Tag: Gerry Klaskala

In a city where restaurants come and go faster than a MARTA train, Canoe’s ability to last 30 years is no small feat. Its surprisingly dense compressed watermelon salad is understandably popular.

There’s a new conductor of the symphony that is Aria, the Buckhead restaurant founded and led by chef Gerry Klaskala for 25 years. Klaskala retired recently and sold the restaurant to longtime general manager Andres Loaiza, who along with Klaskala, is responsible for the outstanding hospitality recognized by the James Beard Foundation. Together, Loaiza and Klaskala hand-picked chef Joseph Harrison, formerly of Common Thread in Savannah, to lead Aria.

After 55 years in the restaurant industry, Aria owner and chef Gerry Klaskala is ready to retire. In the next two months, he’ll pass the reigns to longtime general manager Andres Loaiza, who—with Klaskala’s help—will hire a new chef. It just so happens that his retirement coincides with the announcement of Aria as a finalist for the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Hospitality Award.

Restaurants are scrappy and innovative—and overwhelmed. It’s going to take all of us pitching in to help them rebound.

Whether the date night in question is prom, an anniversary, an engagement, or some less monumental event, Aria is up to the occasion.

The best table in all of Atlanta is on the covered patio overlooking Canoe’s lush gardens and the languid Chattahoochee.

Starting today, Atlas's redesigned library and bar will offer a new menu and a more casual dining experience. Those sections of the restaurant even have a new name: the Tavern at Atlas.

Aria has ditched its stark white-on-white color scheme. Chef Gerry Klaskala is also testing out a new menu format, eschewing appetizer, entree, and dessert sections for vegetables, meat, and seafood.

This month marks 20 years of riverfront dining at Canoe, the beloved Vinings restaurant that opened in 1995 under the direction of chef Gerry Klaskala and business partners Ron San Martin and George McKerrow (who is also the founder of LongHorn Steakhouse and Ted’s Montana Grill).

Gerry Klaskala discusses art, how Atlanta has changed, and the worst culinary trend he's seen in his 45-year career.