Tag: Kellie Thorn

Have you ever come across a gem of a place and wondered how no one else has found out about it? That’s what the entire Atlanta bar scene is like. Atlanta may influence everything, but when it comes to the national cocktail conversation, it flies way under the radar. Is the talent here? Yes. Do many people know about it? No.

And I’ve realized that, for me, there are only three kinds of cocktails: classic, magic, and a waste of money.

Two-time James Beard Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson, of Empire State South, is opening a restaurant in the newly renovated Candler Hotel downtown. Take a first look inside.

With a handsome, library-like aesthetic—complete with a rolling ladder gracing the back bar—Empire State South feels like it’s been around for longer than its nine years.

It’s been eight years since celebrity chef Hugh Acheson opened Empire State South. A lot has changed since then, but Empire State South remains a destination restaurant in a part of Midtown that has too few of them.

It’s been eight years since celebrity chef Hugh Acheson opened Empire State South and challenged Atlanta’s notion that Southern food is something preciously preserved in the past. But a lot can change in eight years. Empire State South’s next chapter, under newly installed executive chef Adam Waller, marks a deliberate return to the basics.

Community Farmers Markets—a nonprofit network that likely includes at least one of your favorite Atlanta farmers markets—is hosting its inaugural Red Clay Soirée fundraising gala on Friday, November 10. The event will feature chefs from Kimball House, 8 Arm, the General Muir, Rising Sun, El Super Pan, and other favorite Atlanta restaurants.

We talk to the James Beard award-winning chef about his new restaurant at the Battery, Achie's, his sketchbook doodles, and whether or not he'll return to television.

Craig Richards, chef at St. Cecilia, and Kellie Thorn, bar manager at Empire State South, on hiring top talent