Atlanta, Georgia Local News
Rising from the ashes: Summerhill’s Poach Social has reopened with renewed vision
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Poach Social, a brunch restaurant at 112 Ormond St. SE, reopened after shutting its doors in 2022 following a large kitchen fire. During its closure, the Summerhill restaurant reinforced its mission to provide the community with a space that feeds and brings the community together.
The restaurant’s focus is not only on providing good food but also on cultivating an environment where people can have an enjoyable time and socialize. Upon entering the restaurant, guests are greeted by a large LED sign promising great food and a great mood, a commitment that motivated owner Brian Mitchell through the restaurant’s hardships.
After the fire gutted the entire kitchen and caused smoke damage to the dining area, Mitchell shared it was a challenge to rebuild and reorganize. Inflation had hit, causing the price of produce to triple against their budget used to renovate the boutique space and revamp the menu. Discouragement settled in, but Mitchell took it as an opportunity to make “lemon out of lemonade” and implement changes.
“It was overwhelming at first,” Mitchell said. “I won’t lie. Sometimes, it’s like, do I really want to do this again? But based on the initial passion that I had to open the restaurant in this area, I just felt the need to do it. And the community loved us, so it became motivating, and I’m very happy to be back open again.
“We were able to take that disaster and make it a great opportunity for us to improve and become a better version of ourselves.”
From the adoption of an open floor plan to the relocation of the bar and implementation of walk-in coolers, Mitchell and his team were able to build something new and better from the ashes of the fire, allowing them the opportunity to remain a staple in Summerhill.
In the past few years, the Summerhill neighborhood has undergone rapid redevelopment. What was once a historically Jewish and Black community has been transformed through gentrification, and when Mitchell moved to the neighborhood in 2016, he noted the wave of changes that were blanketing the neighborhood due to new development.
But within that redevelopment, Mitchell said he wanted to make sure that the Black business owners were still represented. It’s a dedication that has stemmed from his childhood. His dad owned several restaurants, and he grew up in the hustle and bustle of different eateries, observing the ins and outs of the industry. That experience is one of the influences that led him to open Poach Social.
“It’s in my blood. I said I would never do restaurants, yet here I am. It’s to carry on my dad’s legacy and have my own spin on it.”
Through the opening of Poach Social, Mitchell said he also wanted to provide the community with access to fresh, healthy and consistently good food. The menu melds beloved breakfast classics influenced by Southern cuisine with food from different cultures. It’s a feast for everyone, combining dishes such as brioche french toast drizzled with lemon and topped with fresh blueberries with menu items such as jerk chicken egg rolls and cajun shrimp pasta.
The restaurant also features a full-service juice and cocktail bar with bottomless mimosa specials on the weekend.
“We wanted to develop a menu where everyone can find something that they like, so that drove the basis of it. When I go to a restaurant and I enjoy something, I’m really big on saying, hey, every time I go there, it’s going to be the same. So that was another focus of developing the menu. We’ve learned a lot of recipes and procedures to ensure consistency.”
Since its reopening, Mitchell said Poach Social’s biggest goal has been to foster a diverse customer base that promotes inclusivity and encourages the community to embrace the restaurant in its new phase of life.
“Atlanta is changing. I want to create an environment for us all to be able to eat and enjoy food together and to be able to just share a common experience within the community of Atlanta. That is one of the biggest things that I think Poach Social’s whole omission is — serving everybody in Atlanta.
“So I definitely encourage everybody to come and check us out, support us and help us thrive.”
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Laura Nwogu
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