When Mary Mac’s Tea Room announced Tuesday it would reopen for regular business hours the following day, the news caught the community a little off-guard.
A restaurant like Mary Mac’s, known for traditional Southern cuisine, is not supposed to surprise anyone, but the Grand Dame of Midtown Atlanta did exactly that, reopening its doors just two months after a catastrophic roof collapse during a torrential rain storm March 6.
A few minutes after 11 a.m. Wednesday, Mary Mac’s opened its doors to a group of about 15 early arrivers congregated outside. With the restaurant announcing its reopening less than 24 hours earlier, the early lunch crowd was sparse, though it seemed to fill in toward midday.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Even with a lighter crowd, the mood was ebullient. Chad Reynolds, the restaurant’s operations manager, cheerfully welcomed the first customers waiting at the door. Staff members, many of whom have worked at the restaurant for decades, pointed out the new carpet and paint on the walls.
“It feels like family here,” one server told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Reynolds declined to be interviewed, citing plans for future media-focused events, but said he was excited for the restaurant to be back open and especially thankful that no one had been hurt in the collapse. A cleaning crew often works in the restaurant overnight, he said, and while the roof caved in well before dawn, no one was inside at the time.
As the machinery of the restaurant whirred back to life Wednesday, Reynolds personally visited each table to thank diners for returning.
Nicholas Wolaver, who described himself as a regular at Mary Mac’s, said he was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the restaurant recovered. He last dined there about a week before the roof collapsed, and he saw the aftermath when he drove by the night of March 6.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
“Of course, I was disappointed and sad that they had this bad news, but also relieved that, immediately out of the gate, they were planning to fix it up and get going again,” Wolaver said.
Like many Atlantans, Wolaver has fond memories of Mary Mac’s going back decades. He first visited Atlanta as a college sophomore in 1993, when he stayed at the old youth hostel across the street while researching job opportunities related to the Olympics. Mary Mac’s was one of his first meals in town.
Not everything is exactly the same or back to normal in the restaurant, which meanders through several different dining rooms. The right side of Mary Mac’s, home to the Skyline Room, the Board Room and Ferrell’s Bar, remained closed and blanketed from view by plastic sheeting. The paint colors are new and the furniture in the lobby has been rearranged.
Unlike Manuel’s Tavern, the legendary Atlanta dive bar where the walls were scanned with special devices to ensure the ephemera remained unchanged in its remodeled space, the team at Mary Mac’s focused on speed rather than precision. Wolaver noted that the dozens of photos of celebrities and dignitaries on the walls had been rearranged.
Most importantly, the feeling of the restaurant and the food remain the same as ever. The staff exudes warmth and Southern hospitality, chatting openly and honestly with customers about their relief as they returned to work. Turkey and cornbread dressing is still available year-round, and every table still has hot pepper vinegar for your collard greens.
“I love bringing friends and family here when they come to visit. It’s a fun place to introduce people to, and it’s a historic place,” Wolaver said. “I’ve had friends who have visited since the late ’90s, and when they came back years later, they ask, ‘Hey, can we go to Mary Mac’s?’”
About the Author
