😮 So. Many. Closures.

May 17, 2025 Waseem Abbas

Restaurant Closures + Openings + Slutty Vegan Update

May 15 — It’s Thursday! Time for a little “Side Dish.”

For today’s Side Dish, we’re offering two recipes, including one for a twist on cacio e pepe using spring greens and garlic from the farmers market. We also have stories on two big restaurant closures in Virginia-Highland and Inman Park.

Plus, read about the new restaurant joining the lineup at the block-wide Spring Quarter development in Midtown. A Mexican restaurant, a Japanese robata grill and sushi spot, and a rooftop omakase chef’s counter, all announced in 2024, should open by year’s end at Spring Quarter.

As always, we have the latest dining news to know, including updated details on the renovation and reopening of Slutty Vegan’s original location in Westview and a flurry of Westside restaurant intel.

And, in case you missed it in your inbox on Tuesday evening, here’s a link to the latest edition of “Family Meal.” It features a story on a community Facebook group with over 40,000 members influencing Atlanta’s Asian restaurant scene, and where to find a $20 wine flight deal paired with pop-up restaurants in Chamblee.

Cheers from the Rough Draft dining team!

Beth and Sarra

Join Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra on May 25 at Atlanta Symphony Hall. Goldblum launched the MSO 30 years ago, delighting audiences by playing contemporary arrangements of classic jazz and American Songbook standards. Tickets available now! SPONSOR MESSAGE

Have You Heard?

Another Westside restaurant closure

Bastone, the Italian restaurant and mozzarella bar owned by Chef Pat Pascarella, closed after three years at the corner of 8th Street and Howell Mill Road. The restaurant took over the space previously occupied by Bocado in 2022, with Pascarella saying at the time that Bastone would be his most ambitious restaurant to date. Read more here.

Marcel, Cooks & Soldiers renew leases on the Westside

Speaking of Westside dining – after a slew of restaurant closures along Howell Mill Road and neighboring streets, a May 14 press release announced that Marcel will be sticking around Westside Provisions District for another 10 years. The Michelin-recommended steakhouse, owned by Ford Fry, just renewed its lease. Fry also owns Little Sparrow and Bar Blanc at the complex.

The statement also mentions the renewal of the lease for Cooks & Soldiers across the street from Westside Provisions District. And, word is that Chef John Currence will open a location of his restaurant Big Bad Breakfast in the former Cultivate Food & Coffee space on the other side of Howell Mill Road in Buckhead.

Slutty Vegan newsSlutty Vegan will reopen on May 24 in Westview, and with a new look. You may recall we previously reported that this location was temporarily closed for renovations after Slutty Vegan founder, Pinky Cole, regained control of the company earlier this year.

Cole briefly lost control of her company “after a rocky 2024,” telling People magazine, “I was chasing something that I couldn’t catch for so many reasons,” and that she “wasn’t the operational person.” Since taking back the Slutty Vegan brand in March, she’s formed a new company under the Ain’t Nobody Coming to See You, Otis LLC – inspired by “The Temptations” mini series – and closed Slutty Vegan locations in Duluth and on the campuses of Spelman and Clark Atlanta. Bar Vegan, a cocktail bar and restaurant founded by Cole and her Slutty Vegan partners, closed on May 5 after four years at Ponce City Market.

NFA Burger opens in Alpharetta

Just a reminder that NFA Burger opened today at Avalon in Alpharetta. Diners can expect counter service, a simple bar program, and a nearly identical food menu. (Instead of Schmoops cinnamon sugar twists, the Avalon location will serve cups of frozen custard.) For drinks, think margaritas, and down the line, a bourbon cream.

Dunwoody drive-through dilemma

Dunwoody residents and business owners for and against the proposed drive-throughs for Raising Cane’s on Ashford Dunwoody Road and Zaxby’s on Perimeter Center West had their chance to speak during the May 13 Dunwoody Planning Commission meeting. After some back-and-forth from the commission over rezoning and special land use permits, both applications were deferred until the next meeting in June. Read more from Rough Draft’s Cathy Cobbs.

One night only

Peruvian restaurant Tio Lucho’s in Poncey-Highland teams up with critically acclaimed Athens restaurant Puma Yu’s on May 18 for a special dining event. The dinner, hosted on the patio at Tio Lucho’s, mixes Peruvian dishes with Thai dishes from Puma Yu’s. (Think fire-roasted whole chicken, chili- and lime-glazed shrimp skewers, papaya salad and sticky rice, and a wedge salad with huacatay ranch dressing.) A $100 ticket includes dinner for two people and guaranteed seating at 6 p.m. this Sunday.

New Taiwanese group dining experience

A new group dining experience just debuted this week at Lucky Star, the Star Metals Taiwanese cafe and cocktail bar from Brush owners Chef Jason Liang and John Chen. Served family style, the ban-dou (Taiwanese street banquet) features 12 dishes and feeds between four and six people. The menu includes dishes like ume tomato salad, a beef scallion pancake wrap, oysters, three-cup chicken, lobster club sandwiches, and caviar bumps. Expect mochi dumplings and pineapple cake ice cream for dessert. Reservations are required. $79 per person.

Jeff Goldblum heads to Atlanta Symphony Hall

SPONSORED BY ATLANTA SYMPHONY HALL

Join Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra on May 25 as they hit the Symphony Hall stage. Currently co-starring as The Wizard of Oz with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the critically acclaimed global box office smash, “Wicked,” Jeff Goldblum’s storied career now spans six decades of award-winning work.

Goldblum launched the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra 30 years ago. Since then, he and his band have performed for delighted audiences throughout the United States and all over the world, playing contemporary arrangements of classic jazz and American Songbook standards.

Tickets are available now!

Indian restaurant joins block-wide Midtown development Spring Quarter

Indian restaurant Pataaka will open later this year at Spring Quarter on Spring Street in Midtown, according to a press release. The tapas-style Indian restaurant comes from Atlanta chef Anish Nair, who also owns Jai Ho Indian Kitchen at Krog Street Market.

Pataaka joins Louisiana-based Mexican restaurant Habaneros at Sora. Japanese restaurant Sozou, backed by Chef Fuyuhiko Ito, will occupy a ground-floor space at the neighboring Ten Twenty Spring office tower. It will feature robata grill dishes and a sushi counter. Ito’s 14-seat restaurant Omakase at ISHIN will open on the eighth floor of the building in a rooftop space overlooking the Midtown skyline. However, the day-to-night restaurants from restaurateur Steve Palmer of Indigo Roads Hospitality are no longer listed on the website.

Char Korean closes after nine years in Inman Park

Char Korean Bar & Grill closed earlier this week after nine years at Inman Quarter in Inman Park. In addition to tariffs and a weakening economy, owner Richard Tang said that changes in the neighborhood factored into his decision to close Char Korean.

Char Korean was one of the first restaurants to open in the Inman Quarter development, along with Bartaco and Hampton & Hudson, which closed in 2024. Tang credits the popularity of Sotto Sotto and Fritti, owned by Riccardo Ullio, with bringing other restaurants to this particular stretch of North Highland Avenue nearly a decade ago.

At the Market + Two Recipes

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS

Peaches, and veggies, and spaghetti, oh my! Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets are partnering to bring you tasty recipes you can make with ingredients at your local farmers market. This week, we’ve got grilled peaches and a twist on cacio e pepe. Check out both recipes here.

Today’s Side Dish was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.

The post 😮 So. Many. Closures. appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.

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