Much like the Atlanta Beltline will do one day, the project’s visionary is bringing things full circle by opening a restaurant on the 22-mile loop that will eventually connect many city neighborhoods.
Ryan Gravel is planning to open Aftercar, "a retro-future-Beltline-social-house" in 2019, his website says. The restaurant will be located in the basement of the Telephone Factory Lofts on Ralph McGill with a to-be-determined menu, according to Eater Atlanta, which first reported the news.
The for-profit restaurant will provide space and funding for Gravel's nonprofit, Generator, not unlike how Staplehouse on Edgewood Avenue helps fuel The Giving Kitchen charity.
Gravel intends to model Aftercar on establishments that have propelled social and cultural movements, including Paschal’s in Atlanta; the Stonewall Inn and The White Horse Tavern in New York City; and Les Deux Magots in Paris.
Gravel developed the idea for the Beltline while a graduate student at Georgia Tech. In 2016, he resigned from the organization that helps raise funds for the Beltline due to concerns about affordability and equity. He has remained active in discussions surrounding the project's progress.
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