Palo Santo team to open restaurant in Midtown and more Atlanta dining news

Palo Santo, a popular destination known for its daytime coffee parties and DJ sets, shared in a social media post that its landlord at the King Plow Arts Center “chose not to approve a renewal of our lease, determining that Palo Santo was no longer the right fit for the future vision of the arts center.”

Fans of Palo Santo won’t have to mourn for too long, though, as owners Felipe and Eduardo Rivera will debut Botánico Cocina & Social Club in Midtown in the former Lure space, which closed last August.

The Latin restaurant and social club is set to open in August with food, music and cocktails. According to the news release, it is “designed as a progressive experience that feels like a global dinner party,” with shareable plates from executive chef Juan Guillermo Hormiga, and a beverage program that focuses on Latin American and Caribbean flavors. There will also be DJs, patio parties and a lounge space with bottle service.

Menu highlights include dishes like sea bass ceviche with lime juice, mango leche de tigre and tapioca crackers; a shrimp cocktail served with guajillo leche de tigre, avocados, sriracha caviar and burnt banana powder; and a chicken tamale with a chupe sauce.

Credit: Courtesy of Botánico Cocina & Social Club

Credit: Courtesy of Botánico Cocina & Social Club

For the beverage program, find cocktails that draw on culinary traditions from Peru, Mexico, Colombia and the Caribbean, and a spirits program that includes tequila, mezcal, South American rums and pisco. Wine selections will highlight producers from Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Spain.

The Palo Santo team is also behind a new bar, Incognito Cocktail Bar, in West Midtown, which quietly opened earlier this month.

Incognito’s website describes it as “a high-end cocktail bar intentionally disguised with the unpretentious charm of a dive/sports bar.”

Its menu reimagines classic cocktails, like a gimlet, espresso martini, margarita and highball, “through an original, elevated lens,” according to the website.

Botánico Cocina & Social Club. 1106 Crescent Ave. NE, Atlanta. instagram.com/botanico_atl

Incognito Cocktail Bar. 1025 Howell Mill Road NW, Atlanta. incognito404.com

What comes next for the peach trees on Peachtree?

When 16 peach trees from Pearson Farm were delivered to Peachtree Street in Woodruff Park and Underground Atlanta this week, headlines lit up with the news that Georgia’s emblematic fruit would be growing along one of its busy streets, just in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to bring crowds of tourists to the city.

The PeachTrees on Peachtree installation is a partnership between several Atlanta organizations, including Atlanta Way 2.0. The seed for this idea grew from a poem Atlanta storyteller and brand strategist Sundiata Rush wrote several years ago that included the line “growing peach trees on Peachtree.”

His poem inspired the team at Atlanta Way to do just that. They reached out to Pearson Farm to see if the family-owned peach farm could donate some trees in time for the World Cup. Now, these 16 trees will live along Peachtree Street, planted in wooden peach packing boxes, until about July 12.

“It’s really so lively and positive, and I think inspiring and cool for a lot of people to see this,” Rush said.

But once those three weeks come to an end, what’s next for the peach trees?

The trees that were delivered already lost their peaches before making it to Atlanta, so no fruit can grow on them until next year, easing any concerns about a potentially messy street beneath the canopy this summer, according to Lanier Pearson, who handles marketing for the farm.

Pearson said they were happy to donate some of their peach trees, all of which are 3-4 years old.

“I told them, anything that cements the fact that Georgia is the Peach State in people’s minds, particularly people that aren’t from Georgia, that’s just a win for us,” she said.

Rush said they haven’t confirmed exactly what will happen to the 16 peach trees, but they’re planning to work with a local nursery to house and care for them throughout the rest of the summer and fall.

Come winter, when the trees can be replanted, he hopes to find four sites along Peachtree Street to plant the trees permanently, where hopefully local organizations will help care for the trees, harvest the fruit every summer and distribute the bounty.

Peach trees can be “finicky” to grow, Pearson said, especially if you want them to produce quality fruit.

And Rush said they want to make sure the fruit doesn’t fall off the trees and rot on the ground, which is why it’s necessary they find volunteers who can make sure the peach trees thrive and nothing goes to waste.

“When they’re fruiting, we can get (the peaches) and disperse them in a cool, productive way through the community,” Rush said.

In the meantime, there will be several peachy events for people to celebrate Georgia’s fruit throughout the next two weeks, including mini farmers markets each Saturday and a native plant walk on July 10.

“The phrase ‘peach trees on Peachtree’ has a lot of layers to it. It’s like this aspiration of community building. It’s a reflection, I think, of a new vibe that’s taking root in the city, but it’s also a rallying cry for us, a meaningful goal,” Rush said. “It’s cool and creative, and creativity is part of the DNA of Atlanta.”

Find a list of events taking place over the next two weeks at atlantaway.org/peachtrees-on-peachtree.

Other news of interest

Credit: Courtesy of Tipsy Thaiger

Credit: Courtesy of Tipsy Thaiger

Tipsy Thaiger, a Thai restaurant and cocktail bar in Roswell, has finally opened its patio. Since the restaurant debuted last summer, the large wooden patio has remained unused, but on Friday it is now available for dining and features large umbrellas, string lights and ample seating. Diners can order from Tipsy Thaiger’s regular menu, including Saturday and Sunday brunch, plus there will be a small selection of patio-exclusive cocktails to celebrate its debut.

Those exclusive cocktails include the Fig Leaf, Open Air with fig leaf-infused Minhwa Spirits soju, vanilla and peach, and an Aperol & Pet-Nat spritz.

605 Atlanta St., Roswell. 470-292-3297, tipsythaiger.com

PeachFest, Atlanta’s annual culinary festival celebrating peaches, returns July 12 to Underground Atlanta, and tickets are now on sale. The all-inclusive event will feature peach-forward dishes and cocktails from a lineup of more than 50 chefs and mixologists, including Atlanta Journal-Constitution senior dining editor Monti Carlo. Tickets include unlimited tastings of all food and drinks.

3-7:30 p.m. 50 Upper Alabama St., Atlanta. $95-$130 per person. tastenetwork.com/events/peachfest

Restaurant announcements

The Shops of Dunwoody on Chamblee Dunwoody Road has announced two new restaurants expected to open in the development this summer and fall. Beyond Juicery + Eatery will offer juices, smoothies, salads and wraps, and Tenku Sushi is a contemporary sushi restaurant with Japanese cuisine. Tenku Sushi also has a location in Woodstock.

5484-5510 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Dunwoody. discoverdunwoody.com/directory/the-shops-of-dunwoody

Restaurant openings

Credit: Courtesy of Habaneros

Credit: Courtesy of Habaneros

Habaneros, a Mexican restaurant from Habs Hospitality Group, will open next week on the ground floor of the Sora apartment building at the Spring Quarter development in Midtown, according to a news release. An exact opening date was not shared. The restaurant will offer a menu with dishes like crawfish nachos, short rib al carbon, rib eye poblano, enchiladas del mar and charred grilled octopus. A brunch service on Saturdays and Sundays will include blue corn pancakes, chilaquiles and steak and egg rancheros.

1000 Spring St. NW, Atlanta. habanerosrestaurants.co

Glide Pizza has opened its second full-service location in the South Downtown development with ample indoor seating, an outdoor courtyard space, a DJ booth and a menu of New York-style pizza, available by the slice.

191 Mitchell St. SW, Atlanta. glidepizza.com

Bottle Rocket has reopened in the South Downtown development after it moved from its location in Castleberry Hill. The restaurant offers sushi, cocktails, burgers and wings and is now open for lunch and dinner.

231 Mitchell St., Atlanta. 404-574-5680, bottlerocketatl.com

Restaurant closures

Joystick Gamebar, a longtime cocktail bar and arcade, announced on social media that it will be leaving its location on Edgewood Avenue on July 12 after nearly 14 years of operation in the neighborhood. It said it will share details on its new location in the next couple of weeks.

Guac Y Margs, a taqueria and margarita bar that at one point had three Atlanta locations, will close its remaining two outposts on June 28, Tomorrow’s News Today first reported. It closed its Midtown restaurant in 2023, and now its Eastside Beltline and West Midtown locations will soon shutter. The business cited “rising costs and competition” as the reason behind the closure in an Instagram post.

Pour Taproom, a self-serve beer bar, has closed its Midtown location near Colony Square after five years of business, Tomorrow’s News Today reported. Its Beltline location in SPX Alley remains open.