Courtesy of Big Bad Breakfast
James Beard Award–winning chef and cookbook author John Currence, founder of City Grocery and Big Bad Breakfast restaurants in Oxford, Mississippi, is hoping to put his mark on Atlanta. On November 4, he’ll open his 27th location of Big Bad Breakfast—the first in Georgia—in the former Cultivate space on Howell Mill Road. This Southern breakfast-and-lunch spot will utilize local ingredients, spirits, and artwork to distinguish itself from its sister locations.
“I’ve not been this excited about an opening for a really long time. I have so many friends in Atlanta and am so glad to have a table to welcome them to,” says Currence, who will be signing copies of his book Big Bad Breakfast at the restaurant on opening day.
Below, he shares more about what to expect.
Why did you decide to bring Big Bad Breakfast to Atlanta?
Atlanta represents the most major metropolitan area in the South. My grandparents lived in Rome, Georgia, when I was a kid. I went to Braves games and Mary Mac’s. I played music in a band in Atlanta every eight weeks in college. I’ve watched the culinary scene blossom.
How much of the menu will be the same as at your other locations?
About 95 percent. We’ve developed a pretty solid product. We do try to create unique items for each store that speak to the place specifically.
What items will be unique to Atlanta?
We took the coffee cake from original brunch menu at City Grocery and re-tuned it for 2025. We made it peach and blueberry with streusel and icing drizzle for the Peach State.
I knew we’d see a demand for dietary restrictions, so I wanted something overtly vegan. We’re doing roasted shitake gravy on wheat toast and calling it Shitake on a Shingle.
One of our newer breakfast sandwiches that hasn’t rolled out in all locations yet is the Soul on a Roll. It’s an old-school bacon, egg, and cheese on a burger roll with mayonnaise, sauteed onions, jalapeños, and American cheese.
What other items should people most look forward to?
The breakfast plate is our number one seller. Big Bad Breakfast is a diner-style breakfast and brunch joint, so that’s the item people gravitate toward. There are endless combinations with different protein choices, gravies, sides, and ways to prepare your eggs.
The Breakfast Crumble is something I used to eat while walking the [expo] line. It’s a crumbled biscuit with poached eggs, bacon bits, green onions, and tomato gravy. I’d eat it in a Styrofoam cup, but we serve it in cast iron.
Courtesy of Big Bad Breakfast
In Atlanta, we’re serious about our biscuits. What makes yours special?
I didn’t have a grandmother or mother who made heavenly biscuits. They made awful ones. I didn’t have a background in it when I started cooking. It’s something I wanted to understand. I read On Food and Cooking by Herald McGee. I studied it to understand the how and why of the science of biscuits. Biscuits became a part of the City Grocery menu even though it was lunch and dinner only restaurant. At Big Bad Breakfast, we roll the dough like puff pastry and book-fold it five or six times to create true layers inside the biscuit. You can see it when cooked. It’s a very delicate process. We use White Lily Flour. Our biscuits are fluffy and big and super light but hold up for a sandwich.
Tell me about the look and feel of the restaurant.
We kept the Cubist tile from Cultivate and are building the space out to feel more like a diner. We added new lighting and cushioned booth seating. I must admit I’m running a chain, but I think about what I can do to not feel like a chain. The interiors are largely unique. We have old printers’ boxes filled with kids toys on the walls. The check presenter comes in the form of a postcard. Irreverence is one of our hallmarks.
Do you take reservations?
It’s walk-in only but we use the Yelp Waitlist feature.
