighttime East Atlanta Village eatery ) would be a shoo - in for success . It even was a James Beard Award Best New Restaurant semifinalist in 2015 . But plain draw people in from outside the Brookwood Hills surface area was more unmanageable than they ’d anticipated , and they never flipped enough tables to turn a profit – even though they counted big names such as Ford Fry as rooter . “ [ Lusca ] in truth showed Angus and Nhan ’s rage , ” Fry says . “ Aengus on the cooking stove and Nhan on the raw side . ” Another fan was Matt Coggin , chef / partner at DBA Barbecue , who foretell 4th & Swift ’s culmination “ a sign of the times . ” That say , Brown and Le are n’t letting themselves get too beat - up about the red ink of Lusca though ; they ’ve now opened8arm , another ocean - ogre - named chocolate shop / restaurant heart-to-heart from morning to late - night near the BeltLine around Virginia - Highland . It ’s safe to assume they ’re hop the domain ’s illustrious foot and automobile traffic will keep their raw speculation afloat .
Michael Jordan/Thrillist
Speaking from the business side , Coggin tender several reasons why the outlook is full of contraband smoke . “ Too many restaurants have open in the last two years , ” he say . “ PCM , Krog Street Market , and Inman Quarter have all opened within one mile of each other . It ’s just too much . Areas that were once considered premium retail / restaurant are lacking in understructure traffic , but rent is still brooding of a premium positioning . There are not enough skilled hospitality workers to fulfill all of these eating house . This has increased the price for tone trade union movement . If fast - intellectual nourishment employee welcome $ 15 / hr as a norm , full - service eating house will be doomed . Affordable Health Care is anything but affordable for a small business owner . My cost to insure my key employees has tripled . I actually just changed our business body structure to ward off having 50 full - time employee . ”
For his part , Ford Fry has had success opening lieu likeJCT Kitchen , The Optimist , King + Duke , St. Cecilia , Superica , Bar Margot , andMarcel , so if there ’s anyone who knows how to beat the betting odds , it ’s him . “ I remember that from 2008 - 2012 , Atlanta ( as everywhere else in the country ) slacken way down on hatchway restaurants . 2012 was the upsurge , and Atlanta had a bunch of cracking restaurants open , scattered all throughout the neighborhoods , as opposed to the major streets like previous propagation of restaurant growth . So compared to the growth , I finger that the closure have more to do with individual reasons . The one that surprised me was 4th & Swift . I had think that PCM would have drive more to the expanse , but I ’m thinking it total to the popularity of more casual dining . ”
" I think new restaurants require to be really authentic . I intend it ’s important to be what the neighbourhood pauperization . "
When enquire what it ’ll take for unexampled eatery to outlive and not fall victim to a similar luck as 4th & Swift , Fry continues , “ I think new eatery necessitate to be genuinely unquestionable , crack - humble , and genuinely aroused to provide rattling dining experience . Even before all of that , I opine it is important to be what the neighborhood need to complement what it already has . We need to remain impertinent and various . ”
These rapid variety are also affecting suburban urban center like Brookhaven , where Pub 71 closed this summertime after 10 years of providing pints and denture to locals . Another tragic red was The Pecan , a democratic upscale Southern restaurant run by chef Tony Morrow , who open a barbecue restaurant just a few mental block down on Main St a couple years ago . While price at The Pecan were infamously not cheap , the food and servicing were always well - rated , and it was one of few place near the airport that would regularly attract Edgar Guest who lived north of Downtown .
And it does n’t end there . There was Corner Tavern , which closed its West Midtown location on Huff Rd last yr , prior to the closure of Bone Lick BBQ , which opened in the same coordination compound down the street and fold its doors over summer . The area is on a perpendicular emasculated street between Marietta Blvd and Howell Mill , intend it gets limited traffic and may not be ideal for the character of urban - smart customers these restaurant have sought . So although the signs on the storefronts have constantly been in flux density , there ’s always been a uniform : location , location , location .
" There have to be more closings . Ten to 20 years ago there were maybe two position I kick the bucket to get BBQ . Currently I can recall of 20 . "
Mike Rabb , who , with his wife Melanie , owned West Midtown Corner Tavern ( as well as the original CT in East Point ) , agree with Neely ’s persuasion on what do the block , say that overbuilding in townspeople , high rents , and less parking have made it harder for customers to get to their eating place and for them to turn a profit . Melanie sees thing pessimistically when predicting the future : “ There have to be more closing . Ten to 20 years ago there were maybe two office I went to get BBQ . presently I can think of 20 places I like and want to check out . Vegas betting odds would be that an increase turnover rate is a given . ” She also thing that management plays a major part in making your restaurant economy - proof .
“ The path we used to run restaurants back in the twenty-four hours just wo n’t sour . For a restaurant to pull through , it ’s experience to be well care – not just from the staffing destruction but from a number perspective . Profit margins have to detain tight ; there is n’t as much room for loss of revenue . You have to be smart and more controlled with your inventory . ”
Ultimately , it seems there ’s a double-dyed storm of uncontrollable divisor that are killing some of our greatest kitchen : gentrification , increase rents , higher food price , and placement that are n’t as fertile as aspiring businesses had hope . Maybe , as Melanie Rabb says , there ’s too little between the margins to wreak around when it ’s sentence to change by reversal a profit . perchance , ironically , what Atlanta ’s eating place industry needs is just a minuscule more belt - tightening . Then again , maybe we ’re franchising our supper esthesia out to fast - casual smartphone - compatible food , and we ’re all in too much of a FOMO - induced state – unsatiably foaming at the mouthpiece for whatever future flavors are in the next bite . Whatever ’s happening , hopefully it wo n’t lead in ATL becoming a genuine - biography interlingual rendition ofDemolition Man , in which we tear down all of our swell restaurants and wrench everything into a Taco Bell . Because for sure , Atlanta is pop and more hoi polloi are moving here , so there ’s no doubt more condominium are coming . But let ’s not lose the matter that makes everybody want to follow , populate , and eat here with us : our exceptionally sound taste .
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