Wild Heaven will resurrect Eats at West End taproom this spring

Key Points
• Wild Heaven Brewery purchased Eats and will reopen the restaurant in their West End taproom this spring.
• El Tesoro will move out of Wild Heaven and Eats will take over the kitchen.
• Wild Heaven will also incorporate Eats’ original furniture, decor, and kitchen equipment into the new space.

Fans of a classic Atlanta restaurant won’t have to go much longer without their beloved institution: Eats is reopening in March.

Atlanta brewery Wild Heaven Beer has purchased the rights to Eats and will reopen the restaurant at its West End taproom in the Lee + White development. Mexican restaurant El Tesoro is moving out of Wild Heaven’s kitchen for another space at Lee + White – perfect timing for Eats’ resurrection.

Wild Heaven won’t simply bring back the Eats name and menu of jerk chicken and veggies, but will recreate the vibe of the original Ponce de Leon Avenue spot as well.

“We bought everything that’s inside the building,” Wild Heaven co-owner Nick Purdy said. “We’re planning to bring over the furniture, [and] the wall hangings that everybody loves so much.”

Wild Heaven also tapped longtime manager Levi Nichols to ensure they’re faithful to Eats’ original mission. “We’re not trying to be a tribute band. We’re trying to be the band and keep it going,” Purdy said.

Wild Heaven will redecorate the Lee + White taproom to include the original Eats furniture and paraphernalia. “We just have to see what fits and how it all works, but the idea is that when you walk into our West End taproom, you’re going to see and feel a lot of what Eats physically, actually was.”

They’re also transferring the kitchen equipment. “I mean, even the chicken will get cooked in the same ovens,” Purdy said. The new version of Eats will also include the return of its pasta menu, which disappeared during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A lot of us at Wild Heaven have been fans of Eats for a long time, and we love Atlanta,” Purdy said. “For anyone who thinks this is an important part of Atlanta that’s getting preserved, we definitely agree with that and are really excited to be able to do all that.”

Purdy recalled dining at Eats after it opened in 1993. “I had a friend who was like, ‘Hey, something opened. I’ve gotta show you,” he said. “I remember sitting in that first booth to the right when you go up the little two stairs, and I was immediately like, ‘Whoa, I love this.’ And so I’ve been going there ever since.”

In addition to the food, Purdy was taken by Eats’ cultivated atmosphere and clientele.

“When I go into Eats, I feel like I’m sitting with a cross section of Atlanta,” Purdy said. “I see people with tattoos and piercings. I see people with starched white collars coming out of the office towers in Midtown. I see workers in their uniforms. I see college students. I see everybody, and it felt like a place where everybody just agreed was great and it wasn’t for any one particular group.”

After Eats’ closure was announced last year, Purdy was a frequent visitor. It was during one of these visits that Purdy spoke to owner Bob Hatcher and asked if he was selling anything beyond the building.

Purdy had gotten to know Hatcher over the years, both as a customer and supplier. Mutual friends and longtime Eats customers Brent and Amity Dey vouched for Wild Heaven. While the Deys played a role in the deal and are part of the “family,” they will not have an operational role, Purdy said.

“The conversation went on through December, and we figured out a way to make everybody happy and got the deal,” Purdy said.

In addition to being the closest Wild Heaven outpost to Eats’ original home, the West End location offers the best logistics. Wild Heaven’s original location in Avondale Estates doesn’t have a kitchen, Purdy said, and Fox Bros. BBQ is faring exceedingly well in the Toco Hills location. “It’s just one of those situations where everything kind of fit,” he said.

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