Manuel’s Tavern, Edgewood Dynasty get financial support from community after closure notice, building disaster

Community Food Bank to launch the Atlanta Community Kitchen Project.

The partnership connected hunger relief agencies with commercial kitchens and was funded in large part by members of the Atlanta Rotary Club.

From May to October, more than $1 million was donated to support the initiative in which 10 kitchen partners provided 465,780 individually packaged, family style meals to 33 partner agencies,

“People who have never had a need before are suddenly in a position where they need to ask for help,” Jaron said. “I think that it’s incredible how the community has come out to help not just Second Helpings Atlanta but all of these different entities that are trying to get food to as many people as we all possibly can.”

Learn more at secondhelpingsatlanta. org.

By Collin Kelley

Two Atlanta restaurants – one an institution and the other just opening –received an outpouring of generosity in December after a shock announcement and an even more shocking building collapse.

Manuel’s Tavern, a Poncey-Highland mainstay for 64 years, was on the verge of closing forever due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic when devoted patron Angelo Fuster set up a GoFundMe account. The original $75,000 goal was met in a matter of hours. In less than 24 hours, more than $100,000 had been raised. At this writing, it was very likely the appeal would top a staggering $200,000.

Owner Brian Maloof, son of founder and namesake Manuel Maloof, penned an emotional thank you on Facebook: “It has been the most humbling and overwhelming experience in my life. It will not be forgotten, abused or taken for granted. I have always known that Manuel’s is more than a bar, it is a place of comfort peace and joy, a place of humanity in a world of chaos. Manuel’s is more than my family it is the collective conscience of the people who frequent it. My job has been to keep the doors open and guide it into the future. I was doing everything I knew how, and I was failing. All of you stepped up and saved it.”

Recently added to the National Register of Historic Places and a mainstay of politicians, journalists, and locals, Manuel’s was closed for several months at the onset of the pandemic. Although Manuel’s reopened for takeout in May, created a makeshift patio in its back parking lot, reduced hours, and expanded takeout business has been off.

In a Dec. 3 post on Facebook, Maloof candidly said that Manuel’s was in “financial trouble” and the pandemic caused an average monthly reduction in sales of 62 percent. Maloof said the fundraiser helped immediately renew the liquor licenses, insurance, and cover payroll.

To make a donation, visit gofundme. com/f/save-manuels-tavern.

At the same time the community was rallying around Manuel’s, a new restaurant and lounge set to open on Dec. 3 in Old Fourth Ward was faced with an unimaginable disaster: the partial destruction of its building.

Greg and Noelle Johnson were just days away from opening Edgewood Dynasty Cake Social Bar in the former Sound Table building when a construction crew working on a new mixed-use development next door undermined the historic building’s foundation.

Large cracks appeared on the western façade of the circa-1911 building at 483 Edgewood Avenue and on Dec. 2 the entire wall of the two-story space collapsed. The Johnsons said they would rebuild but described the turn of events as “traumatic.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Johnsons support staff and look for a new home or perhaps rebuild. The Atlanta Preservation Center has been on site and has offered to work with the couple on renovating the century-old structure.

Donations

Donations can be made at gofundme. com/f/edgewood-dynasty-disaster-fund.

▲The Atlanta City Council unanimously approved an ordinance on Dec. 7 permitting restaurants and bars to offer sidewalk seating on city streets during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The city already allows sidewalk dining, but usually requires a permit fee. The fee will be waved through 2021 to encourage restaurants to take part. Restaurants and bars must still submit an application, along with a site plan that includes furniture placement, to the Atlanta Department of Transportation for approval.

►Real estate developer Marc Pollack is showing off is cooking skills with the release of Chez

Marc’s Quarantine Cookbook. The tasty compilation features recipes for the daily daily meals Pollack cooked throughout the pandemic, and proceeds will benefit Gateway Center, which provides support services and stable housing for people experiencing homelessness. Pollack

▼Atlanta-based Rightside Brewing has officially launched its non-alcoholic beer, offering nationwide delivery and retail locations in Georgia beginning this month. Rightside was founded by motherof-two Emree Woods who was seeking a great tasting, non-alcoholic beer product recently pivoted from development to homelessness advocacy, co-founding the Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund this past January. Find out more at marrofoundation.org/cookbook. while pregnant, and after discovering the options were limited and some products were sub-par, she decided to launch her own. Citrus Wheat and India Pale Ale are the first two flavors on offer. Visit rightsidebrewing.com to order or for more information.

Giving Kitchen has announced it will offer a substance abuse recovery initiative for members of the food service industry. The nonprofit is accepting applications from food service workers who have recently undergone inpatient treatment for substance abuse and need help with cost of living. In addition to financial assistance for living expenses such as rent and utility bills, the organization will also be able to make referrals to affordable inpatient facilities by early 2021. Interested applicants should start the process at givingkitchen.org/help.

Restaurant RIP: Recently closed restaurants around Intown include Chama Gaucha, Cook Hall, Doraku, and Quing Mu, Tavern at Phipps in Buckhead; Arden’s Garden at Peactree Place, AhMa’s Taiwanese Kitchen in Midtown; Tea House Formsa on Buford Highway; Queen of Cream in Poncey-Highland; Ammazza Pizza in Decatur; and The Shed at Glenwood in Glenwood Park.