Candler Park resto to update interior with “reclaimed” bar.
Radial Café is under new ownership and is undergoing some changes.
Frank Bragg, former director of communications at Metrotainment Cafes, took over the café located at 1530 Dekalb Avenue late last year when the previous owner, Phil Palmer, took to London with his partner.
Bragg was the managing partner at Einstein’s Restaurant on Juniper Street in Midtown prior to becoming director of communications for parent-company, Metrotainment Cafes.
In an email Monday, Bragg told What Now Atlanta the Café’s renovation will utilize “reclaimed” and repurposed” materials.
“The walls are being finished with re-milled barn wood (from a barn we took down in northeast Georgia),” Bragg said. “The wood in the hallway is heart of pine flooring that come up from a home in southwest Atlanta.”
As for the rendering above, it’s pretty but it doesn’t do Bragg’s vision justice, he said.
“The look of the rendering is fairly ‘chic’ and that is not the feel it will have at all,” Bragg said. “I thank the architect for his swanky bar stools and fancy light fixtures, but that is not where I am headed.”
Radial Café, which first opened in 1999, has a “3-star Green Certification,” something the renovation compliments, according to Bragg.
So how’s Bragg doing as the new owner? Drop a line in the comments.
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10 Responses
I’ve always wanted to like Radial. But the last 3 times I visited, I received stone cold food. The first two times I sent it back to be reheated (microwaved) the last time was…well my last time there. It’s a great space with a nice concept and a friendly owner, but it all starts with the quality of the food.
So I get that EarthStation is all hip to the max, but what is up with that rendering? Is it actually intended to convey something lol?
I ate there once and I had awful service. I sat and sat and sat and watched people sit down eat and leave and I still didn’t get my food. I asked and I was given an indifferent response. When the food came it was OK but nothing special, and definitely not worth 2 hours of waiting. The server was never even the least bit apologetic or understanding. I was so excited to try the place as I had heard so many good things about it.
I have been going to Radial for years, because I like the concept and overall food quality. Service was often spotty, but once Frank Bragg took over, it has improved. The restaurant is cleaner, servers are friendlier and generally more prompt with orders. Like any place that does a lot of volume on the weekends, there will be times where you have to wait or a server forgets something. I teach at least one weekend a month and usually take my students there for lunch and they overwhemingly love it.
Frank is very hands-on (serves meals, greets customers, is always on the move doing something) and if a customer has an issue with their food or service quality, they should speak with him directly. He takes feedback very seriously.
i don’t know when the other commenters visited radial, so i can’t speak to the reasons behind their experiences, but i’ve had nothing but amazing food AND service at radial.
i went for breakfast one morning and despite sitting on the patio, my food was piping hot and perfectly cooked. and i’ve yet to come in contact with one server who was anything less than courteous, but to be fair, i haven’t been served by everyone that works there. frank runs a pretty tight ship, however, and radial is staffed by veterans of the hospitality industry, so i honestly think that issues with service were one-offs.
i love radial and recommend it often ~ i love supporting delicious, locally-owned restaurants, and doubly so when they’re gay owned and operated.
Let’s be fair to the architect. He may not have been ready for this to be released to the public. It seems to be only an initial concept sketch.
‘Haven’t been to Sunday breakfast @ the Radial for a year – it was decent, but just plain dull.
‘Hope the new operator can provide food much better than Metrotainment fare though.
Thank God, it’s about time! It’s always seemed like such a waste of that location for a breakfast place. I hope they do incredibly well.
I haven’t had the opportunity to eat here yet, but I do know Radial is very supportive of the local community including a homeless shelter where they held a benefit earlier this year. From what I heard, the meal was delicious and the night’s profits went directly to a worthy cause–getting folks out of the shelters and transitioning to a better life. That says a lot about a business to me. I wish them much success and look forward to trying Radial soon.
I used to LOVE Radial. I did. But, over the past year I’ve had three bad experiences with the food. The first time, one person at our table ordered pancakes and they arrived with virtually liquid centers. The batter was completely uncooked in the middle of the pancakes. The second time, we were there for brunch and it took nearly 40 minutes, after ordering, for our stone cold food to get to our table. None of us enjoyed the food. But, we certainly did not have time to wait for them to correct it. The last time I was there, we were simply disappointed in the quality of everything from the lack of seasoning in our food right down to the bitter, burned taste of the coffee.