Friday, May 11, 2018

[CLOSURE ALERT] Sports & Social Swallows Todd English Tavern at The Battery Atlanta

Todd English Tavern has closed at Live! at the Battery Atlanta.  The restaurant, which opened last April,was a partnership between Baltimore-based The Cordish Companies and celebrity chef Todd English.  A pre-recorded message at Sports & Social informs would-be patrons that Todd English Tavern is "no longer open" and that it is now part of Sports & Social.  Sources close to the restaurant indicate that it actually closed before the Atlanta Braves home opener on March 29th.  The restaurant's last Yelp review was received on March 14 and responded to on March 19 with no mention of the closure.   
There is no question that Sports & Social was more popular than Todd English Tavern, so choosing to expand the sports bar concept into the space previously occupied by the upscale eatery makes a lot of sense, but is still sad to see.  As we reported last year, Todd English, who calls New York City home today, grew up in Sandy Springs and actually was in the stands for Hank Aaron's record breaking 715th homer at Fulton County Stadium in 1974. 

The inclusion of the "chef driven" Todd English Tavern in the Live! venue was reportedly a mandate of Cordish by the Braves Development Company (BDC).  A source close to the development tells ToNeTo Atlanta that officials with BDC likely would have "signed off" on the closure/conversion.  

Limited work was done to the Todd English Tavern space to blend it with Sports & Social as the space is being largely used  as overflow seating and as a "lounge" of sorts, according to a source at the restaurant. 

The closure of Todd English Tavern leaves The Battery Atlanta with three upscale chef-driven restaurants: C. Ellet's from Chef Linton and Gina Hopkins of Resurgens Hospitality Group, Achie's, from chef Hugh Acheson in the Omni Hotel and the newly opened Garden & Gun Club. 

Are you surprised that Todd English Tavern closed and no one noticed?  What is your favorite restaurant at The Battery Atlanta?  What restaurant opening at The Battery would make you go more often? ... Will the Braves go ALL THE WAY!? 

Please share your thoughts below  

5 comments:

BK said...

Not surprised. I work across the street and we went for lunch there once and never again. It wasn't horrible, just didn't seem worth the upcharge with much of the same menu of the main sports bar. They use the same kitchen as Sports and Social so it really was just more of an upscale environment than anything with some special items on their menu. As an office we really like Feed Fried Chicken and Such as our 'affordable' go to for lunch and its pretty damn tasty. We're looking forward to El Super Pan opening soon, and though I haven't tried it yet, I noticed Garden & Gun is open now and looks pretty upscale.

vespajet said...

Todd English himself is one of a number of chefs that has found themselves embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal, but his has flown under the radar compared to other celebrity chefs. MGM Resorts cut ties with him late last year, as Todd English P.U.B. at Aria Las Vegas is now simply called The Pub (His location of Olives that was at the Bellagio closed back in January, but this closure was announced months prior to the news of the sexual harassment allegations.), and a Todd English concept previously announced for The Park (A restaurant and entertainment district next to T-Mobile Arena run by MGM Resorts that is similar to The Battery.) appears to be dead.

amyers said...

Yes, when we went there for game on March 30th, all references to Todd English were removed and it was simple left with "The Tavern"

atl740 said...

Not surprised, I live in the Battery and only went once, the food just wasn't good and the service was very slow.

Anonymous said...

It seems like it took a long time to open, too. I can remember trolling the Battery website to find out when it would open.

I've been to Olives in NYC and also Las Vegas, and enjoyed the food.

Another one bites the dust, I guess. It has been pretty low key though...

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