The No. 2 beer bar in the world according to Beer Advocate magazine, the Brick Store Pub in Decatur, also comes in at No. 5 on the RateBeer (ratebeer.com) site's list of best beer bars 2009.
That's no mean feat if you consider that when three former University of Georgia buddies, Dave Blanchard, Mike Gallagher and Tom Moore, opened the Brick Store in June 1997, Atlanta wasn't exactly a beer drinker's destination.
"Just five years ago," says Gallagher, "you'd be hard-pressed to find a decent beer list at any restaurant in the city. And at most bars, you'd still have a couple of imports, like Bass and Guinness, and then the 17 varieties of American lager, like Bud and Miller Lite."
But since 2004, when Georgia's laws were amended to allow bigger, better brews, things have changed a lot. In keeping with the American craft beer renaissance, Sweetwater, Terrapin and Atlanta Brewing have grown by leaps and bounds. And beer bars and brewpubs have cropped up around the metro area, offering increasingly sophisticated beer lists and food menus.
In February, Blanchard, Gallagher and Moore opened their newest venture, Leon's Full Service, taking over a former gas station that was most recently an antiques store. It's just around the corner from the Brick Store on East Ponce de Leon Avenue.
The three partners would roundly reject the notion that Leon's is a "gastropub." But whatever you call it, they've refined their original vision. And they've put another generation of passionate drinking and dining enthusiasts in charge of the operation. "We call them the fantastic four," Gallagher says.
Gallagher's brother, Ryan, and Heather Gibbons run the front of the house with a neighborly small-town touch. Miles Macquarrie presides over the bar, where cool cocktails and a thoughtful wine list join the expected rock-solid beer offerings. Chef Eric Ottensmeyer is in the kitchen, turning out snacks, sandwiches and entrees that merge cleverly updated tavern fare with a concern for local and organic ingredients.
"This is the culmination of our maturation over years," Moore says. "We couldn't copy the Brick Store. But we know what we love about it, and we brought that to Leon's. It's a different theme, it feels more minimal and shinier, but you still feel comfortable and welcome."
Judging from the crowds, Leon's was a hit from Day One. It's a perfect fit for laid-back Decatur, with a clean, modern interior that addresses the lively Ponce street corner surroundings via tall garage doors, showcasing an inviting sidewalk beer garden and a crushed slate boccie court.
Even if Leon's is about pushing the envelope a bit, with a more stylish atmosphere and more ambitious food and drink, beer is still where the action is — accounting for as much as 70 percent of beverage sales, and bringing in beer aficionados, who are lured by the reputation of the Brick Store.
"When it comes down to it," Blanchard says, "we'd be stupid not to do what we do and what we know, and do it as well as we do it, with great beer, proper glassware and knowledgeable staff. This is continuing education for the way beer should be presented in bars and restaurants."
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