Inside Atlanta's All-Day Restaurant Boom

"It's noon on a Wednesday in Atlanta. The dining room at Minhwa Spirits, a soju distillery in Doraville, feels like a living room. People are slumped in padded chairs, typing on laptops and leaving rings of purple ube coffee on the table. The same room becomes dimly lit in the evening, with cocktails flying from the green-tiled bar, with a palpable uhn-tiss uhn-tiss energy."

"For Minhwa Spirits' owners, staying open all day was a strategic decision. 'We decided foot traffic would be minimal for a distillery/brewery during the day, so a coffee house would help activate the space and build community,' says co-owner Ming Han Chung. 'It's partly why we call it the Jumak, which is a historical rest stop/inn in Korea where people drank, ate, stayed, and shared stories.'"

"Recently, there's been a boom in Atlanta's dining scene, with more restaurants moving toward casual, all-day models that can shapeshift to meet customer demands at any hour. These restaurants follow in the footsteps of places like Staplehouse and Star Provisions - foundational restaurants that have long demonstrated that casual formats can prioritize ingredient sourcing, seasonality, and hospitality in an all-day atmosphere."

Minhwa Spirits in Doraville operates as a soju distillery by night and a coffee house by day, activating space and building community. Owners kept the space open all day to increase foot traffic and to evoke the Jumak, a historical Korean rest stop where people ate, drank, stayed, and shared stories. Atlanta is experiencing a boom toward casual, all-day restaurant models that preserve ingredient sourcing, seasonality, and hospitality. Similar hybrid models appear in Chicago and Miami, combining deli counters, pizzerias, markets, and bars. Restaurants increasingly pursue a third space for lingering, neighborly engagement, and versatile dining experiences.

Read at Eater Atlanta