restaurants

Grant Park Coffee House Is Coming Back to Grant Park — In a Big Way

In addition to offering dine-in breakfast and brunch, Owner Rahel TafarI is creating co-working and event spaces in her dream building the restaurateur now owns.

This post is an update of: Grant Park Coffeehouse to Move Downtown & Expand

Rahel TafarI is bringing Grant Park Coffee House back to Grant Park — a commitment the restaurateur made to the community after a dispute with her landlord forced the coffee shop to relocate to downtown last year.

This time, there isn’t a landlord “to pull the rug out from under me,” TafarI told What Now Atlanta. TafarI recently acquired the building she long-coveted, at 337 Georgia Avenue, to later this year open Grant Park Coffee House at Grant Park.

“I’m coming back home,” TafarI said. “It’s such a beautiful building. My kids went to school across the street. It was my dream building. I’m still shocked that I own it every time I go by. For 12 years I passed the building and dreamed about it.”

Aiming for a fall 2022 opening, Grant Park Coffee House at Grant Park will be a 2,000 square-foot full-service restaurant and coffee shop offering breakfast and brunch — think fish and grits — with fresh-pressed juices and specialty coffees. TafarI will also use the space to expand her wholesale bakery business. “We’ll have a nice open floor plan with a bar in the middle,” TafarI said.

The building’s remaining 3,000 square feet will be turned into an events space and a few co-working suites that can be rented out to small business owners in the neighborhood.

“For me coming back, Grant Park is where I started, that’s where the people who helped me develop this business are,” TafarI said. “I am excited to serve this community again and I’m going to serve them until there’s nothing left for me to give. Not being in Grant Park for awhile left a hole and I can’t wait to fill that void. I miss the neighborhood. I miss the kids and the pets that I used to feed a little treat. I can’t wait to come back. I am counting the days.”

TafarI acquired the property on March 28, 2022, and this month filed plans with the City of Atlanta to receive approvals to move forward with the buildout. “This is one of the best days of my life,” TafarI said, referencing the day she took possession of the property.

Grant Park Coffee House’s downtown location on the Georgia State University campus will remain open, at 8 Park Pl S SE. “Our downtown location has been a great success,” TafarI said.