Chef and caterer Deborah VanTrece has taken over the Decatur space previously home to Marbar. Contrary to the rumors, VanTrece will not be picking up where Marbar left off. Instead, she’s reviving a soul food concept from the late 1990s called Edible Art. She hopes to open the restaurant under the name Twisted Soul by December 3.
“The restaurant will have a Southern twist, a soulful twist—a little different than the farm-to-table Southern fusion,” VanTrece says.
She will be working with local farmers and offer seasonal menus. Items may include cocoa-crusted rack of lamb with sweet potato pone and spoonbread, shrimp and crab fritters, seafood paella macaroni, and barbecue chicken spring rolls. At the bar, the focus will be on Southern spirits like bourbon, as well as pecan and sweet potato vodkas. There will be a sweet potato martini, white whiskey cobbler, and a Georgia sunrise. Craft beers will also be available.
VanTrece will be in the kitchen, supported by select staff members who have been working with her since she opened Edible Art in 1998. It closed in 2002 due to a change in building management.
“I’m a very hands-on chef,” she says. “I know what my vision is, and I want to be there to fulfill it.”
The majority of the Marbar décor will remain, with the exception of the Corona signs and nautical pieces. “I love the feel. It’s very neutral, casual, comfortable, urban-chic atmosphere,” VanTrece says.
