Months after closing Ponce location, Eats to reopen in West End
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
From left to right are Wild Heaven co-president Nick Purdy, Eats co-founder Bob Hatcher and Wild Heaven co-president and brewmaster Eric Johnson. Photo: Courtesy of Courtney DiCarlo
Nearly three months after Eats closed its popular restaurant on Ponce de Leon Avenue, the Atlanta culinary staple will reopen in a new home.
Why it matters: Eats built a loyal following over the last 33 years by serving comfort food at affordable prices.
The latest: Wild Heaven Brewery said Tuesday that it has purchased Eats, which will open in March in the brewery's West End taproom at the Lee + White development.
What they're saying: Eats said on social media that its returning like a "phoenix rising from the ashes."
- "We closed, Atlanta prayed about it, talked about it, and clearly refused to move on," the restaurant wrote in a post published Tuesday.
- Bob Hatcher, owner and co-founder of Eats, said in a press release he was approached by a group of people who were "adamant about keeping the Eats brand alive," including Wild Heaven Brewery co-owners Eric Johnson and Nick Purdy.
- Eats' longtime manager Levi Nichols will also return to the restaurant, which Purdy told Axios will help in maintaining its continuity.
- "It's our intent to not just be a tribute band, but to really just continue what it's always been," said Purdy, who told Axios the goal is to open in early March.
Zoom in: The Wild Heaven team plans to incorporate Eats' decor, including their famous red wooden booths, in its West End space.
- They will also install the same ovens used at the Ponce location to cook the restaurant's chicken.
- "[We] definitely hope that when people walk into Wild Heaven West End, that they see and feel enough stuff that they're like, 'Yep, this is still Eats to me,'" Purdy told Axios.
Catch up quick: Hatcher co-founded Eats with onetime business partner Charlie Kerns (who later launched and still owns The Local) in 1993, according to a 2017 essay written by local author Hannah Palmer.
- He purchased the building in 1998.
State of play: The area surrounding Eats' original location is the center of the redevelopment boom on Atlanta's eastside. Ponce City Market is across the street, and the Beltline's Eastside Trail is a short walk away.
The big picture: Purdy told Axios that everyone loves Eats' pasta bar and its jerk chicken, but its most defining characteristic is that it's a place where you can see a cross section of Atlanta in one restaurant.
- "I always felt like Eats was something that all of us agreed on, that we all loved it, we all appreciated," he said. "And I think in this day and age, having something that we all agree on is probably helpful."