Years in the making, the College Football Hall of Fame opened in August adjacent to the Georgia World Congress Center—one of the largest convention facilities in the country. With more than 94,000 square feet, it has several individual spaces for events and offers buyouts for events of 3,500 guests. Spaces include a 45-yard indoor football field that holds 1,450 for receptions, a 3-D Game Day Theater that seats 150, and the Quad, which holds 700 for receptions and has a unique wall of college football helmets.
Renovations at Parish wrapped up in August to reveal a new brasserie and café concept. The menu offers signatures dishes such as goat cheese and beet jam on toast and kale pesto sourdough gnocchi with porcini. The rustic-looking eatery seats 40 people for dinner or holds 50 for receptions. It can also hold receptions on its patio.
One of the latest additions to Krog Street Market, French-American brasserie the Luminary opened in August. The 3,500-square-foot space seats 140 guests in its dining room and 24 in a private dining room. Additionally, there is a 400-square-foot patio that seats 47 guests. The Luminary boasts an impressive raw bar, a diverse craft cocktail program, and an extensive craft beer and boutique wine list. Buyouts are available.
The Sweet Auburn BBQ food truck opened a brick-and-mortar location in Poncey-Highland in March. The restaurant includes a 1,000-square-foot bar and a 1,500-square-foot dining room. Its classic Southern barbecue fare includes pulled pork bowls, Curb Market fried ribs, Jamaican jerk collard greens, and Asian pear coleslaw. The restaurant seats 80, and buyouts are available.
Located in downtown Decatur, Makan serves Asian comfort food from great food cities such as Hong Kong, Taipei, and Seoul. The 3,300-square-foot restaurant seats 130 and is available for buyout. It includes a private dining room that seats 60, a 30-seat bar, and a patio that seats 40. All three sections can be booked separately. The space, designed by Square Feet Studio, features an open kitchen, a chef’s counter, and a full bar with a 14-foot-long communal table made of reclaimed wood. It opened in July.
A new addition to the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North, Savor Bar & Kitchen opened in September with indoor and outdoor seating. The 4,100-square-foot bar and restaurant seats 120 in its dining room. Additionally, a 550-square-foot private dining room seats 36, and a terrace seats 56. Savor’s farm-to-table dishes are inspired by the flavors of the South and include dishes such as pecan peach planked Scottish salmon and vision tartare. Buyouts are available.
KR Steakbar redesigned its private dining room in October, giving it a speakeasy-style atmosphere. The 1,800-square-foot room has its own entrance, restrooms, and bar; it seats 50 or holds 75 people for receptions.
Located in Alpharetta’s historic district, South Main Kitchen started serving its ingredient-driven cuisine in August. The rustic 1,900-square foot eatery serves dishes such as grilled polenta cakes, pork osso buck, and pork belly sandwiches. Its outdoor space includes a patio and a rooftop bar and patio.
The smokehouse and raw bar the Pig & the Pearl opened in July. A one-stop shop for all things smoked, the Pig & the Pearl offers a range of smoked meats and raw seafood from beef brisket to smoked or raw oysters. The 4,900-square-foot restaurant seats 160 guests, including a private dining room that seats 32.
Basque-inspired Cooks & Soldiers opened in November on the west side. Castelluci Hospitality Group’s latest concept offers a modern approach to the rustic cooking style of southwestern Europe. The 4,600-square-foot restaurant has a pintxo, or small snacks, bar with ready-made bruschetta or skewered snacks and a bar with a variety of Spanish and French wines and Basque ciders.
Iconic rotating restaurant and lounge Polaris reopened in May as part of the historic Hyatt Regency Atlanta’s $65 million transformation. The reimagined venue sits 22 stories above street level and rotates once every 45 minutes, offering panoramic views of the city. Designed by Atlanta’s own the Johnson Studio, the 5,000-square-foot restaurant includes an open dining room with a communal table, a living-room-esque space, a dramatic bar, and a lobby. The venue is available for private receptions during business hours or can be closed for events at other times. The restaurant seats 93 guests or holds 120 for receptions. Polaris originally opened in 1967.
The contemporary dining room at Atlas, the new restaurant at the St. Regis Atlanta hotel in Buckhead, displays art from the Lewis Collection, including pieces from Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Francis Bacon, and other famed artists. The restaurant, part of the Tavistock Restaurant Collection, serves a menu of local and seasonal American cuisine with European influences. It seats 106 and has a private dining room that seats 12. It opened in January.
The Delta Flight Museum completed a $12 million renovation in June, adding new exhibits and event venues to its location next to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The renovated 68,000-square-foot space now includes a 117-seat theater and a 30-seat conference room. For private events, the museum offers renovated airplane hangars: the Jet Age hangar holds 1,200 for a dinner or reception, and the Propeller Age holds 400 for a cocktail reception. The museum's courtyard holds 400 for an outdoor reception.
