A Virginia-Highland burger restaurant will close, the Honey Baked Ham Company announced its first new centerpiece protein in decades and more restaurant happenings from across the metro area.
Aria pastry chef Kat King to retire
Though she prefers to think of leaving Aria as a career change rather than retirement, pastry chef Kat King will step away from the restaurant where she’s made elegant, delicious desserts for the past 25 years.
“I could have done it earlier, but I wasn’t ready,” King told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’m ready now.”
King plans to continue working, devoting more time to her other, previously established businesses. She plans to continue consulting with other restaurants, a service she’s already offered for years, and develop her jewelry business. King makes some custom jewelry, but she primarily sells production jewelry through her brand Black Eyed Pearls. Her pieces mostly center on Southern food products cast in sterling silver, like okra, acorns and, of course, black eyed peas.
Credit: Libby Ashworth
Credit: Libby Ashworth
King said she was grateful to have the unique opportunity to work at a single restaurant for 25 years. She feels fulfilled knowing that she is leaving the restaurant in good hands after it was purchased by her longtime colleague Andres Loaiza, King told the AJC.
Aria was No. 7 on the AJC’s Atlanta 50 list released in September and received a three-star review in July. The review highlighted King’s bread service, “an airy, muffin-shaped focaccia roll scattered with caraway seeds and served with warm butter lightly sweetened with sorghum.”
King’s final day at Aria will be New Year’s Eve.
Credit: Courtesy of Farm Burger
Credit: Courtesy of Farm Burger
Farm Burger to close its Virginia-Highland location, new concept from Kinship Butcher team to take over
Farm Burger, the Georgia-based burger chain, has announced it will close its location in Virginia-Highland at the end of December to make way for a new concept from chef Myles Moody and sommelier Rachael Pack of nearby Kinship Butcher & Sundry.
Farm Burger opened in 2021 at 1017 N. Highland Ave. NE inside of a former gas station. Co-founder George Francos said he’s known Moody and Pack since they opened their butcher shop next door right around the same time.
For the past few years, he said they’ve had conversations about collaborating on a project in the Virginia-Highland Farm Burger space. As Moody and Pack got more serious about it, “it just seemed like the timing was right for us, just strategically,” Francos said. The move makes sense, he said, both in terms of the direction Farm Burger is taking and to “kind of let them have their opportunity.”
On Dec. 31, Farm Burger will close, and the Kinship team will begin working on a full-service restaurant concept, Francos said. He’ll work with them a bit in the background, “supporting them and consulting with them a little bit in the whole opening process and design,” he said.
It made sense for the Farm Burger team as they consider their next steps as the company approaches its 16th year of operation. George Francos and farmer and rancher Jason Mann founded the brand in 2010 in Decatur with the goal of serving grass-fed and grass-finished beef burgers as well as pasture-raised meats and salads. Farm Burger’s other seven locations will remain open, including its popular Decatur location, Francos said.
He gave the staff prior notice, and he said they are able to make room for people at other Farm Burger locations.
“We love that corner, and we love the Highlands, and so it was the right people to kind of pass the torch on to that building,” Francos said.
More details about Moody and Pack’s new concept will be announced in 2026, according to a news release.
The husband-wife duo opened Kinship Butcher in 2021 as a whole-animal butchery and market with local produce, pantry staples, natural wine and sandwiches. More recently, they debuted their hospitality group Pack Hospitality and added fine dining pop-up Kin (spelled k|n) as its first concept in August.
The team is also set to open a second location of Kinship with expanded offerings at the Beacon in Grant Park next year.
Credit: Courtesy of At Arbeta
Credit: Courtesy of At Arbeta
At Arbeta cafe will open next year in the JavaVino space
At Arbeta, a European-inspired cafe and remote working concept, will open next year in the former JavaVino space in the Poncey-Highland neighborhood.
JavaVino closed its doors after more than 20 years Dec. 8.
Rebecca Floyd, operating partner of the cafe, has worked in the food and beverage industry for years. She spent time as a barista at Rembrandt’s Coffee House in Chattanooga, then attended the Atlanta Art Institute for the culinary arts. After graduating, she worked as an apprentice wine consultant for Pearson’s Wine of Atlanta and later held various positions for corporate food brands.
She told the AJC that she’s been wanting to create a concept that sits somewhere between a cafe and a coworking space, where people can enjoy quality coffee, wine and food while still finding privacy to take calls or work on collaborative projects, without paying a membership fee.
At Arbeta, which means “to work” in Swedish, will meet both of those needs with a “bustling” downstairs cafe space and an upstairs that will have conference and meeting rooms with video capabilities available for people to reserve.
“Hopefully you can find what you need in the moment that you need,” she said.
At Arbeta will offer in-house food services for half-day or full-day needs for those who reserve meeting spaces, Floyd said.
The menu is still a work in progress, but she said it will offer options like whipped ricotta toast, overnight oats, pastries, pressed and cold sandwiches, salad grain bowls, cheese plates and an aperitivo hour with snacks and cocktails. A priority will also be locally sourced ingredients, she said.
Floyd has an advanced wine certificate with the International Sommelier Guild, so she plans to curate much of the wine and cocktail menu.
Renovations on the space will begin after the holidays, she said. It will be completely different from JavaVino with a “fresh, clean” look, including lots of greenery and natural light, “something to hopefully inspire.”
“We want to totally embrace (JavaVino’s) loyal customers, and you know, be there for them as much as we can, because I know they’re greatly loved,” she said.
579 N. Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. instagram.com/atarbeta
Other items of interest
The Honey Baked Ham Company, the nationwide takeout chain based in Alpharetta, has introduced a new protein for the first time in decades: prime rib. Despite soaring beef prices, the HoneyBaked prime rib is available to order in sizes ranging from three to eight pounds, with prices from about $90 to $200.
Multiple locations. honeybaked.com
HF Foods Group, an international food service company specializing in Asian restaurants, opened a new distribution center in Powder Springs on Thursday, according to a news release. The 190,000-square-foot distribution center will serve customers in Georgia as well as Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
4795 Innovative Highway, Powder Springs. hffoodsgroup.com
Restaurant openings
The Bank Bar, a coastal Italian restaurant, opened in November on the ground floor of the Terminus building in Buckhead next to its sister restaurant, Industry Tavern. The menu includes pasta, mains like chicken Marsala and saltimbocca and appetizers.
3280 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 470-823-3445, bankbaratl.com
Bubbakoo’s Burritos, a Mexican-fusion chain, opened its third Georgia location in Johns Creek last week, according to a news release. It serves a menu of burrito combinations like the papi hibachi with hibachi-style steak and shrimp.
10710 State Bridge Road, Johns Creek. 943-231-1041, bubbakoos.com
Siena will open this weekend in Alpharetta in the former Gormania and Seven Seas Mediterranean Cafe space, according to a news release. “Siena combines two of my favorite cuisines: Mediterranean and Italian,” co-owner Aïda Lemma said in a press statement. “Our female Executive Chef, Baba Estavillo, has dubbed our cuisine ‘Meditalian,’ and we are so excited to share her creations with the community later this month!” The new restaurant will open Saturday and offer dinner service Tuesday-Sunday, with a weekend brunch to begin in the new year.
124 Devore Road, Alpharetta. 404-488-3399, sienaatl.com
Restaurant announcements
Credit: sour
Credit: sour
PopUp Bagels, the popular New York-based bagel chain, has posted signage for a second Atlanta location in Buckhead Landing, Tomorrow’s News Today reported. This comes after PopUp Bagels CEO Tory Bartlett told the AJC the chain would bring five locations to Georgia as the hub of its Southeast expansion.
Vino Venue, a Dunwoody wine bar, will close its full-service restaurant after 13 years on Saturday, according to a report from Rough Draft Atlanta. The shop will continue to offer private events, expand its wine shop and host more experiences like cooking classes. Its new hours will be noon-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
4478 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. 770-668-0435, vinovenue.com
Restaurant closings
Sugar Shane’s, a local cookie shop, is closing its location at Ponce City Market Dec. 31, according to a social media post by the business. Its Midtown, Kennesaw and Sandy Springs locations will remain open.
675 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta. 404-823-4640, sugarshanes.com
Thai Restaurant of Sandy Springs in the Hammond Springs Shopping Center has been sold to a new owner in a sale facilitated by Steve Josovitz of Shumacher Group. The buyer, Datta Gajakas, will convert the 1,100-square-foot restaurant into an Indian concept. According to the notice, the sale was initiated because of the owner’s retirement.
5975 Roswell Road NE, Atlanta.
Maverick’s Cantina in Johns Creek has closed its dining room after more than 10 years, though the kitchen remains open for catering orders, according to its website.
11030 Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek. 470-395-6140, maverickscantina.com
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