Monday, May 31, 2010

Riley Shifts to Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub In Brookhaven

According to sources within Buckhead Life, Restaurant Group, Executive Chef Joey Riley will soon leave the Buckhead Diner, having held that position since 2006. He will be opening his own eatery in Brookhaven. Though neither his departure nor his successor have been made official, I'm told Chef Phil, formerly of Pano's & Paul's, will take the helm as Executive Chef. Buckhead Diner has a knack for training great chefs, many of whom have gone on to open their own eateries. Most notably, Iron Chef Kevin Rathbun, who spent a total of 10 years at BLRG, left in 2003 to open Kevin Rathbun's, Rathbun's Steaks, and Krog Bar. Top Chef contestant Eli Kirstein, who was trained by Rathbun and went on to be Executive Chef at the now defunct ENO, is said to be in talks to open his own restaurant in Manhattan. Chef Gerry Klaskala was Executive Chef at the Buckhead Diner before he became Executive Chef and partner at Aria.

Nearby, at Sembler's TOWN Brookhaven, dozens of local restaurants were said to be opening but thus far the only one to make progress is Cinnaminson, New Jersey based Slack's Hoagie Shack.

Riley's Kaleidoscope Bistro & Pub will open at 1410 Dresden Drive on a corner space of Village Place in Brookhaven. Though the menu and space are far from complete, you can track their progress via their Facebook page. Local Fro-Yo purveyor Yoforia will open next door in the coming weeks and the center is already home to Verde Taqueria, The Library Coffee Company and J. Christopher's. Across the street at 1441 Dresden Drive, sister restaurants Valenza and HAVEN are owned and operated by another Buckhead Diner alum, former General Manager Michel Arnette. Always a fan of the Buckhead Diner, I'm sure Chef Joey will do well in his new digs. ToNeTo Atlanta

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just something about that name I don't like!

Anonymous said...

Good things are happening in this area of Dresden Drive. It will be nice to add what I hope is a true community Pub (and bistro) to the mix.

Atlantan99 - any insight into what's going on with the open spaces across the street (where Haven and Valenzia are located)?

Atlantan99 said...

Hello Anon,

As of yet, I have not heard of any additional new tenants for Village Park at Brookhaven, the development that includes Valenza and Haven. I can assure you that if / when something is planned or in the pipeline, you will be sure to see it on this site.

Thanks for reading and for the question!

Atlantan99 said...

Just confirmed. Apparently Chef Riley left this past weekend and the new Exec Chef is Phill Skipp.

Anonymous said...

Chef Riley is still at the Buckhead Diner. He definitely did not leave this past weekend.

Atlantan99 said...

My apologies on the inaccurate report of Chef Riley's departure. The info on his replacement and his departure came from different sources. I just spoke with someone involved with Kaleidoscope and was informed Riley is likely to remain at TBD til August and then transition over to Kaleidoscope. I was also informed they plan to open October 1.

More to come, stay tuned!

Anonymous said...

Kaleidoscope sounds like a gay bar from the 90's. I guess Joey Riley woul know about that.

Anonymous said...

Eli
where's the phone # for Kaleidoscope? I don't see it on Website or FB - am I blind?
tx
Sheri

Anonymous said...

Over rated, gay bar from the 90's.

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