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Atlanta Turned Its Warehouses Into Dinner · The Red Solo Traveler Podcast

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Imagine trying to find like the hottest new lunch spot
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: in a city, right? And you pull up to the
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: address and you realize you're staring at this massive abandoned
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: 1926 Sears Roebuck and Company catalog plant.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a pretty jarring experience the first time you
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: see it.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: It really is. Well, welcome to the Red Solo Traveler podcast.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Today we are digging into this fascinating article titled Atlanta
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Turned Its Warehouses Into Dinner.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Right. And the core mission today is to figure out
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: how to actually navigate a massive driving city by looking
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: at its reused buildings.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Exactly. We are not doing a boring menu recitation today.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: No, definitely not.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: And we aren't giving you a definitive census of the
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: city's food scene either. Because, I mean, the central argument
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: here is really important.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the thesis you have to understand right up front
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: is that Atlanta did not invent dinner in a warehouse. Right.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: It just had the warehouses. I mean, it was built
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: as a logistical railroad hub.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: So it just had all this leftover industrial square footage
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: cutting through the neighborhoods.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: Exactly. A 1926 Sears plant, an old West End factory strip,
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: an Upper West Side complex with this huge lawn. That
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: is the actual history.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah. And the food hall boom is simply what the
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: city decided to do with that empty space. So look,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: we are going to help you match your meals to
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: your geography.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: Because if you don't do that, you are going to
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: spend your entire trip just Glaring at the brake lights
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: of the car in front of you.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: Totally. And to prevent that, I really want to set
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: the scene at the catalyst of this whole movement. So
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: put yourself here. It's the fall of 2015. Oh, man.
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: When it first opened.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: Yes. You are walking into Ponce City Market right after
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: they open the doors. You are at 675 Ponce de Leon.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Which is just a massive footprint.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: It's huge. And there is just raw brick everywhere. You've
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: got these impossibly tall windows letting in all the sheer light.
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And that direct door leading right out to the
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: East Side Beltline.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Exactly. Plus a roof that you absolutely have to visit
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: if the weather is decent.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: I mean, the scale of that 1926 catalog plant is
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: the history beat that explains the entire food hall boom.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: Right. But I have to stress something to everyone listening.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: You need to remember the building, not the stall.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: And I mean it. Memorizing a stall list at a
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: food hall is like memorizing the paint color of a
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: rental car. It just doesn't matter.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: No, it really doesn't.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: Halls turn over constantly. Vendors change. Leases expire. The room, though,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: that brick and that beltline access, the room does not change.
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: Right. And that Sears floor is the vital civic story
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: of the city. I mean, taking a forgotten industrial monolith
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: and repurposing it into a communal hub That is the
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: exact reason the Red Solo Traveler is looking at this
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: to begin with.
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: OK, I hear that. But and I'm going to push
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: back a little here. We have to have a debate
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: right now.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: OK, let's hear it.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Because if Ponce represents this glossy, reused civic story, what
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: is the actual real Atlanta food scene? Because I am
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: going to vigorously defend Fat Matt or his rib shack
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: on Piedmont.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: Ah, the shack and blues argument. I knew we'd get here.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: We have to. Because Fat Matt's is a literal shack.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: You pull up at 7 p.m., there is a line
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: out the door, there's a live blue stage crammed in
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: the corner, and there is absolutely no concept.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Just no PR team behind it.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Exactly. No celebrity curator. It is just an older room
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: that is still doing the job. To me, that shack
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: is the real city.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: I mean, Fat Matt's is heritage. I won't deny that.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: But Ponce is why we are in the room evaluating
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: the landscape today. It's the modern navigation of the city.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Right, but are we just telling people to ignore the
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: older rooms?
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: No, not at all. The point the article makes, and
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: where we should land on this, is that both of
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: these venues are absolutely essential texts.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Okay, fair.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: And this is a massive, but trying to do both
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: of those types of venues in a single day is
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: a huge mistake.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. You cannot do a massive food hall line
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: for lunch and then go stand in line at a
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: tiny shack for dinner. You will completely burn out.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: You'll be exhausted. which is a perfect transition to the
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: second barbecue joint we need to talk about. Because utility
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: is a real thing.
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: Yes. Let's talk about Das BBQ.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: Right. Because if you go to Fat Matt's, you are
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: basically hovering over someone's two-top table, just praying they finish
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: their ribs so you can sit down.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: It's so stressful. Das BBQ is where you go when
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: you actually want to sit down and breathe.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Exactly. Das is where you get the massive platter of
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: hickory smoked meats that was actually photographed for the guide.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah. They have actual space. But the tricky thing with
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: DAS is the geography, right?
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: Yes. DAS has two addresses, and they serve two completely
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: different jobs.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: Which is so important to understand.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: Right. So you use the Collier Road location if you
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: are already spending your day on the Upper West Side. Quiet.
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: But you use the Grant Park location, the one with
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: the dedicated smokehouse and that great patio, if your day
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: involves Oakland Cemetery or the Carter Library.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: So you pick the address that keeps you out of traffic.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: But look, I have to give everyone a stern warning
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: right here.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: Do not do two barbecues in one day.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Exactly. Do not treat Fat Matt's and Das as some
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: sort of pair you have to complete in 24 hours.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: That is a mood, not a travel plan.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, your palate will just give up. You won't remember
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: either meal.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: So true. But, okay, if Das solves the sit-down problem
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: for barbecue, how do you choose among the sprawling food halls?
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: Because there isn't just one.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: No, there are several. Because they had all this leftover
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: industrial space. Let's look at three halls, which basically do
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: three very different jobs. Okay.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: Let's break them down. We already talked about Ponce.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: Right. Ponce is the building plus the Eastside Beltline. That's
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: the draw there.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: And then you have Lee plus White, which is totally different. Yeah.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Lee plus White is down in the West Gun Factory Strip.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: It feels a lot grittier.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: It really feels like a working industrial strip that just
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: somehow learned to sell amazing beer.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: Exactly. Because the anchor there is Monday Night Garage. Hmm.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: And the draw is the barrel-aged and sour beers.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: But why do they need a factory for that?
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: Because of the heavy equipment. They use these massive wooden
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: foders and open-top cool ships to age the beer.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Oh, wow. So it's a structural requirement.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah. You cannot put that kind of weight in a
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: normal storefront. You need a reinforced factory floor.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: That makes total sense.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: So what about the third one? The works on the
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Upper West Side. Right.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Chattahoochee Food Works. Now, a lot of people go there
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: because Andrew Zimmern put his name on it.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah, his name is everywhere on that project.
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: But I am explicitly dismissing that.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Wait, really?
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, his involvement is just a credit line on a
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: press release. It is not the reason you actually go.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Then what is the reason?
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: The square footage. You go for the massive indoor space and, crucially,
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: the giant outdoor lawn.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: Right, so if you have kids who need to run
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: around or you just want to sit on a lawn
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: with a drink... That's your spot.
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: Exactly. Okay.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: I am forcing your hand right now. I am giving
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: you an ultimatum. For a first-time visitor, which one do
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: they pick?
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: Just one.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: Just one haul.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: Okay. The answer is you pick the one that fits
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: your geography for the day.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: But what if someone says, oh, I'm just going to
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: hit all three in one weekend?
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: Then they've completely failed a piece.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: Trying to do three hauls isn't a meal plan. Yeah.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: It is just exhausting content generation. You'll just be tired
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: of looking at exposed brick.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it becomes a chore instead of a vacation. So
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: let's say you've survived a busy afternoon at a Westside Hall.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Where do you go to close out the day?
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: You do not go to another hall.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: Definitely not. You head over to Bold Monk Brewing.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Yes. Which is such a fascinating spot.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: It really is. It's this incredible... Belgian beer flight experience.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: But it's in a city that absolutely does not owe
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Belgium anything.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: No, not at all. But it's anchored inside this stark
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: industrial shell.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah. And the vibe is just it's elevated. You've got
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: these doubles and trapelles. But why go there for dinner?
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Well, the truth is the beer is the actual reason
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: to go. Right. The kitchen, the muscles, the pizza, the frights.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: That is just the mechanism that keeps you in your
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: seat for a second round.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: So you don't go just for the food. You go
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: for the whole execution.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: Exactly. And you pair it geographically with the works. You
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: don't treat Bold Monk as some third vendor sweep. You
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: sit down, you enjoy the flight, and you drink it there.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Do not drive it home.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Exactly. Which brings us to the biggest takeaway of the
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: whole episode. The whole conversation, really.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: Yes. Geography over a scavenger hunt.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: Atlanta is a massive driving city with exactly one good
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: walking spine.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: The Beltline.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: Right. So you have to build your day around where
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: the car already is. Let's outline some actual itineraries.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Let's do it. Start with an east side day.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: Okay, so you spend your morning at the Atlanta History Center.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Perfect.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: Then you hit Ponce for lunch, see the Sears building,
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: walk the Beltline, maybe, if you're up for it, Fat
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Matt's for dinner.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: That's a great day. Clean geography. What about the west side?
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: For a west side day, you spend the afternoon at
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: Lee Plus White for the barrel-aged beers, or you hang
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: out on the lawn at the Works.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: And then you finish up with a sit-down meal at
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: Bold Monk.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: But I need to jump in with a massive warning
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: right now.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: Do it.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: Do not decide to add ponds on your way home
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: from the west side just because you want to see it.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: Oh, terrible idea.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: You will hate the car, you will be stuck on
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: the connector at rush hour, and you will regret every
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: choice you've made.
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: You really will. Geography dictates everything, just like a Grant
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: Park day.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: Right. If you are doing the Carter Library or Oakland Cemetery.
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: Yes. You do those historical spots and then you just
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: go straight to Das BBQ on Memorial. You sit on
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: the patio.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: It's so much less stressful when you plan it that way.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: And just to connect the universe a bit, if you've
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: listened to our other Red Solo Traveler deep dives.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: Or, you know, our other location guides. Right.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: If you're going to a baseball game, let the truest
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: and battery ecosystem feed you.
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely. Do not leave a Braves game in the
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: seventh inning to go try and Find a food hall.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: The battery is built to feed you on game night.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Exactly. And what about the Savoy Automobile Museum?
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: Look, Savoy is an amazing stop, but it's only a
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: food stop if your car is already driving on I-75.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: Do not detour from downtown Atlanta just for that.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Keep the car where the car belongs. Okay, before we wrap,
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: we really need to emphasize what you should absolutely not
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: do as a plan.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we have to talk about the bad structures.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: Because honestly, that's the most useful part for anyone about
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: to land at ATL. What is a bad structure?
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: A bad structure is doing three food hauls in a weekend.
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: A bad structure is trying to eat two barbecues in
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: one day.
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: Palate fatigue.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: And please, whatever you do, do not sign up for
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: a packaged food tour.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, yes. No lanyards. Do not pay for
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: a guide to walk backwards and talk at you while
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: you're trying to chew.
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: It's just not necessary. The original subtitle of these travel
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: guides always promises honesty. And that's the honesty you need.
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: You don't need a tour guide, you just need a map.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: So to summarize the golden rule of this entire article,
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: one reused hall and one sit-down meal, that is a
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: proper food day.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Anything more is a trap.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: Right. Forcing two halls and two barbecues into a weekend
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: is exactly how you end up remembering none of them.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Oh, and a quick call to action for you guys listening.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Make sure you check the written guide for the actual
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: street addresses.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, don't rely on us for the stall names.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: No, because they rot. They turn over. The addresses in
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: the brick buildings stay the same.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Which really leaves us with something pretty profound to think about. Well,
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: when a city repurposes its industrial past, these old catalog plants,
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: these empty West End factory strips into these massive dining spaces,
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: you aren't just consuming food anymore.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: Wow, that's true.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: You're actually consuming the city's history. That makes you wonder,
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: as you're sitting there eating, does the architecture ultimately become
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: the most memorable dish you were served.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: That is a phenomenal way to look at it. You're
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: eating the geography.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: Exactly. So stick to the geography, respect the older rooms,
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: and whatever you do, don't fight the traffic.