Fair warning for those planning to check out Atlanta pop-up Godtoh at a brewery or restaurant: Behind the grill, you might find founder and chef James Reynolds, an unassuming-looking man with glasses and tattoos. Or, you might find a Godtoh, Reynolds’ alter ego who wears a bright orange ski mask while cooking.
“Godtoh is an otherworldly presence that possesses me,” said Reynolds, a Lawrenceville native and lifelong metal fan. “He’s the real inspiration when it comes to spreading deliciousness.”
Godtoh — or “hot dog” spelled backward — is the metal-inspired pop-up that Reynolds has operated out of spots including Boggs Social & Supply in West End and Little Cottage Brewing in Avondale Estates since late 2022.
Though he’s been in the hospitality industry for more than a decade, mostly in management roles at breweries including 3 Taverns Imaginarium and Contrast Artisan Ales, Reynolds knew he had a lot to learn before starting his own pop-up.
Credit: Courtesy of Godtoh
Credit: Courtesy of Godtoh
“The pandemic forced everyone to look at themselves and their passions. Much love to the craft beer world, it just wasn’t striking the same passion in me. When I started cooking for people, I felt a calling,” Reynolds said.
He honed his kitchen skills by watching YouTube cooking videos, and worked for about six months as a line cook at the Howell Mill Road location of seafood restaurant Fishmonger under executive chef Bradford Forsblum.
He also learned from Ean Bancroft and Ross Winecoff of fried chicken pop-up Mother’s Best, who are about to open their own brick-and-mortar location, and other pop-up chefs he met as he made more appearances around town.
“I got a lot of teachers and a lot of helpers that people don’t typically get because I went out there and started asking people, ‘Who wants to pass knowledge around?’”
Though he started out just serving hot dogs, Reynolds quickly switched to smashburgers as his signature item. While the menus change often, customers will always see a smashburger, a chicken special and a vegetarian option. Recent dishes have included Magma Sliders with pepper jack cheese and green onions and the Hammer Smash burger with pickles, cheese, onions and Godtoh sauce.
When Godtoh pops up during a metal show, Reynolds will often consult with the band to see what they like to eat. A recent event with meat-loving metal band Escuela Grind saw the birth of the Escuela Grind-er, a “meat monster” made with hot soppressata and beef.
“I get influenced a lot by heavy metal culture,” he said. “I triangulate with heavy metal bands coming through to find out what they’ve been missing. A lot of this is just about feeding the people who feel like they don’t have a place to go. The heavy metal weirdo has a place where they can come get their comfort food.”
Credit: Courtesy of Godtoh
Credit: Courtesy of Godtoh
Reynolds recently did a collaboration pop-up with Big Belly Bites which “featured an elevated version of everything,” he said. On Feb. 17, Godtoh will pop up at SweetWater Brewing Co.’s 27th anniversary with a “greatest hits” menu with dishes like french fries, a gyro burger, a chimichurri burger and a vegan quesadilla.
Reynolds credits Little Cottage Brewing with providing a launching pad for Godtoh when he was first starting out. “They were blasting heavy metal, making a great product and showing that people were still coming out and hanging out with the heavy metal nerds that I’d always been. So I felt like, ‘There’s a community for this.’”
So what’s next for Godtoh? “Total world domination,” Reynolds said. “We want to start by comforting everyone and warming up their bellies, make sure we get to the hearts of the common American through their stomachs.”
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