Chef Duane Nutter, formerly of One Flew South in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, is about to make his long-awaited return to Atlanta with Southern National in Summerhill.
The restaurant is set to open June 29 at 72 Georgia Ave. SE. Nutter is partnering with longtime Atlanta restaurateur Reggie Washington, as well as Greg Best and Paul Calvert, who will also oversee the wine and cocktail program.
Southern National’s menu will highlight culinary influences from areas Nutter has spent time in, including Louisiana, Kentucky and the Pacific Northwest.
Dishes will include new offerings like Creole-cured salmon and potato blini with pineapple mascarpone, cucumber, mustard seed vin and caviar; fried lobster tail with black-eyed peas, bok choy, and Szechuan chili sauce; and Berbere-spiced fried chicken thigh with coconut milk and jalapeño maque choux. A few dishes from the original menu will also make an appearance, including mussels and collard greens with shiitake mushrooms, baguette and grape tomatoes.
“My menus and my journey as a Chef are pretty much one and the same,” Nutter said in a prepared statement. “I like to say we’re Southern in feel, National in flavor, because I’ve been inspired by every place I’ve ever lived and worked.”
The drink menu will feature “elegant, classic-leaning cocktails and an extensive wine list with an emphasis on Champagne and age-worthy, old-world reds,” according to a press release.
Nutter and Washinton opened Southern National in Washington’s hometown of Mobile, Alabama in 2017 to much acclaim, with the restaurant landing on the New York Times’ 2021 list of most exciting restaurants. The pair also collaborated on One Flew South (which has since opened a second location on the Eastside Beltline). The original Southern National location is now closed.
Prior to serving as the executive chef at One Flew South, Nutter worked in the kitchen at Atlanta’s Four Seasons Hotel, while Washington previously operated restaurants at Atlanta’s Marriott Marquis, Colony Square Hotel and Hyatt Regency. Nutter, One Flew South and Southern National have all been named James Beard Award semifinalists in past years.
Best and Calvert are co-owners of the acclaimed Ticonderoga Club in Krog Street Market, and both have been involved with several other Atlanta restaurants including Holeman & Finch. Nutter said the pair were “the driving force behind our cocktail program down in Mobile.”
The restaurant’s interior was designed by Atlanta-based design and architecture firms Smith Hanes Studio and MT Studio Architecture. The space will seat about 80 guests and will offer a private dining area.
Southern National will initially be open 4-10 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays-Saturdays and 2-10 p.m. Sundays, with plans to expand hours after opening. Reservations will open on July 6.
The restaurant will join several other food and beverage concepts in the Summerhill redevelopment along Georgia Avenue, including Woods Chapel BBQ, How Crispy, D Boca N Boca, Maepole, Junior’s Pizza, Hero Doughnuts, Hot Dog Pete’s, Halfway Crooks Beer, Little Bear and Little Tart and Big Softie, both owned by Calvert’s wife, Sarah O’Brien.
72 Georgia Ave. SE, Atlanta. southernational.com
Scroll down to see the full opening menu for Southern National:
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
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