Tin Lizzy’s founders to open three new Buckhead restaurants in 2014

Get ready for barbecue, Spanish cuisine, and gastropub fare
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The Southern Gentleman design elements

Courtesy of architect Josh Heitler, Lacina Heitler Architects in NYC

Buckhead will add a new barbecue joint, gastropub, and Spanish-fusion spot to its restaurant repertoire next year with the opening of Smokebelly, the Southern Gentleman, and Gypsy Kitchen, respectively. Created by Chris Hadermann and JP Piemonte—the team behind Tin Lizzy’s, the Big Ketch, Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails, and the new Osteria Cibo Rustico—these new concepts will combine dining with live music, craft cocktails, and more. Each will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Smokebelly
Projected opening: March 2014
Location: 128 East Andrews Drive
Replacing Tavern 99, Smokebelly is a barbecue restaurant intended to reflect Southern culture as a whole (think Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Jr.). With executive chef Darrell Rice of the Big Ketch in the kitchen, Smokebelly will serve both smoked and non-smoked meats using wet and dry rubs, as well as injections.

“We’ve taken techniques from every region of barbecue and smoking and will blend them into our concept,” Hadermann says. “We draw inspiration from all over.”

The menu features snacks, barbecue tapas, and salads, as well as traditional mains to cater to a broader crowd. Items include spicy smoked pork pate, barbecue lettuce wraps, watermelon-smoked feta salad, and Southern-style cheesesteak. In addition to brisket, ribs, turkey, sausage, chicken, and pulled pork, Smokebelly will offer unique specialty cuts each week, such as beef cheeks, smoked alligator, and tri tip.

Led by Brandon Howington currently head bartender at the Big Ketch, the bar will offer craft beer and cocktails with a concentration on whiskey, bourbon, and moonshine.

There will be a house band, an (artificial) grass-covered patio, and eventually, a speakeasy in back. Piemonte describes the dining room décor as having “a rustic feel with vintage influences and an edgy twist.” It will be decorated with light woods and “unpredictable, funky elements.”

At some point, Piemonte and Hadermann want to implement a Sunday gospel-themed brunch with loud music, too.

The Southern Gentleman
Projected opening: July 7, 2014
Location: Peachtree Street and Buckhead Avenue
A gastropub intended to epitomize Southern culture, the Southern Gentleman will share space with Gypsy Kitchen across the street from the old ESPN Zone, in the Streets of Buckhead area.

“It’s in the spirit of chef-crafted gastropubs like Holeman & Finch, but more approachable and with a Southern twist,” Hadermann explains. “There will be a big focus on ingredients from our farm at Milton’s.”

The menu of shared plates from the “garden, land, and sea” includes pistachio-crusted Asher blue cheese fritters, pan-seared boiled peanut ravioli, braised pig cheeks with Brussels sprout leaves, and Calvados brandy-cured salmon with crispy potato pancakes, horseradish, and a three-chile remoulade.

“The Southern Gentleman will be designed after the Old South but in an edgy way—kind of a Mark Twain and Gone With the Wind undertones,” Piemonte says, adding that the bartender will likely wear a bowtie and seersucker pants.

Gypsy Kitchen
Projected opening: July 7, 2014
Location: Peachtree Street and Buckhead Avenue
Comprising two-thirds of the approximately 10,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor space that will also house the Southern Gentleman, Gypsy Kitchen is a Spanish fusion concept with influences from India, Morocco, and Southeast Asia.

Picas, or snacks, include chorizo bites and garbanzo fritos (fried chickpeas with Moorish spices), while tapas include Spanish meatballs in two sauces and roasted cauliflower with marcona almond puree. The raciones, otherwise known as entrées or sharing plates, include mushrooms a la plancha sautéed with potatoes, shallots, and Iberian ham, as well as shrimp sautéed with onions, garlic, spices, white beans, and brandy with a touch of cream. The menu also has a section titled “Spanish fusion dishes,” which features roast chicken in an Indian inspired tikka masala-saffron sauce with toasted marcona almonds, mixed roasted vegetables, and Spanish rice.

Gypsy Kitchen will have lounge seating, an open-air patio, and live entertainment. Expect Baroque-style décor with heavy red velvet and bold patterns, and Moorish elements, such as a huge metal Bull sculpture near the bar.

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