#Wonderkid Factory

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 5 | Record-Breaking Valencia CF Season

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 5: Record Breaking #ValenciaCF Season. Valencia set a new club record for points and goals led by the irresistible Javi Guerra. But it still wasn't enough to surpass an outrageously strong Barcelona. Read here:

Valencia CF’s team of young, predominantly homegrown talents continued to exceed expectations as they split LaLiga’s “big three” for the first time in Roberto Lazaró’s fourth season at the club. But Lazaró was looking for some of his hot prospects to step up in the next couple of campaigns. Lazaró’s first batch Ibero-American signings became homegrown at the club in the summer of 2027, including…

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Homage to 9 great, historic Atlanta buildings reborn as restaurants

The seductive interiors of Southern Belle at the 1930s Briarcliff Plaza in Poncey-Highland. | Southern Belle/Georgia Boy

Both old and new, these eatery spaces shine in remarkable settings from Decatur to downtown

News recently broke of the closing of fine dining restaurant Rose & Rye inside the “Castle” building on 15th Street in Midtown. The ambitious eatery made media waves when opening in 2017 for its team of women holding top positions, from management to chef staff, but with the building’s current owners filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November and putting it on the market, there are fair questions to be asked about whether or not building out an eatery inside a historic space is something Atlantans will support as the city changes.

Let’s hope so.

The fact is, restaurants and bars dotted all around Atlanta are not only surviving but thriving in architecturally significant buildings that have stood long enough to claim “historic” status. Here are some of the standouts.

Ponce City Market

Jonathan Phillips/Curbed Atlanta

Walking in from street level to Ponce City Market’s Central Food Hall feels like stepping into updated history—only more fun, especially when you’re hungry.

As one of Atlanta’s most iconic and important renovated landmarks, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this former Sears & Roebuck Co. distribution center is full of corporate offices, retail shops, and random experiences. But it’s the food and drink that keeps folks coming back.

Chief among PCM attractions for those arriving with appetites are the Italian restaurant and market Bellina Alimentari, Ton Ton ramen bar, Biltong Bar for cocktails you’d hardly expect to be fantastic since they’re served alongside dried cutlets of South African beef jerky, Tasty China Jia (the crispy quail is wildly spicy but worth it), H&F Burger, and casual Mexican restaurant Minero, whose standout chicken wings are shaken in brown bags full of spice before plated in front of you. Also don’t miss the food in other areas of the property, including Root Baking Co. on the second floor, Pancake Social on the outer edge facing North Avenue, and The Roof, where Slater Hospitality runs beer garden 9 Mile Station and the secretive 12 Cocktail Bar, which has its own elevator, security, and boasts the highest public perch in the building, in a space where a historic radio program was once broadcasted.

The Brasserie and Neighborhood Cafe at Parish

Tucked into the side of a sloping hill next to the Beltline, where Inman Park meets Old Fourth Ward, Parish’s presence on Highland Avenue doesn’t just predate the latest round of restaurants and bars to arrive in the past decade. It’s been around since 1890, and the building is (almost) all that’s left of the Atlanta Pipe Factory Terminal Building.

Photo: Lisa C Writes/Eater Atlanta

The two-story restaurant is inspired by New Orleanian cuisine, although the menu has shifted to more tavern-style eats like orange-glazed, pan-seared salmon (but with French lentils). They still serve a good chicken and sausage gumbo, alongside a solid brunch of chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits and corned beef hash, but it’d honestly be nice to get some beignets.

Google/Zagat

Parish’s charming exterior on North Highland Avenue.

By George

Photos courtesy of Curio Collection by Hilton Hotels

The Candler Building’s elaborate lobby.

Hugh Acheson isn’t new to opening a restaurant in or near a historic bank. Take for example his first Atlanta restaurant, Empire State South, which sits across the street from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. This time he’s in the Candler Building, completed in 1906 by Coca-Cola co-founder Asa Candler, who also put a financial institution of his own—Central Bank & Trust—on the main lobby floor of the 17-story tower.

By George, which leans into Acheson’s French cuisine aspirations, is the featured restaurant for the building’s new status as the Candler Hotel, part of Hilton’s Curio Collection.

The dinner menu offerings (the wonderfully tart steak tartare or the expertly prepared steak diane could both turn a vegan into a vampire) remind you that Acheson is clearly comfortable in his Canadian skin, and intends to set a new dining standard in downtown. Breakfast and lunch are also served, and superstar drinks-master Kellie Thorn is behind ingenious sips that make proper use of cognac, armagnac, and other French spirits.

Beyond the food, the space is surrounded by marble to a level you’re not likely to see duplicated in any new restaurant in or outside Atlanta, unless it’s by someone with Coke money.

Exterior detailing at the Candler Building.

Wonderkid

Sean Keenan/Curbed Atlanta

The former milk production facility’s revised facade.

Now that tenants are arriving in this Reynoldstown adaptive-reuse development, Atlanta Dairies is once again ready to milk the benefits of its funky Art Deco, Memorial-Drive-facing facade and prime Beltline location.

Beginning in the 1940s as a dairy co-op, it now houses Wonderkid, a classic diner from the teams behind such successful F&B brands as King of Pops, The Lawrence, and Bon Ton.

Chef Justin Dixon (previously at The Shed at Glenwood) turns out delicious interpretations of classics, such as the falafel waffle and roasted chicken pot pie, served from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. After that, the late night menu goes back to breakfast, and lets anyone that’s always rapped along with OutKast on the chorus of Rosa Parks but never actually tried fish and grits to get their fill. The cocktail program is also a standout, the beers range from wonderfully cheap (but still great), to Atlanta-based crafts, and it also has the distinction of being the first place in the world dishing KoP’s soft-serve, which is obviously apropos for the concept.

Livingston Restaurant + Bar and Edgar’s Proof & Provision

Proof & Provision

A social space with early 1900s origins.

The Georgian Terrace Hotel dates back to 1911, famous for a screening of Gone with the Wind that attracted major stars of the day, including Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, and Lawrence Olivier.

Today, Livingston, an elegant two-story dining hall named after Atlanta’s 37th mayor Livingston Mims, attracts folks hungry for a Southern meal, from breakfast through dinner and on to brunch, with special pre-show dinner options for Fox Theatre ticketholders. For later-night bites and cocktails, there’s Edgar’s down below Peachtree Street, where bourbon and more is poured until midnight on weekdays, and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, for guests on black leather banquettes between brick columns.

Kimball House

Square Feet Studio

As the former depot was being transitioned from what used to be Depeaux.

While the controversial white paint might make it hard to envision Golden Eagle and Muchacho as a former train station built in 1891 (more on that in a minute), you can immediately tell that’s what Kimball House used to be, as you approach the formerly forest-green Decatur Square restaurant and bar at 303 East Howard Avenue.

Known for serving some of the best and freshest oysters in the city (apparently KH’s partners, who are also behind Krog Street Market’s Watchman’s, are soon to begin farming their own oysters in Alabama), it’s also notable because the details of the interior and exterior retain some of the energy of motion you feel in any transit station. The tiled floors, high ceilings and tall windows give the feeling that you’re passing through a place where people who make moves have been coming for years, and will continue to do the same.

Matthew Wong/Eater Atlanta

Kimball House’s throwback interiors.

Southern Belle and Georgia Boy

Southern Belle/Georgia Boy

There was a bit of a scare when The Plaza on Ponce (or Briarcliff Plaza, depending on whom you ask), was sold in 2017 to Charlotte-based Asana Partners, particularly among Atlantans who’re big fans of watching indie/campy films at The Plaza Theatre, preceded or followed by a sturdy meal at the beloved Majestic Diner, which itself has been serving customers 24 hours a day since the start of the Great Depression. Late last year, two new restaurants opened on the property: Southern Belle and Georgia Boy.

The former is a restaurant homage to the wife of Chef Joey Ward (a talented protégé of chef Kevin Gillespie), while the latter is a hidden entry chef’s kitchen with a mind-blowing tasting menu, which changes at Ward’s whim but has included such inventive items as a fully edible snow globe. And while GB’s aesthetic leans much more steely, Southern Belle’s lofty interior, including a tall, deep-blue-painted archway, exposed brick and original tin ceiling, make it feel like a dining hall that’s been ringing dinner bells much longer.

Krog Street Market

Asana Partners

The pioneering food hall’s main entrance.

It’s only right that Krog Street Market has high-quality restaurants, since the Beltline-adjacent building opened in 1889 as the factory for Atlanta Stove Works, where cast iron was used to make sturdy cooking ranges.

After a few years of operating as an early iteration of Tyler Perry Studios, the factory was purchased and turned into a market food hall, where today you can take almost anyone that’s hungry and be pretty sure they’ll leave satisfied.

From the impressive pizza pies at Varuni Napoli, to the seafood entrees, oysters and fabulous cocktails at Watchman’s (try the pineapple pancakes from their great new Sunday brunch), the top-tier burgers at Fred’s Meat & Bread, the always reliable dumplings at Gu’s, or the burns-so-good hot chicken at Richards’ Southern Fried, the only things that probably don’t taste good are the flowers, dog treats, and soaps from the retail stands.

Golden Eagle/Muchacho

Ansley Atlanta Real Estate

Back more than 80 years ago, when the Beltline was a two-word phrase, this Reynoldstown building was constructed as a train depot. After being abandoned in the mid-20th century, it sat vacant for decades until restaurateur Jerry Slater took it over and opened popular cocktail bar H. Harper Station in 2010.

While H. Harper sadly didn’t last long enough to see the arrival of the renewed, single-word Beltline (it closed on April Fool’s Day 2016), the space was quickly purchased by one of the owners of Ladybird, another Beltline restaurant and bar, and opened as two separate restaurants—Golden Eagle and Muchacho—in 2017.

There was a bit of controversy when the new owner decided to paint the brick building, but things have since calmed down, thanks to favorable opinions of GE/M’s ambiance. What also doesn’t hurt: breakfast tacos and coffee worth eating and drinking at Muchacho, plus Golden Eagle’s respectably delicious tavern food (prime rib specials on Mondays, whole cast-iron-roasted chicken) and very fancy cocktails. Spirits enthusiasts seem to agree that, while Slater’s drinks were stellar, Eagle’s beverages are similarly brag-worthy.

Andrew Thomas Lee/Eater Atlanta

The bar at Golden Eagle.

source https://atlanta.curbed.com/2020/1/29/21113875/atlanta-buildings-restaurants-architecture-history

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Best academy graduates at Ajax by generation. 1997: Donny van de Beek 1998: Carel Eiting 1999: Matthijs De Ligt 2000: Mitchel Bakker 2001: Liam van Gelderen 2002: Ryan Gravenberch 2003: Naci Ünüvar The Wonderkid Factory. ❌❌❌ pic.twitter.com/Ioc7R83KwB

— FootballTalentScout (@FTalentScout) June 24, 2018

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 2 | A Surprise Cup Final

#WonderkidFactory Part 2: A Surprise Cup Final. More big transfers are followed by an influx of Ibero-American youngsters at @valenciacf. And they enjoy a strong #LaLiga showing before reaching the #EuropaLeague Final. Read here:

A promising first season in Valencia saw Roberto Lazaró secure European qualification despite form dramatically tailing off in the last few matches. Lazaró’s success convinced owner Peter Lim – who a few months later handed the reigns over to new chairperson Or Shachar – to agree to youth recruitment and facilities improvements over the summer. However, the summer proved tricky as Lazaró’s…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 10 | Developing A Genuine Golden Generation

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 10: Developing A Genuine Golden Generation. Two more homegrown stars step up for #AZAlkmaar as they again dominate #Eredivisie but taste penalty pain following an epic #ChampionsLeague comeback. Read here:

AZ Alkmaar wrapped up three successive Eredivise titles to become the fifth most successive club in Dutch football history, behind the big three of Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord and the HVV, an amateur side that won 10 titles by 1915. The summer of 2031 saw managing director Robert Eenhoorn announce plans for a new stadium, as AFAS Stadion could no longer meet fans’ demand for tickets. The club’s…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 5 | Wau, This Kid Is Raily Special

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 5: Wau, This Kid Is Raily Good. Academy prodigy Raily Wau enjoys phenomenal progression, partnering with Myron van Brederode to fire @AZAlkmaar into #Eredivisie title contention in 2027. Read here:

The wonderkid factory project at AZ Alkmaar was progressing very nicely as Robinho Lazaró led the club to two 2nd-place finishes in three seasons. He’d also reduced the AZ squad to just five players who didn’t come through the club’s academy heading into the summer of 2026. That was reduced further as midfielder Kristijan Belic moved to Valencia for a club record £31m, Mees de Wit joined Forest…

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FM Guide: 10 Challenges For FM24

#FMGuide: 10 Challenges For #FM24. Looking for a little inspiration for #FootballManager 24? We put our thinking caps on to come up with 10 exciting long-term challenges to bring some longevity to your FM24 lifecycle. Read here:

If you’re anything like us, you’re probably getting very excited now that the Football Manager 2024 Beta is live and mulling over save ideas to boost your enjoyment of the game. For me, that typically means taking on new challenges that maximise the life of a save and make it a little different and generally more fun. Having attempted – and even created – a fair few adventures in our time, we…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 6 | Lacking A Goalscorer

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 7: Lacking A Goalscorer. A youthful #ValenciaCF continue to be the best of the rest in Spain, but the gap to Real Madrid and Barcelona looks increasingly insurmountable without a regular goalscorer. Read here:

Valencia CF enjoyed their best season so far under the stewardship of Roberto Lazaró in the 2027/28 campaign. And the manager was delighted to see his approach to blooding youngsters was resulting in plenty of progression. There was good news off the pitch over the summer too, as the board cleared off more of the club’s debts, leaving it with just £24.5m of original £159m. And they still began…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 4 | A Gayá-Less New Era

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 4: A Gayá-Less New Era. @ValenciaCF lose their captain and starting goalkeeper but a young side continues to impress. And the performances of star man Javi Guerra help them split the 'big 3' for the first time. Read here:

After 103 years at their historic home, Valencia Club de Fútbol bid farewell to La Mestalla as they ushered in a new era at the 55,000-capacity Nuevo Mestalla – to absolutely massive fanfare… However, the move occurred without their captain as Saudi side Al-Ahli came offered £60m for 31-year-old José Gayá. The left back departs after 14 years and 367 league games for the club, only 92 short of…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 3 | Adios La Mestalla

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 3: Adios La Mestalla. @ValenciaCF bid farewell to their long-time home as they yet again finish behind Spain's big 3. However, their Ibero-American transfer policy delivers #NxGn glory for striker Gabriel Silva. Read here:

A strong second season in Valencia saw Roberto Lazaró lead Los Che to 4th place and Champions League football for the final campaign at their legendary La Mestalla home. But Lazaró was keen to impress a sense of realism at the club, especially given how far clear the big three remained. Some dodgy off-field activities saw the new board cash in on Lazaró’s strong financial performance, which had…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 1 | Looking To Los Cules' Youth

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 1: Looking To Los Cules' Youth. We kick off a brand new save and our 3rd Wonderkid Factory by heading to Spain with @valenciacf. Discover our new "homegrown" approach and a promising 1st season. Read here:

One of my main Football Manager 2025 saves was going to be another wonderkid factory challenge trying to deliver success using a club’s youth production. However, unlike our previous saves with Envigado and AZ Alkmaar, which relied solely on the clubs’ academies, this iteration was going to allow us to sign players from within the city the club was based in. So, with FM25 being delayed, I…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 12 | AZ Suffer A Drop In Form

#WonderkidFactory Part 12: AZ Suffer A Drop In Form. #AZAlkmaar's homegrown talents have a poor season as their run of 5 successive #Eredivisie titles ends and they really struggle in Europe. Read here:

AZ Alkmaar celebrated a fifth successive Eredivisie title in the summer of 2033, but their homegrown stars were still some way off competing with Europe’s elite. And manager Robinho Lazaró was very much questioning whether they’d ever be able to. There was major news off the field as AZ saw the first takeover of the Lazaró reign with new chairperson Lau Chun Wah taking control of the club.…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 11 | Another Close European Giant Battle

#WonderkidFactory Part 11: Another Close European Giant Battle. @AZAlkmaar's exciting homegrown talents make it 5 consecutive #Eredivisie title, but again fall short to a European giant in the #ChampionsLeague QFs. Read here:

AZ Alkmaar were well and truly dominating in the Netherlands, but Lazaró’s aim to become European Champions with a fully homegrown squad was proving much more problematic. They received another mass of derisory bids in the summer of 2032, including Man City only offering £70m for Raily Wau when they rejected £160m bids the previous summer. And in mid-June, 20 of their 22 first-team players were…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 9 | A New Midfield Talent Emerges

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 9: A New Midfield Talent Emerges. #AZAlkmaar enjoy another good domestic season, strolling to an #Eredivisie win and reaching the cup final. But competing in the #ChampionsLeague remains a significant challenge. Read here:

The dreaded financial glitch affecting Eredivisie on Football Manager 2024 means this could well be the end to our second attempt at the Wonderkid Factory challenge. It comes at an annoying time, considering Robinho Lazaró was establishing AZ Alkmaar as a dominant force in the Netherlands, with three titles in four years, and taking on Europe’s elite. AZ again received a mass of bids for its…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 8 | So Close To An Elite Upset

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 8: So Close To An Elite Upset. A fully homegrown @AZAlkmaar enjoy another #Eredivisie title race and push one of Europe's biggest clubs so close upon their return to the #ChampionsLeague. Read here:

AZ Alkmaar won a second Eredivisie title in three years with a team comprised wholly of players produced by the club’s youth academy. The challenge now was to try and compete in Europe as they re-entered the Champions League in the 2029/30 campaign. Despite signing a new deal 12 months ago, the summer was again marred by star academy product Raily Wau wanting to play with better players. And…

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Wonderkid Factory | Part 7 | Fully Homegrown For The First Time

#FM24 #WonderkidFactory Part 7: Fully Homegrown For The First Time. The power of the @AZAlkmaar youth academy is confirmed by Robinho Lazaró's squad containing only homegrown players as they win a 2nd #Eredivisie in 3 years. Read here:

Twelve months on from becoming Champions of the Netherlands, AZ Alkmaar were reflecting on a solid if unspectacular campaign. Manager Robinho Lazaró had done an impressive job of promoting homegrown youth while keeping his promising AZ side competitive. As a result, they again had a huge interest in their talented youngsters, led by the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid chasing star academy…