Here's a look at new Atlanta eateries, drinking spots, hotels, conference areas, private rooms, and other spaces for all types of summer entertaining and events. The new and renovated Atlanta venues are available for corporate parties, fund-raisers, outdoor events, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, weddings, and more.
Punch Bowl Social, a restaurant and activity center with locations across the United States, opened its first Atlanta location at the Battery Atlanta in March. The two-story, 25,000-square-foot venue serves Southern gastropub food and a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages—including punch bowls. For events, the entire venue can be booked for as many as 1,000 people, who can play games including bowling, giant Jenga, bocce, ping pong, ‘80s arcade games, wall scrabble, and darts. The venue also has two karaoke rooms and two virtual-reality experiences. For smaller private events, the venue’s Holiday Lodge can hold 50 people for receptions
Mission and Market, a restaurant serving contemporary American, West Coast-inspired fare, opened at Three Alliance Center in Buckhead in March. Helmed by chef Ian Winslade and hospitality attorney Jonathan Akly, the 5,000-square-foot restaurant serves everything from inventive pizzas to grilled Spanish octopus. The interior design of the space, which was led by Tony Akly of Restaurants Consulting Group, features clean lines, geometric decor, black leather, pops of teal, and a living moss wall. The venue, which is available for full buyouts and special events, has a variety of options for groups: A main dining room seats 100 guests; an outside wraparound patio also seats 100 diners; and two private rooms can each hold as many as 60 people for receptions.
Barnsley Resort in Adairsville completed its expansion in March, debuting the 55-room Inn at Barnsley Resort and Georgian Hall meeting and event space. The hotel partnered with Atlanta-based Cooper Carry architect firm and Kent Interior Design for the expansion, which brings the resort’s total room count to 150 and indoor event space to 16,000 square feet. Georgian Hall, which offers 9,000 square feet of indoor space and 8,350 square feet of outdoor space, is available for weddings, corporate meetings, or other special events. The hall seats 500 guests theater-style in the Savannah Ballroom, and holds 215 reception-style at the outdoor Savannah Terrace. The hall also features the Dalton Room, which holds 160 reception-style, and the Estate Lawn, which holds 370 for receptions.
The Clermont Motor Hotel, a Poncey-Highland hotel that originally opened in 1924 and had been closed since 2009, reopened as Hotel Clermont in June after undergoing extensive renovations. Developed by Oliver Hospitality and operated through a partnership with Charlestowne Hotels, the boutique hotel has 94 rooms with decor celebrating the hotel’s history and Atlanta roots. The hotel’s original signage and 65-foot radio tower, which dates to 1940, was restored and reinstalled atop the hotel. Tiny Lou's, the hotel’s American-French brasserie from Indigo Road Hospitality Group, can hold private events for as many as 108 seated guests. The hotel also has a sixth floor rooftop event space that holds about 215 guests for reception-style events. Local architect firm Gamble & Gamble, along with the Georgia Historic Preservation Division and National Parks Service, also worked on the renovation.
Garden & Gun magazine’s first restaurant and social space, the Garden & Gun Club, opened at the Battery Atlanta in April. Designed to bring the Southern lifestyle brand to life, the space offers Southern fare from chefs Mike Late and Adam Nemirow; an onsite retail shop; and an interior design helmed by Workstead, which blends old and new elements such as an antique china cupboard service station and steel pedestal tables. The 1,700-square-foot venue has a number of areas for private and special events, including the Club Yard, which holds 35 guests standing; the Club Yard and bar which holds 50 guests standing; the main dining room, which holds 40 guests standing; and a full club buyout, which holds 86 guests standing or 50 guests seated. Guests who book an event will be provided with service staff and food and beverage for purchase, which can be personalized with help from an onsite event coordinator.
RFD Lounge, a vintage-inspired bar, lounge, and event space, opened at Ponce City Market’s tower in March. The venue, which is managed by Slater Hospitality, has three floors. The tenth floor space is called “The Parlour,” and features a public bar and lounge with reclaimed vintage French chandeliers, brown leather banquettes, and bistro-style tables; the 11th floor is 3,970-square-foot private event space called the Roebuck Room, which accommodates as many as 175 people for receptions; and the 12th floor, “12,” is a secret space for celebrities and V.I.P.s.
The Alden, an eatery specializing in contemporary American cuisine, opened at the Parkview on Peachtree mixed-use development in Chamblee in April. The restaurant, which is owned by chef Jared Alden Hucks, serves dinner and brunch and specializes in dishes such as rack of lamb and Florida grouper. Diners can request a tasting menu with optional wine pairings at an 11-seat chef’s table that overlooks the kitchen. Including the chef’s table, the 2,300-square-foot restaurant seats 74 guests total inside, at a bar, and at an outdoor patio.
Clarion Inn and Suites Downtown Atlanta opened in May. Located at the Russell Hospitality Campus at Castleberry Hill, the hotel has 104 guest rooms and a 1,375-square-foot banquet room that can hold about 150 guests for receptions. Additionally, the hotel has a small meeting room that seats seven guests classroom-style. The hotel also offers lodging for groups hosting private events at the campus, which has event spaces at Paschal’s Restaurant and the Loft at Castleberry Hill.
SpringHill Suites Atlanta Downtown opened in May. Located next to Centennial Park and Pemberton Place, the hotel has 170 guest rooms. For meetings and events, the hotel has an 840-square-foot space that seats as many as 50 people.
Restaurant Holmes, the first restaurant at Alpharetta City Center, will open in July. Located in the historic Jones House, the restaurant will serve 20 seasonal small plates—many of which are vegetable based—from a menu helmed by chef Taylor Neary. The 3,300-square-feet venue will seat 60 guests inside and 40 guests at an outdoor bar. The restaurant will also have a private room for events that seats 15 guests.
