Q Business

from Q ATLus Magazine | September 16, 2021

by Q ATLus Magazine

Q Events

Cheers!Cheers!

Gay Atlanta couple takes over longtime Atlantic Station eatery

By Patrick Saunders

LONGTIME ATLANTIC GRILL PATRONS

Sean Bishop and Reggie Stotts loved the restaurant so much, they bought it. Now the couple is in the process of making renovations that will bring the Atlantic Station eatery up to date without losing its neighborhood pub charm. “We’re committed to this place for 10 years, so I want to make sure we set it up for success,” Bishop told Project Q Atlanta. 

The couple have lived in Atlantic Station since it opened in 2005. They quickly took a liking to the Atlantic Grill, which is one of only two of the development’s original restaurants still in operation.

“This is the anomaly in Atlantic Station. It’s not corporate owned, it’s not a chain,” Bishop said. “There are regulars that have been coming for 10 or 11 years. It has that Cheers vibe.”

The clientele is a diverse mix of various ages, races and sexual orientations.

“We’ve got one guy in here Mr. Earl who’s 91 years old,” the new owner said. “He’s up here three days a week. He takes MARTA from the southside of Atlanta and takes the shuttle over.”

Bishop got laid off last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic after a career in corporate marketing. Like many others, it gave him a chance to reassess what he wanted to do with the rest of his career.

“I was leaning towards not getting myself laid off again,” he said. “I wanted to control my destiny from here on out.”

NEW LOOK, NEW MENU ON THE WAY An Atlantic Grill manager told Bishop and Stotts in January that the restaurant’s longtime owner was selling. They met with him the following month and closed on the sale in May.

“He had been running a very successful operation,” Bishop said. “And I could fulfill the live-work-play mantra that Atlantic Station had always talked about in the beginning. I could walk to work and enjoy doing what I do.”

Bishop is now the full-time general manager at the restaurant.

“I’m drinking from the firehose,” he said. “But business has been great actually.”

His biggest obstacle is staffing. The employee shortage caused the restaurant to close Mondays and Tuesdays and close at 8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends. But longtime staffers have stuck around to make it work.

“I had a good core group of employees that had been making this place go for five, 10-plus years,” Bishop said. “I never would have considered buying it if I didn’t know the people I’d be managing and the staff I’d be inheriting.”

Bishop hopes to start opening on Tuesdays after Labor Day. He already repainted and installed new TVs and a new sound system, and those aren’t the only changes in store.

The restaurant plans to close in January to renovate the bathrooms and install new kitchen and bar equipment, seating, floors, lighting, patio and patio furniture. Bishop also wants to update the menu and then change it quarterly after that.

“I’m loving it,” Bishop said. “I love being in here, and I love what I do.”

By Mike Fleming PRIDE IS SO CLOSE WE CAN JUST TASTE IT. After some disappointment about “official” events, now a plethora of people are ready to psyche you up for a big weekend of big plans. Stepping up are individuals, promoters and entertainers that LGBTQ Atlanta counts on all year. Naturally, the city’s most reliable gay and allied venues are also making sure they do more than their part. “Everyone was excited more so this year than the past years since Pride was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic,” said James Nelson, owner of X Midtown, who plans a packed schedule on the corner of 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue on Oct. 7-12. “Everyone needs and deserves this social event.” That sentiment checks out with the bars down the road at Ansley, said Jay “Mother” Malloy at The Hideaway. “This year is so important to let the community know that Pride is alive and Pride is all around us,” Malloy told Q. “Saying ‘Pride is cancelled’ was a powerful message. It was in that moment that I said we need to do something to unite the community, but in a way that each person feels comfortable with.” To that end, Malloy aligned with his neighbors at Woofs, Midtown Moon, Felix’s, Oscar’s and more to create a safe and successful “Pride unity” with the slogan “Pride is All Around Us.” Safety was a keyword at Heretic, too, when the owners laid out Pride plans after the festival and parade went away for this year. The venue is among a collaborative of dance clubs for Pride and the rest of the year; all of them require vaccines or

Taste

of PRIDE

Take a bite out of a packed Pride Weekend in Atlanta

negative COVID tests for entry. “The community really needs a celebration right now,” Collins said. “We hope to help some folks blow off a little steam in as safe as an environment possible.”

PRIDE SPIRIT Plans on tap for the big weekend include Out Night 2.0 at Georgia Aquarium on Oct. 7 and the annual gathering of hundreds in the Piedmont Park Meadow called Kween on the Green on Oct. 8. The “feeling” of Pride is alive and well in Atlanta, and it’s critical that every last L, G, B, T and Q keep it that way, Nelson said. “Pride is a symbol and a celebration of how far we have come,” he told us. “It allows older and younger generations to celebrate together while teaching the younger generations the struggles and the triumphs we’ve had within the LGBTQ community, particularly after the Stonewall riots.” Likewise, Malloy pointed to the significance of showing newly out people the strength and support of the community. Pride is about the legacy of queer culture, he said. “Our community has always been grassroots,” he said. “The celebration we seek is uniting us though our rich history of struggles, but also our success.” BIG PLANS Pride Weekend at X Midtown includes its annual packed outdoor party on Pride Sunday. The allday-and-night features circuit legend DJ Chris Cox and Grammy winning producer Dave Aude. Britney-look alike Rupaul alum Derrick Barry performs at X Midtown during the House of Legends show on Friday night. Saturday brings international mix master DJ Escape and RuGirl Kameron Michaels. For Pride at the Ansley bars, plans are percolating for some big fun. Look for tea dances, patio parties and amped up editions of favorite events at the participating venues. “We have the ability to do outdoor activities and indoor activities, so it’s going to be great,” Malloy said. Heretic starts its weekend early with Country Pride on Thursday. DJ Dan Slater does Friday, and Brazilian stud Dani Brasil spins Saturday. The Perry Twins do the decks on Sunday night until 3 a.m. “We’ll be hosting two amazing events outdoors in addition to regular nighttime line up,” Collins said. Queen Butch Pride Tea is Saturday afternoon with Todd Terry, Ree de La Vega and William Francis. The Out & Proud Tea Dance on Sunday features a DILF underwear party and DJs James Anthony and Max Bruce. Of course, the future of Pride in Atlanta includes Pride at Future Atlanta. The city’s newest gay club hosts RuPride Cabarets with Kylie Sonique Love on Pride Friday and Kandy Muse on Pride Saturday. The club also plans to be a go-to for both primetime and afterhours dancing. Visit theQatl.com for more from these and other Pride planners and a growing list of October events in Atlanta.