Courtesy of Milk & Butter Social
Healthy, fast-casual, Krog Street Market food stall Recess reopens Monday with a new, playful menu, including grab-and-go offerings. Recess first opened in 2018 as a Castellucci Hospitality Group concept. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the market-facing stall closed to focus on online ordering, pickup, and delivery from adjacent Bar Mercado.
During that time, owner Fred Castellucci partnered with current CEO Erik Goranson and Nick Miller (formerly of Gather meal kits) to revamp Recess into a more scalable concept.
“We want to expand with smaller store layouts and a focus on online ordering,” Goranson says. “We want easy-to-order food that travels well and can be prepared consistently and quickly.”
Courtesy of Milk & Butter Social
The new team brought on culinary director Whitney Wood, formerly of True Food Kitchen and Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, who is experimenting with “what’s seasonal, fresh, and current,” she says. “The goal is to introduce people to something new and exciting and provide something you can’t get at a Cava or Sweetgreen.”
She kept customer favorites like the Superbowl, Kale Caesar, and Loaded Sweet Potato Fries, and added the Year of the Tiger bowl with RightRice, edamame, miso butternut squash, 7-minute egg, radish, beet chips, and everything bagel seasoning. Also new are the Torta Carnitas (braised pork, tiger salad, red cabbage, and garlic aioli on a Telera roll), Purple Rain salad (greens, pickled beet, red quinoa, fennel, vegan feta, pear, and dried mango with citrus date vinaigrette), and cinnamon sugar chickpeas.
Courtesy of Milk & Butter Social
“We’re using Krog as our test kitchen,” Wood says. “Recess is about having fun.”
Though the bar has been removed to allow for more food prep, customers can enjoy a curated selection of nonalcoholic options, including kombucha, Hint water, and Poppi apple cider vinegar drinks. They can also grab a three-pack of Dunkaroos-inspired truffles made with vegan cream cheese and vegan white chocolate.
“It’s the perfect sweet bite at the end of your meal,” Wood says.
In addition to the Krog relaunch, the team is preparing to open a Buckhead location in the Hanover building. There will be dedicated parking spaces, a takeout window, a small patio, and seating for about 20 people.
“We want more, smaller locations, so no matter where you are inside the Perimeter, you can get delivery in less than 30 minutes,” Goranson says.
