The menu for Auburn Angel, opening April 19, is a far cry from its legendary forefather, the Auburn Avenue Rib Shack. The restaurant will serve what Chef Robbie Pacheco calls “global cuisine” with dishes like grilled octopus with heirloom blue corn masa and a duo of tempura-fried prawns and firefly squid.
For Pacheco and restaurateur Asa Fain, that’s the point of Auburn Angel. The restaurant should reflect present-day Atlanta – a city filled with residents representing multiple cultures from around the world.
Fain and Pacheco see Auburn Angel as carrying on the legacy of the building at the corner of Auburn Avenue and Fort Street. It’s been a restaurant in one form or another since the 1940s, and they will continue that legacy with the next restaurant to occupy the space.
Fain, who owns restaurant and live music venue Apache Cafe, purchased the historic Sweet Auburn District restaurant building in 2018. It had been vacant for four years. He had always planned to preserve elements from the building’s former restaurants while updating the structure to bring it up to code and into 21st-century Atlanta. Approval of the design and preservation plans needed by the city and various historic architecture organizations took nearly two years.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused Fain to cease work on the building for months in 2020 and 2021. When efforts resumed, Fain was rocked by supply chain issues and rising construction costs. He had decided to expand the restaurant’s footprint, doubling it in size. Auburn Angel now features seating for 60 people inside, with additional seating for 60 more people on the covered patio.
“The name Auburn Angel reflects the energy and spirit of this place. It’s part of the neighborhood and this iconic street,” Fain said. “There is optimism and hope in the building. It’s still standing after all these years, despite having to do so much work to bring it forward and salvage things like…
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