Atlanta restaurant Che Butter Jonez will open its second location in LaVista Park later this summer.
Husband-and-wife duo Malik Rhasaan and Detric Fox-Quinlan are preparing to expand while they wait for construction to finish on Butter & Scotch, a Queens, New York-inspired restaurant opening in the Origin Hotel Atlanta downtown.
Located at 1602 Lavista Road NE in the former Coffee Bar Atlanta space, the 2,954-square-foot eatery will be more than double the size of their flagship Cleveland Avenue restaurant and can hold five times the amount of people.
The restaurant has large garage-style windows that can be rolled up to let in fresh air and a stage at the front. Fox-Quinlan said they plan to decorate the space like the original Che Butter Jonez — bright and inviting with black, white and tan colors and wood elements.
Credit: Courtesy of Detric Fox-Quinlan
Credit: Courtesy of Detric Fox-Quinlan
The square footage will allow them to incorporate a mini grocery store into the restaurant, something Rhasaan has long wanted. Customers will be able to purchase items like fresh bread, containers of Rhasaan’s chicken salad, specialty sodas and Che Butter Jonez merchandise. Additional items will be added to the original Cleveland Avenue menu, and beer and wine will be served.
“We’re going to continue on in the brand of Che Butter Jonez,” Fox-Quinlan said. “We’re just able to do it a little bit more because of how much space we have now.”
Credit: Courtesy of Detric Fox-Quinlan
Credit: Courtesy of Detric Fox-Quinlan
The Cleveland Avenue location will continue to operate, but how long it will stay open remains to be seen.
Rhasaan, a Queens native, and Fox-Quinlan founded Che Butter Jonez as a food truck in 2018. Named after Rhasaan’s online alias, the truck became known for its tagline, “I cook better than your muva!” The menu features rotating dishes like a lamb burger with lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, jalapeños and an herb sauce, and the Bodega, a sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich.
The couple opened their first brick-and-mortar in June 2021 at 757 Cleveland Ave. in a strip anchored by a Chevron gas station. The eatery is only a few minutes away from their house.
“We took (the location) excited about being able to be the change that we wanted to see in our own community,” Fox-Quinlan said.
It isn’t far from the Met Atlanta development in Adair Park where the Che Butter Jonez food truck got its start, and its proximity to the airport has brought them plenty of travelers and Delta employees.
But over the last few years, the couple said they’ve dealt with a faulty air conditioning system, panhandlers and loiterers, and trash dumped on their property. They decided to reduce their hours for safety reasons, and said the issues make it difficult to continue operating the Cleveland Avenue restaurant.
“Not only do I cook all day, I’m also playing security because I want my customers to feel comfortable,” Rhasaan said.
Credit: Mia Yakel
Credit: Mia Yakel
“The issue is no one seems to understand the value that you have here,” Fox-Quinlan said.
Rhasaan and Fox-Quinlan hope to hold on to the location, but if things continue as they are, Fox-Quinlan said they expect to close 757 Cleveland Ave. by September.
“It’s super hard for me to go,” Rhasaan said. “I don’t want to give it up. If I can find a way, I will find a way.”
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