[EXCLUSIVE] Buckhead Brewing Bound for Big Buckhead Village Building

A new American restaurant is looking to open in the Buckhead Village where a Mexican restaurant recently closed.  Buckhead Brewing & Lodge plans to open at 128 East Andrews Drive where Chido & Padre's and The Blind Pig Parlour Bar closed this past December after about seven years in business.  

Buckhead Brewing & Lodge is being opened by a group of investors and entrepreneurs that includes Atlanta native Reid Olsen.  A Buckhead resident and UGA alum, Olsen operates several airport concessions and restaurants through his Olsen Hospitality Partners.  

(Olsen previously operated el Thrifty, a Mexican-inspired cantina, with locations on Greenville and Charlotte, but they closed in 2020 and 2024, respectively.) 

Olsen's most notable non-airport venue and one that some may be familiar with is Queen Park Social, a bowling, air hockey, skee ball, pinball, restaurant, bar, and more, in Charlotte's South End.  The venue is in some ways reminiscent of The Painted Pin.  

Southernside Brewing, located in Greenville, is another Olsen business and will seemingly be brewing the custom beers for Buckhead Brewing.  

"Buckhead Brewing’s craft beer, cocktail, food, and arcade program grew out of the partnership between its three founders - brewmaster Kenny Driggers, Tim Campau, and Reid Olsen - which began at Southernside Brewing Co. in Greenville, South Carolina. Kenny and Tim’s South Carolina roots, along with Reid, a native Atlantan, have shaped a relationship that has evolved into a shared commitment to high-quality hops, with local flavors carefully brewed and chilled for a neighborhood setting - naturally paired to bring friends, families, teams, and fans together for a good time."

The Buckhead Brewing website, which seems largely AI crafted thus far, hints at programing the restaurant plans to offer including game nights, school spirit nights, "concert stream" nights, and monthly autograph sessions with former Atlanta Braves players. 

Plans call of the roughly 8,100 square foot restaurant to function as "The Sandwich Shop," a casual quick serving offering during lunch hours on weekdays and become a slightly more elevated, full service offering during dinner hours and on weekends. 

Buckhead Brewing promises to be a "neighborhood-first brewpub" that is "family and team friendly" and is not "a nightlife bar " or a "gimmicky arcade concept."  

Look for Buckhead Brewing to open later this year.  

Have you been to Southernside Brewing or Queen Park Social?  Are you excited about the opening of Buckhead Brewing & Lodge?  What is currently your favorite craft beer?  

Please share your thoughts below.