All-day cafe Salted Melon opens its first Georgia location in Buckhead

founder Thomas Coker is preparing to bring his casual, health-forward eatery from Charlotte, North Carolina to Buckhead. The counter-service restaurant will open on February 11 in the space formerly occupied by Australian-inspired cafe Isle & Co. and before that, grain bowl spot Sama, in Andrews Square.

“We’ve successfully taken over two locations of former restaurants [in Charlotte] in the last year, so we’re not concerned,” Coker says. “We feel the location is perfect with good street visibility and parking availability. Plus, the demographics of the area are similar to that of our stores in Charlotte.”

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Coker launched his all-day cafe in 2022. The Buckhead location will be the first outside of North Carolina. It will open early, serving coffee and tea, smoothies, pastries, and heartier breakfast items like the Bandito Burrito, stuffed with scrambled eggs, Oaxaca cheese, tater tots, bacon, scallions, salsa, and chipotle aioli. Here, breakfast lasts until 3 p.m., but the larger menu is available from 11 a.m. to close (around 8 p.m.).

Expect wraps, sandwiches, and paninis, including turkey prosciutto, sprouted salmon, and spicy Caesar. Bowls range from Blazin’ Buffalo with free-range blackened chicken in buffalo sauce to Poke Me with ahi tuna and pickled vegetables. There are five salads—six if you could the side salad that comes with the sandwiches. This can be swapped for a fee for street corn, mint watermelon salad, truffle fries, or gluten‑free mac and cheese.

Courtesy of LunahZon Photography

“Portions are pretty large—especially the bowls and salads,” Coker notes. “It’s certainly a very filling meal.”

Coffee is sourced from Counter Culture. In addition to the basics, Salted Melon offers blue matcha made from butterfly tea powder and boasts gluten-free syrups. The team also introduces new seasonal coffee drinks and smoothies every quarter.

“We get really creative with the different seasonal offerings,” Coker explains. “New salad and sandwich in spring and fall, too, but about 80 percent of the menu stays core.”

Courtesy of LunahZon Photography

The Buckhead restaurant will seat 55 people inside and another 16 on the patio. Its look is designed to be vibrant and beachy with light blue tile and warm orange and deeper blue accents. Both traditional tables and lounge seating are featured.

The team is already exploring other areas of the city for Salted Melon. “We really like Sandy Springs and Virginia‑Highland,” Coker says. “We’re excited to be a part of the Atlanta market.”

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