7 New Venues in Atlanta for Fall 2022 Meetings and Events

Opened in early October 2022 by three industry vets from local restaurants and the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, Westside Motor Lounge is a long-awaited indoor/outdoor entertainment experience combined with a bar and restaurant, which also opened this month. Westside Motor Lounge is the product of three automotive buildings that were used to create a three-acre, adaptive reuse project that consists of a lounge, listening room, restaurant, and event space spanning 1,750 square feet. (There's also an interactive gathering space in between.) Event planners can entertain up to 400 guests across all the venues with tons of blank-canvas space. Additionally, Westside Motor Lounge has a half-acre courtyard that incorporates cabanas, a music stage, shuffleboard courts, fire pits, and a beer garden.

Planners looking to create an engaging team-building activity should look no further than the new Beat The Bomb outpost on Atlanta’s Westside. The first-of-its-kind space in the city opens on Oct. 13 with tickets already on sale. For insight into what to expect, the immersive social video game company behind the concept calls it "Mission Impossible meets Double Dare." Attendees get a one-hour chance to beat the bomb, where they go through a series of 10-minute games on touch screens while dodging motion sensors and using RFID readers, projection-walls, and laser maze hardware to win the game. Once the experience ends, the Beat The Bomb room becomes a photo booth, and players are sent photos and videos of their experience. And for pre- or post-team building, there’s an immersive arcade area, food offerings, and a bar to keep attendees occupied. Can’t beat that!

Opened in the final days of September 2022, the Kimpton Shane Hotel in Midtown Atlanta is the third Kimpton property to open in the city. Always with a flair for the local, Kimpton chose Atlantans to lead the artwork program, architecture, and lighting design for the chic, new 230-room boutique hotel overlooking High Museum of Art, MODA, and Center Stage. Its 6,600 square feet of meeting space includes five breakout rooms, a large ballroom, a boardroom, and a set of prefunction spaces. Not to be remiss, the dining spaces are equally alluring to event and meeting planners. Aveline is a cocktail lounge on the hotel's mezzanine level, and Hartley Kitchen & Cocktails is a jewel box of a restaurant on the lobby floor. The Lumina Suite is a 1,400-square-foot knockout that's perfect for board meeting buyouts or small executive retreats.

A Phoenix-based "winecafé" opened its flagship Southeastern location in the Buckhead neighborhood on Sept. 12. Postino is located in a 4,000-square-foot space that was once a former Blockbuster video store circa 1990, and Upward Projects—the restaurant group behind the concept—created a quirky VHS tape wall that spans an entire semi-private space. The nod to the space's former life is perfect for movie- or TV-themed events (and Instagram moments). For an alfresco affair, consider the patio space, which can be reserved for up to 50 people. Postino also allows outside decorations and desserts to be brought in. A second Westside location of this happy, cheerful brand is coming soon.

Chops Lobster Bar is one of Buckhead’s iconic high-end restaurants and event spaces, and Buckhead Life Restaurant Group reopened its doors after a fire earlier this year. As of September 2022, the Lobster Bar boasts extensive renovations across two levels. Included with the expansion is the Plaza Room, a completely new dining room available for private groups. Expect new furnishings and finishes throughout the space with chandeliers hanging from arched ceilings and pops of live greenery. Another highlight? A new patio overlooking Buckhead Plaza for parties up to 36 guests. The patio also doubles as a prefunction space, and is perfect for pre-event cocktails. Longtime Atlantan gallerist Fay Gold curated the space's artwork collection as well.

Adrian O’Neal of Designer Productions started his career creating elaborate floral installations for events, as well as TV and movie sets around Atlanta. After getting a slew of client requests for venue recommendations, he decided to buy a space where he could create his sought-after florals and host the parties too. Cue the Museum Room, which he opened in mid-July 2022 in Georgia's posh Marietta suburb. With 5,000 square feet of usable event space, the Museum Room is no stranger to hosting corporate events, weddings, special occasions, and more. Its load-in, load-out bay door makes it perfect for event planners who want to drive in cars, bring in large installations, or allow caterers and furnishing companies to deliver seamlessly. Ideal for event marketers and planners? O'Neal's in-house services—including catering, bar service, furnishings, and more—yet still allowing for any licensed operators to be contracted and brought in. And thanks to his rolodex, he has a who's-who list of preferred vendors.

Guests no longer have to travel to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to try the James Beard Award-winning restaurant One Flew South. The team behind the high-end Southern favorite opened a new location on the Eastside of the Beltline. Event planners looking for something with a foresty feel will love the beloved wood walls and photographic timber mural carried over from the original. The location can seat 120 people, including 60 interior seats and an impressive 60-person outdoor space, with 40 patio seats facing the city's iconic Beltline.