A new restaurant serving a wide variety of American high-end pub food will be constructed in Tech Square. Called “The Barrelhouse”, it will also be equipped with a full bar. It is expected to open around mid-late Oct.
“It’ll be like a neighborhood bar with a great food,” said Lara Sexton, retail manager for the Student Center Dining Services. “They’re going to do burgers; they’re going to serve [many different foods]. It’s almost like a gastro-pub. They have a full range bar [with] beer [and] alcohol, but they also focus heavily on serving really good food.”
Barrelhouse will be run by the same managers of the Graveyard Tavern located near East Atlanta Village.
“They’ve been very successful there,” Sexton said. “They’re going on their sixth year of business, and we were fortunate enough to find them and have a location for them.”
The Barrelhouse will be run in a gastro-pub style, or a pub selling high-class cuisines. The menu will have American high-end pub food with a very consumer conscious price point. Some of the items in the menu include Belgian burgers and daily specials from the executive chef. The Barrelhouse will have a huge selection of beers and other alcohol.
The Barrelhouse will open every day at 11 a.m. and will serve lunch and dinner. During lunch time, the restaurant will have a shotgun-style fast-paced ordering system to save time for students and businessmen and a slower-paced, sit-down full table service for customers in the evening operation hours.
“It’s pretty open-ended when we say American high-end pub food. We’re not only looking to attract the Georgia Tech alum, faculty, staff and students, but we’re also looking to attract a great neighborhood crowd in there as well,” said Phillip Christensen, the manager of the Graveyard Tavern.
The managers of Graveyard Tavern plan on doing something different at the Barrelhouse in comparison to their restaurant. Unlike Graveyard Tavern, which has live music and dance parties, Barrelhouse will focus on having a “warm and cozy” atmosphere with soft seating and booths that has a neighborhood feel to it.
“We want a place where everyone can just come watch a football game, a basketball game or a baseball game together,” Christensen said. “We’re going try to appeal to everybody. We will have a very comfortable, warm atmosphere and variety of people where you can just relax and enjoy the later evening to unwind.”
The Barrelhouse will give more options for various foods to the students as well as a convenient place for students to relax. Similar options for places like Barrelhouse are located farther into the Midtown region, much more inconvenient for some students to get to.
“The responses on the survey showed that students like a type of a pub-kind of a location. We are listening to the students’ wants and needs,” said Robert Junko, associate director for Student Programs.
The construction will begin as soon as the permit is finalized from the City of Atlanta and is projected to be completed around mid to late Oct.
The Barrelhouse will be located in Tech Square in front of the Management building, replacing St. Charles Deli. St. Charles Deli will still be open in Tech Square. Because it can be relocated to fit in a smaller area, it was decided that it could to be moved to a new smaller and closer location to campus. As a result, St. Charles Deli will relocate to a space between Waffle House and Great Clips, previously occupied by Lexington Chocolatier, which closed.
The Barrelhouse will have another storefront on the side of College of Management. The solid brick façade will be opened to host a large outdoor patio dining area for patrons.
“I know Georgia Tech is very excited, and the board members we’ve been dealing with are as well. I think it goes without saying that we’re even more excited than they are to get the operation up and running over there,” Christensen said. “It’s going to be amazing. The food’s going to be great, fun atmosphere and a very short distance. It’s a great location and we’re just thrilled to join Georgia Tech and come over there.”