Restaurant Closures + Rebrands + Thinking Man Tavern’s Regulars
April 10 — It’s Thursday! Time for a little “Side Dish.”
For today’s Side Dish, we’re offering two recipes, including one for making a batch of vegetarian gyoza (Japanese dumplings) using seasonal produce from the farmers market.
Read the next installment from “The Regulars” series, featuring the restaurant industry regulars of Thinking Man Tavern in Decatur. We also launched a new transit-oriented dining series last week, highlighting restaurants in cities and neighborhoods within easy walking distance or a quick bus ride from MARTA rail stations. The series will continue throughout 2025, starting with restaurants near the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA station.
➕ Plus, read Beth’s interview with retiring Aria chef Gerry Klaskala and new owner Andrés Loaiza on the future of Aria in Buckhead. As always, expect the latest Atlanta dining news, like details on the closure of a longtime Brookhaven restaurant, service shifts at Prefecture Japanese Steakhouse in Buckhead and Staplehouse on Edgewood, and a new cookbook from an Atlanta chef.
In case you missed it in your inbox on Tuesday evening, here’s a link to the latest edition of “Family Meal.” It features outtakes from Beth’s interview with Klaskala and Loaiza that didn’t make it into the Aria story, and a recipe for the deviled eggs at Sweet Auburn BBQ.
Cheers from the Rough Draft dining team!
🍸 Beth and 🍰 Sarra
🌼 Springtime in Atlanta means it’s time for the 89th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival. Held in Piedmont Park April 11-13, this three-day outdoor event has fine art, live music and entertainment, children’s activities and more — and it’s free to attend! SPONSOR MESSAGE
Have You Heard?
Restaurant Closures
😢 After 14 years at Town Brookhaven, owner Bill Brown announced over the weekend that he was closing THERE, a bar and eatery. Brown could not reach a lease agreement with the current landlord. The lease expired on March 31. A chill neighborhood spot across the street from Costco, THERE served a robust menu of pub classics, bar bites, and weekly entree specials. But the cocktails whipped up by Brown often stole the show here.
😮 Speaking of closures, Slutty Vegan in Duluth recently shuttered as part of a restructuring of the Atlanta-based vegan restaurant chain owned by Pinky Cole. Satellite locations also recently closed at Georgia Tech and Spelman. 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,” but learned that as a business owner, “You can never take your hands off the wheel.” Read more from People here. For the local angle, read this story from the AJC’s UATL team here. (paywall)
👋 NaanStop in Buckhead closed after 10 years on Piedmont Road.
Service Shift + Rebrands
⭐ Michelin-starred Staplehouse on Edgewood Avenue will transition back to a full-time market and counter-service restaurant starting May 1. Hours will also expand to Thursday through Sunday, with food and drinks served until 9 p.m. Thursday and Sunday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The tasting menu will no longer be offered in the evenings after May 1. Instead, people will find Chef Ryan Smith and his team serving its Michelin-rated tasting menu at the new Uberto restaurant opening later this month as part of the new luxury guest ranch Quercus in Gay, GA.
🇯🇵 Prefecture Japanese Steakhouse on Peachtree Road in Buckhead will rebrand to NoriFish Sushi and Izakaya on April 18. Owner and chef Sean Park announced the transition in a press release. He owns both Prefecture and NoriFish in Sandy Springs. Starting April 18, expect hand rolls and izakaya-style dishes on the menu in Buckhead. “We listened to our clientele as they expressed their desire to enjoy NoriFish closer to where many reside,” Park said in a statement. “We are excited to not only bring and serve the same delicious dishes that our guests have come to love from NoriFish Sandy Springs but to add and offer favorite small plates from Prefecture.”
Coming Attractions
🍎 Health-driven restaurant STAXX will open as a food stall at Switchman Hall at Terminal South in Peoplestown this summer. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, STAXX will feature a walk-up window accessible from the patio.
☕ A location of Marietta Street coffee shop Urban Grind will open in a converted shipping container at Pittsburgh Yards at the end of April. According to the Instagram post, Urban Grind Brew Box will open in the container courtyard at Pittsburgh Yards serving coffee and tea as well as grab-and-go breakfast and lunch items like sandwiches, paninis, and salads. Owner Cassandra Ingram also plans to add rooftop seating to Urban Grind Brew Box.
New Cookbook
📖 Southern National chef and standup comedian Duane Nutter just released his first cookbook! Called “Cutting Up in the Kitchen,” the cookbook features Nutter’s favorite recipes, stories from the kitchen, and, of course, his best one-liners.
Historic elegance meets modern luxury
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Built on a grand scale, this is truly a home for entertaining, yet intimate enough for everyday living. This is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Atlanta history, thoughtfully updated to blend historical elegance with modern luxury.
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Top Stories From the Week
The regulars of Thinking Man Tavern’s industry night
🍻 Throughout the week, Atlanta’s restaurant and bar workers spend their time catering to other people’s needs – cooking and plating food, mixing drinks, and waiting tables. After long shifts, especially during peak weekend times, they’re often looking for a place to unwind.
Enter Sunday “industry night” at Thinking Man Tavern, the brainchild of longtime Atlanta hospitality veterans Davy Wilson and Alan Connor, who took over ownership of the low-key Decatur bar in 2022. Wilson and Connor also own Dakota Blue in Grant Park.
⏩ Read the full story from Rough Draft contributor Laura Scholz.
MARTA dining guide to Brookhaven
This Rough Draft dining series will continue throughout 2025, highlighting restaurants in cities and neighborhoods within easy walking distance or a short bus ride from MARTA rail stations.
🚆 With neighborhoods nestled along tree-lined streets, a handful of public parks, and multi-use trails flanking the north fork of Peachtree Creek, Brookhaven also features a growing restaurant scene centered in the heart of the city’s business and entertainment districts close to the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA station.
This dining guide spotlights seven Brookhaven restaurants easily accessible from the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA station on the Gold Line. All the restaurants listed are within short walking distance or a quick bus ride from the station located on Peachtree Road at Dresden Drive. The number 110 MARTA bus from Arts Center station in Midtown also stops at the Brookhaven-Oglethorpe station.
⏩ Read the MARTA dining guide to Brookhaven here.
The future of Aria, post-Gerry Klaskala
🍷🍽️ Speaking with Aria chef Gerry Klaskala and longtime general manager Andrés Loaiza, it’s clear the two men have great respect for one another, both professionally and personally. Loaiza’s voice cracks as he chokes back tears while describing his feelings about taking over as owner of Aria following Klaskala’s retirement.
Asking Loaiza to step into the ownership role at Aria – a plan set in motion months ago – was just the right thing to do, Klaskala said. Loaiza knows the dynamic at Aria will change slightly with Klaskala’s departure and taking on more responsibilities as its owner. But like Klaskala, Loaiza isn’t afraid of evolving the fine dining institution to keep it fresh and sustain Aria for another 25 years in Buckhead.
⏩ Read Beth’s full interview with Klaskala and Loaiza here.
🌼 Springtime in Atlanta means it’s time for the 89th Annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival. Held in Piedmont Park April 11-13, this three-day outdoor event has fine art, live music and entertainment, children’s activities and more — and it’s free to attend! SPONSOR MESSAGE
At the Market + Two Recipes
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS
💚 Each week, Rough Draft Atlanta and Community Farmers Markets partner to bring you two tasty recipes, and this week, we’re diving into the snacks and the spreads. If you want to make vegetarian gyoza or spring pesto at home using ingredients from your local farmers market, click here to learn more.
