Tag: Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail

More than 15 years ago, Salih Ozgurdal and his business partner, orthopedic surgeon Raj Pandya, began brainstorming ideas for a Mediterranean restaurant in Atlanta. But they wanted something to make it stand out. When the Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones documentary series premiered in 2023, Ozgurdal and Pandya were inspired. They decided to open a Blue Zone-based restaurant along the Beltline. Named Azara Kitchen, it’s slated to start serving in the former Brasserie at Bazati and Estrella Rooftop spaces on November 21.

A pandemic project that turned into a social media sensation, PopUp Bagels launched in Connecticut in 2020, selling bagels and schmears via pop-up events. Five years later, PopUp has 15 brick-and-mortar stores around the country, and soon Atlanta will be among them. A Beltline location along the Eastside Trail is planned to open by the end of year. Rather than serve sliced bagel sandwiches like most bagel shops, PopUp focuses on “grip, rip and dip,” meaning bagels are intended to be eaten by ripping off bites and dipping them into a tub of schmear.

“See, I was typecast by my family as bookish,” Senator Raphael Warnock says; it wasn't until his late 20s that Warnock found the gym. Now he runs the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race annually, along with running the treadmill at the Senate and biking on the Silver Comet Trail. Our managing editor joined him for a spring training run on the Beltline.

When Nina & Rafi shuttered in April, the folks at Pour Taproom took it harder than most. After all, they had literally cut a hole in their space to bring pizza to Pour. Later this summer, slices and pies will become available once again with the opening of Pizza Dynamo inside Pour. The concept is the brainchild of Jeremy Gatto, a New York native and founder of Pizza Jeans, who saw an opportunity to bring something special to his adopted home of Atlanta.

“Each Eclipse is unique. Alpharetta is more modern and bougie. Buckhead is playful, whimsical, and artsy. This one will be moodier with natural earth tones,” owner Eric Kline explains. “It’s more authentic—like you’re walking on the streets of Barcelona or Madrid and stumble into a family-owned tapas restaurant.”

Tiny Doors ATL is the decade-long project of artist Karen Anderson Singer. A sculptor, she first moved to Atlanta in 2013, hoping to join the robust public art scene with her own interactive spin. There are now 36 across the city, all installed in public spaces, designed for spontaneous discovery by strolling passersby.

Come October 28, Painted Park, created by the group behind the Painted Pin, the Painted Duck, and Painted Pickle, will open in the former Parish space on the Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail. Unlike the group’s other concepts, Painted Park is intended to be focused on drinking and eating first and entertainment second. Justin Amick is calling it a “recreational place of assembly, green space, and private events venue.”

Recently opened, Forth offers a luxurious place to stay near both Historic Fourth Ward Park and the BeltLine. With 16 floors, 196 rooms, and 39 extended-stay apartments, it’s sure to attract business and leisure travelers alike. It also boasts four restaurants and bars, each with its own look, feel, and flavors. Here’s what to expect.

Located in the Citizen building near Kevin Gillespie’s now-defunct Cold Beer, Emerald City is modeled after old-school delis and pharmacy counters where the staff dons white coats and paper hats. The menu of both BeltLine and EAV locations is similar, but with all bagel-making taking place in East Atlanta, the BeltLine outpost was able to expand its coffee program and add an Automat for faster service.

Horizon of Khufu is a completely immersive virtual reality experience, meaning participants don headsets covering their eyes and ears and keep them on for the entire 45 minutes. The headset transported me back in time 4,500 years to land of the pharaohs. I visited the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, wandered through its tunnels, climbed its steps, and learned about its history. As I moved throughout, ducking into tunnels, I often had to remind my claustrophobic self that it was not real.