June 2026
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Features
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Why the World Cup matters more than ever to Atlanta
As Atlanta prepares to host eight matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the tournament represents both a major economic and cultural moment for the city and a milestone in America’s decades-long rise as a soccer nation.
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The Olympics changed downtown. What will the World Cup leave behind?
Thirty years after the Olympics transformed downtown Atlanta, the World Cup is fueling another wave of development across the city’s core. Centennial Yards, South Downtown, new housing—the tournament’s biggest legacy may be the reshaping of downtown long after the final match ends.
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Can MARTA Handle the World Cup?
Recall the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta. Traffic woes dominated local headlines, with MARTA receiving much of the blame. This summer, prepare for the same super-sized crowds and traffic—and multiply it by eight. With the arrival of the FIFA World Cup 2026—is MARTA ready?
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Atlanta is a soccer town. Meet the communities beyond the World Cup.
The World Cup may bring the global spotlight to Atlanta, but the city’s soccer culture thrives year-round. From retirees in Roswell to children playing beside MARTA stations, these players show how the game continues to connect Atlantans long after FIFA blows the final whistle.
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Where to watch the World Cup around Atlanta
You don’t need a ticket to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to experience the World Cup in Atlanta. From packed soccer bars and neighborhood watch parties to Beltline festivals and citywide celebrations, metro Atlanta is turning the tournament into a summer-long community event.
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Atlanta’s Starting XI: The leaders behind the city’s World Cup game plan
As Atlanta prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a diverse lineup of civic leaders, soccer stars, business executives, and cultural ambassadors is working behind the scenes to shape the city’s moment on the global stage.
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“Atlanta Stadium” 101: Your guide to the chaos that comes with World Cup matchday
Atlanta is undergoing a full-scale transformation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup: rebranding Mercedes-Benz Stadium, installing specially engineered grass, and overhauling transit operations. This guide breaks down what you need to know about tickets, transportation, parking, and more.
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Atlanta’s World Cup Homelessness Strategy: Avoid the mistakes of 1996
Whatever the successes of the ’96 Olympics Games, the blow it dealt to Atlanta’s unhoused community is widely considered a moral failure. Thirty years later, Atlanta officials want to prove they’ve learned their lesson for the FIFA World Cup.
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4 places to celebrate the World Cup beyond Mercedes-Benz Stadium
The World Cup action in Atlanta won’t stop at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. From the FIFA Fan Festival at Centennial Olympic Park to new entertainment destinations like Cosm and downtown rooftop lounges, the city is transforming into a monthlong celebration of soccer, food, music, and global culture.
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10 mainstay restaurants within a 30-minute walk of Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Before the World Cup crowds arrive, these downtown Atlanta restaurants already had loyal local followings. Historic institutions like Paschal’s, beloved sports bars like Restaurant Ten, and breakfast spots like Atlanta Breakfast Club, these longtime favorites offer some of the city’s best meals within walking distance of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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Experience the cultures behind the World Cup without leaving Atlanta
The World Cup is bringing more than soccer to Atlanta—it’s bringing the cultures, cuisines, music, and traditions of countries from around the globe. From Cabo Verdean tailgates and Haitian festivals to Spanish watch parties and Uzbek restaurants, these events offer a chance to experience the world without leaving the city.
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10 new restaurants within a 20-minute walk of Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Downtown Atlanta’s restaurant scene is booming just in time for the World Cup. Barbecue joints, Irish pubs, upscale Thai cuisine—these new spots are all within a 20-minute walk of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, perfect for a prematch meal or postgame drink.
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The Connector
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Can young Atlantans still afford to buy a home?
Buying a home is more expensive today than any time in U.S. history—and it’s disproportionately affecting young Atlantans, as they tend to have lower incomes and less savings. To get into the game, they are settling for fixer-uppers, scraping together down payments, and taking on higher insurance premiums.
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Spruill Studios transforms Chamblee City Hall into an affordable artist workspace
Chamblee is well on its way to becoming an arts destination. This month, Dunwoody-based nonprofit Spruill Center for the Arts opens a collection of 15 artist workspaces in the former Chamblee City Hall building on Peachtree Road.
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Blind Willie’s Bar is still singing the blues at 40
Blind Willie’s, named for the late Georgia blues great Blind Willie McTell, has been an enduring fixture of Atlanta’s music scene for the past 40 years. It’s survived this long thanks to a devoted community of staff and longtime patrons. We asked a few of them to share their favorite memories of the club.
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Katrina Nelson’s acting career is literally in her “hands”
Behind every pair of hands holding a juicy burger in a TV commercial is a working actor who auditioned to be there. “For years, I was the Bounty and the […]
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The Bite
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The verdict on 2 new Atlanta dining spots: Cuevacía and Pepper Roost Chili Fried Chicken
Cuevacía is an Oaxacan treasure inside Colony Square. Plus, Pepper Roost Chili Fried Chicken is a new Asian hot chicken joint that’s taking roost in Avondale Estates.
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Mirae in Brookhaven blends Korean tradition with modern ambition
The moment the Shrimp Toast Menbosha hits the table, it’s clear Mirae operates at a different level. Mirae doesn’t just argue for modern Korean cuisine’s place in Atlanta’s upscale dining scene. It’s helping define it.
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These 6 Atlanta farmers markets are the heartbeat of their neighborhoods
Farmers-market season is in full swing, that vibrant window when Atlanta parking lots and town greens come alive with community and the bounty of harvest. Whether you’re chasing a peak-season heirloom vegetable, fresh-cut flowers, or a foldable pizza, Atlanta has markets aplenty and a little something for everyone.
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Chef’s Tableware brings affordable ceramics to Atlanta’s chefs and home cooks
Chef’s Tableware is the ceramics shop all over many Atlantans’ “for you” page on TikTok. From its New Peachtree Road warehouse, Chef’s Tableware offers handcrafted plates, cups, and bowls, sourced from Thailand, that look like they’re from Anthropologie but sell for a fraction of the price.
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5 gelato shops in Atlanta worth the brain freeze
Gelato isn’t just an Italian word for “ice cream.” Gelato has a softer consistency and a lower fat content, as it’s made with milk instead of cream. Like most Italian fare, gelato seems to be having a moment, with some calling it “ice cream’s cooler cousin.” Here are a few cousins you ought to meet.
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The Goods
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For decades, the Chattahoochee River was too filthy for recreation. Now, things have changed.
Until recently, it wasn’t prudent to paddle a part of the Chattahoochee River south of Atlanta. The river was septic from sewage and sludge in the late 1960s. In 1994, a new nonprofit Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (founded by my mom) started to clean things up, sue polluters, and monitor the waterway’s condition. Gradually, the river began to reawaken.
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A new WABE series, Cinema Social, celebrates movie-watching together
Cinema Social, a monthly screening series from NPR-affiliate station WABE, tries to capture the community movie-watching experience again. The event, launched in February, is an expansion of one Lois Reitzes used to host for the station’s arts and culture program City Lights.
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Rewind the Tape: Young Atlantans are bringing back the cassette
For young people like my daughter, accustomed to a world where music is streamed instantly and endlessly, cassette tapes seem almost rebellious. In 2023, Billboard reported that cassette sales had shot up more than 440 percent over the past decade. Around Atlanta, local music-shop owners confirm they’ve seen the shift.
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Miscellaneous
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Editor’s Journal: Welcome, World Cup!
It’s hard to overstate what a big deal it is for Atlanta to welcome the FIFA World Cup. Thirty years ago, we proved to the world we can host a major global event when we welcomed the Olympics. Now, we’re flexing again. Hang on to your tifos: The World Cup has arrived.
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Tom Junod: In memory of former Atlanta magazine editor-in-chief Lee Walburn
Lee Walburn was a proud man. He was proud of being a certain kind of man—a country man who succeeded in the city and then went back to the country. I’m proud to say that he—who hired me out of nowhere just about 40 years ago and made a writer out of me by becoming fatherly to me—changed my life.
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A Love Letter to Chattahoochee Nature Center
Walking the grounds as an adult, I recognized little of today’s Chattahoochee Nature Center, which turns 50 this year. But that’s a good thing. The center has evolved, and the investment, time, and care that have been put into it over the decades ensure that it will be around for another 50 years.
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