By Ellie Hensley, Editor and Producer, Midtown Alliance
Momentum in Midtown continues to grow stronger each day as more of us return to what we’ve been missing. Activities like shopping for gifts and browsing in a store. Eating a meal or grabbing drinks at a new restaurant or an old favorite. Sitting down in the salon for a haircut or a manicure. Catching a show at the theatre. Hanging out around other people. Finding adventure in the heart of Atlanta.
Here’s a rundown of what’s happening on the ground in Midtown as we head into summer, and how you can experience it on your own terms.
Love Local
Midtown Alliance is working with local businesses to help give them a lift after so many months of hardship. If you want to show your community spirit and support Midtown businesses, there are many ways you can come through. Pop by for a visit to a restaurant or retailer and post your plated meal or in-store experience to social media (#MidtownATL). Leave a positive review online on Yelp or Google. We’ve also created a gift card especially for Midtown ATL that is accepted at more than 50 retailers in the district. Unlike a gift card for one store or brand, it offers more flexibility for where you can spend it. Whenever you use the card, you’re putting much needed revenue into Midtown businesses. View our updated directory and plan your trip to Midtown here.
Celebrate #PatioSZN
We did the math. Did you know Midtown Atlanta has more than 100K square feet of outdoor dining space across 100 restaurants? These spaces range from large patios built into the restaurants’ design to sidewalk dining areas that cropped up during the pandemic. Most recently, the City of Atlanta’s Department of City Planning launched a new permit process to allow restaurants to create on-street dining areas or “parklets” along the curb. Make a brunch date and make the most of #PatioSZN in Atlanta.
Try Something New
You might have missed the opening of a few new restaurants in Midtown if you’ve been away. And the restaurateurs behind these concepts have stories as incredible as their dishes. Mukja Korean Fried Chicken was founded by two friends, Peter Chung and Sean Chang, in a college dorm room in Atlanta. Chang was in a very serious car accident as a freshman that left him paralyzed from the waist down and unable to find work in other restaurants. But he followed his dream to open his own and the two partners were able to open their doors last October in the middle of COVID-19. Read Mukja’s origin story here.
There on Fifth also opened during the pandemic. Its owners, Bill Brown and Shane Devereux, first had the idea to open a restaurant in Midtown more than a decade ago, and their business partnership comes full circle with the opening of their new gastropub in Tech Square. They encountered plenty of obstacles: the City of Atlanta permitting process, a life threatening medical emergency and a stay-at-home order from Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms just a day before their original opening date.
Meet Us in Midtown
Tree lined streets. Open air plazas. New arts and cultural experiences. When you’re ready, get outside and reconnect with what’s here. We’ll look for you out and about in Midtown.
