A New Below-the-Radar Event: Atlanta Underground Market

Michaela Graham moved back to Atlanta from San Francisco at the beginning of January, and she wasted no time setting up an event she already missed in the Bay Area—an underground “market,” where cooks (some who work in professional kitchens, some with culinary chops who don’t) set up stands and sell small plates of their specialties for a minimum price. Her inaugural Atlanta Underground Market is set for Saturday, February 26, from 6–9 p.m. Participants sign up for an email that will reveal the location of the market the day before it happens.

There will be a $2 entrance fee, and Graham says she is suggesting to the vendors (numbering between thirty and forty) that they charge between $1–$5 apiece for their plates, so that participants can happily graze without an extravagant amount of spending.

To suss out potential vendors, Graham started by polling her local meet-up group, Underground Foodies, that she formed in December as she was planning her return to Atlanta. (Her industriousness puts most of us to shame.) She’s reached out to cooks who love the idea from the get-go, and others who, Graham said, “just wanted to watch the first one to see what happens—as if I’m going to give them space in the second one,” she added, laughing.

Graham tends to cook vegan at home and eats vegetarian in restaurants, so the meat-less crowd can expect some treats among the bacon-rich creations that will surely appear.

 

 

NEWS AND NOTES:

Buckhead. Tomorrow’s News Today is reporting that Farm Burger is planing to add a Buckhead location in the former Atlanta Bread Co. space in Tower Walk.

What Now Atlanta is reporting that Pinkberry is slated to open its third Georgia location March 4 at 3637 Peachtree Road in the former Marble Slab spot, next to Borders Books.

Decatur. Decatur Metro notes that the Atlanta area’s fourth Jimmy John’s located at 330 W. Ponce de Leon is slated to open in mid-March.

Downtown. What Now Atlanta is reporting that Django Gypsy Kitchen and lounge has closed.

Druid Hills. Steady Hand Pour House—a coffee shop/cafe run by Chambers, Pair & Donchey Coffee Company—has opened at 1593 North Decatur Road.

Mechansville. CL’s Gravy Train reported that Museum Bar, a nightclub-restaurant located in a renovated church, opened over the weekend.

Midtown. This is strictly at the rumor stage, but we’ve heard reports that Riccardo Ullio is considering a restaurant in the space that housed Eno. (It was briefly 5th Street Cafe after Eno closed.) Fingers crossed that this comes to fruition: It would be great to have Ullio back again post-Cuerno/Lupe/Beleza in Midtown (and there’s plenty of parking in the back of that space).

According to ToNeTo, the owners of Prickly Pear Taqueria are closing their adjacent pizza spot, PIE 950, and consolidating the space into the former configuration of Prickly Pear.

Westside: Miller Union Pastry chef, Lauren Raymond, was noted by Bon Appetit Magazine for her Almond Joy ice Cream sandwich.

Question of the Week: What newly opened barbecue spot features North Carolina’s beloved soda Cheerwine on its menu?

PS. The answer to last week’s QOTW—What former intown hotspot’s space is reportedly being leased by the owners of Apres Diem?—is Shaun’s, according to What Now Atlanta.