[Opening Bits] A Look A Recent Atlanta Area Restaurant Openings and a Call to Action

The end of the year typically brings news of closures and other disappointing developments.  Several ToNeTo Atlanta readers have even reached out to express their concern at the number of closures we have reported, with still more reported elsewhere.  With that in mind, as we look forward to a new year and new opportunities, we wanted to highlight several openings that have occurred in recent weeks.   

Chef Pat Pascarella opened the newest location of Grana December 19 in Roswell.  The restaurant, located in Southern Post (1055 Alpharetta Street), is on the project's second floor with an expansive patio.  It also features the pizza and meatballs the chef's other locations in Ashford Lane in Dunwoody and the original on Piedmont Avenue in Piedmont Heights are known for. 

A new Thai restaurant called Pru Thai Kitchen opened December 4 in Alpharetta.  Located at The Atwater (2685 Old Milton Parkway), Pru occupies a 2,200 square foot space previously home to Yumbii, and before that, Bezoria.  Chef Ong Satangmongkol, former executive chef at Windward Parkway restaurant Nahm Fine Thai Cuisine, helms the kitchen at Pru.  The new restaurant is a sibling restaurant of Nahm.  

Sully's Steamers opened November 18 in Gainesville and officially celebrated their grand opening December 12.  The restaurant is located at 311 Jesse Jewell Parkway and marks the second in the state following the February opening in Statesboro.  ToNeTo Atlanta first reported on the planned Gainesville opening in July.  The Greenville, N.C.-based franchise is looking to continue growth in Georgia and beyond.  

Doc Green's Gourmet Salad and Sandwich Bar officially moved to Akers Mill Square in November.  The restaurant, once a franchise under the same umbrella as Mama Fu's Asian House, Moe's Southwest Grill, and Boneheads Grill, is now a single operation.  It moved from the soon to be redeveloped Riverview Village to its new home as of November 27.  The new restaurant,  2955 Cobb Parkway #240, is a roughly 3,300 square foot space most recently home to 101 Bagel Cafe until their abrupt closure last July.  

Kitchen+Kocktails by Kevin Kelley celebrated its official opening December 7 at Perimeter Mall (4400 Ashford Dunwoody Road) in Dunwoody.  The upscale restaurant from entrepreneur and personal injury attorney Kevin Kelley, replaced Cinco Mexican Cantina, which closed this past January after about five years in business.  Kitchen+Kocktails first opened in Dallas in May 2020 before expanding to Chicago in 2021, Washington in 2023, and Charlotte earlier this past June.  Despite having been open for less than a month, the Dunwoody restaurant has amassed more than 540 reviews on Google with an overall rating of 4.8.         

Roswell Junction officially opened November 25 at 340 S Atlanta Street in Roswell.  The 12,000 square foot food hall, bar, and music venue features seven food stalls:  Cleaver & Co., Pretty Little Tacos, Shawarma Shack, Across the Coast Seafood, Mad Mads Philly's, Flying Fish and Flourish Cafe by Land of A Thousand Hills Coffee, plus three bars and a stage for live entertainment.   

Tim Hortons opened its newest Atlanta area location November 20 just off Peachtree Parkway in Suwanee.  The new eatery, physically located at 110 Vaughn Road, officially celebrated its grand opening December 14.  ToNeTo Atlanta first reported on the planned Suwanee Tim Hortons last November.  The new donut and bagel shop marks the fifth in Georgia for the Canadian chain following the openings of shops in Columbus, Jonesboro, Fairburn, and on Spring Street across from The Varsity in  Midtown Atlanta.  The shop has already received nearly 120 reviews on Google but a surprisingly large number of them are one star, dragging down their overall rating to just 4.1.  Another new Tim Hortons from a separate franchisee is slated to open in 2025 in Johns Creek.  

After several delays, Fares Kargar opened his third overall Delbar November 18 in Buckhead.  The restaurant, located at Buckhead Plaza (3060 Peachtree Road), replaced Ford Fry's King+Duke, which closed last June after ten years in business. (Longtime Atlantans will recall the space was before King+Duke, home to upscale southwest restaurant Nava from Buckhead Life Restaurant Group.)  The new Delbar joins Kargar's existing locations on Old Milton Parkway in Alpharetta and on Inman Village Parkway in Inman Park.  The upscale Middle Eastern restaurant was recognized by Michelin Guide in 2023.  Delbar Buckhead was originally slated to open at The Gentry, a high-rise apartment community in Buckhead Village, but those plans were subsequently abandoned.  

Cupcakin' Bake Shop "soft" opened December 21 at The Shops in Buckhead (2221 Peachtree Road) in Buckhead. The Berkeley, California-based cupcake shop has been "coming soon" to Buckhead for more than two years and it's unclear what caused so many delays, especially when you consider that they replaced another cupcake shop, CamiCakes.  The new shop marks the second in Atlanta following the opening of the bakery's first metro location at Colony Square in Midtown last December.  A grand opening celebration is planned for the Buckhead shop after the new year.  

A new location of Cafe at Pharr is coming in 2025 to 1180 Peachtree in Midtown.  The locally owned salad and sandwich shop will open on the 14th Street side of the building in a roughly 1,000 square foot space formerly home to a satellite location of Highland Bakery.  A series of openings and closings over the years have left Cafe at Pharr owner Johnny Liu with four cafes: Buckhead, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and Vinings.  Liu closed his West Midtown Cafe at Pharr on Chattahoochee Avenue this past October and as of December 22, closed his popular Cultivate Food+Coffee on Howell Mill Road.  

Also coming in early 2025 is metro Atlanta's first location of Cooper's Hawk, a combination upscale American restaurant and wine shop.  ToNeTo Atlanta exclusively reported on the upcoming restaurant this past May.   The new Cooper's Hawk will be located in an outparcel of Mansell Crossing (7660 North Point Parkway) where it will occupy a newly built roughly 11,000 square foot building in front of Studio Movie Grill.  Sources close to the restaurant tell ToNeTo Atlanta that the Alpharetta restaurant is slated to open in February and that the company is actively considering at least two other locations in Georgia for the years to come.      

We are working on several other updates and stories for the new year.  It's worth noting, too, that we do our best to be as timely and accurate as possible, but we may at times fall short, and for that, we apologize.  Thank you to all our tipsters, amateur (and professional) photographers, fans, readers, and partners who have helped us this year.   

In 2025, ToNeTo Atlanta enters its 17th year of existence (with a couple of name changes along the way) and we are still proudly an independent and free source for industry insiders and neighbors alike.  If you have found ToNeTo Atlanta useful and informative, we'd be most grateful if you'd consider giving us an actual "tip." 

Thank You!