Business on
the BeltLine

Early one warm spring evening, chef Kevin Rathbun is kicking back, sipping a gin and soda on the appropriately named BeltLine Patio at his swankiest restaurant, Kevin Rathbun Steak.

Situated on the Eastside Trail, the outdoor space is covered by a soaring structure of steel beams, and features a 12-foot-high wood-burning brick fireplace surrounded by cushy groupings of tables and chairs arranged for enjoying conversations, drinks and appetizers

“I love sitting outside. I love people watching. I’m a visual vitamin connoisseur,” Rathbun declares, basking in the passing parade and acknowledging friendly greetings with a wave. “That’s why we have the patio here. It’s only six feet from the BeltLine. I said it’s got to be big. It’s got to be bold. It’s got to be fun. And I love it.”

The Atlanta BeltLine has become a big draw for businesses that rely on foot traffic. In part for its proximity to the BeltLine, the Ponce City Market mixed-use development has more than 30 tenants, including tech companies, architectural and investment firms, and shops such Binders art supply. Its Central Food Hall, expected to open this fall, features restaurants by Southern chefs such as Sean Brock and Linton Hopkins.

A 30-year veteran in the restaurant business, Rathbun finally opened his own place, Rathbun’s, in 2004. Krog Bar followed in 2005 and Rathbun Steak in 2007.

Each place has its own identity and menu — signature small plates like Thai rare beef at Rathbun’s, wine and charcuterie plates at Krog, and prime dry-aged steaks at Steak. That all three restaurants are dotted along Krog Street and the BeltLine was not part of a master plan.

“It was dumb luck,” Rathbun says. “When I started Rathbun’s I didn’t know what the BeltLine was. But when we were doing the buildout I noticed people walking by and wondered what they were doing. So I asked a few questions, saw there was a vision, and thought, ‘Hey, I might be on the right spot.’

“What I’m seeing is that I should have bought everything down here 10 years ago. I felt like I got in really early, and it’s been a great ride. I see that the BeltLine is huge. It’s taking off big time. The amount of people coming up and down this thing is crazy now.”

Across the Eastside Trail from Rathbun Steak, Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall is the dream of Michael Lennox, a lawyer turned restaurateur. Billed as “a base camp for the urban explorer,” it easily stakes its claim as the first bar/restaurant specifically designed with the BeltLine in mind.

The sprawling warehouse space with high ceilings was once home to a couple of art galleries. Now it looks out on mile marker 9.25, with decks, railing perches and a screen porch with picnic tables that offer views up and down the trail. And the campfire-inspired menu features Navajo-style fry bread and a whole spatchcock chicken, which serves four and comes with sides and accompaniments.

“Having traveled around to other major cities, I’ve always been a fan of walkable urban environments,” Lennox says. “And I’ve always been a big believer in Atlanta’s potential to have something like that.

“But I couldn’t really wrap my head around how [Atlanta] would ever get there until I started reading about the BeltLine. It just all clicked for me in a way that I can’t even explain, and I finally decided I had to do something about it.”

In 2012, Lennox took the plunge and started looking for a suitable property, securing a lease in January 2013 and opening for business in September 2014, after a long permitting and building process.

“To me the BeltLine is the anchor for the whole restaurant concept,” Lennox says. “Being right on the BeltLine with a big outdoor space is our distinguishing feature, and it draws people and gives them an opportunity to have a good time. But then I want to surprise them with better food and drink than they might be expecting.”

Beyond the fact that Ladybird was an immediate popular and critical success, Lennox says he just loves being part of something bigger and better for the city.

“What continues to blow my mind is the wide range of people that are excited about it and come from all over town to use it,” he says. “We see people every day from every demographic you could possibly imagine. I think there’s something very powerful about that.”

Skip Engelbrecht is the co-owner of Paris on Ponce, a quirky Poncey-Highland vintage furniture and boutique retail complex that almost went out of business before being revived by the opening of the BeltLine at its back door.

“I bought this company knowing that the Beltline was coming,” Engelbrecht says. “I knew about it when it was a thesis. I told the former owners that the BeltLine was going to be the ticket to this place’s success. I don’t think they believed me.

“But I’ve worked in this store for 15 years, and I’ve seen the changes. The former owners were selling around $30,000 a month. I’m now averaging $120,000. We’re talking about four years. That’s huge.”

Engelbrecht thinks his location at the corner of Ponce and Ponce Place, less than a block from Ponce City Market, puts him at a particular advantage.

“Maybe I’m a narcissist or maybe I’m just proud, but I feel like my area is the hub,” he says. “It’s right in the middle and where everything kind of connects and opens up. Because of that, I’ve probably gained a lot more than some other people. You’re talking 10,000 people out here on the BeltLine on a sunny day.

“But I almost feel like we’re selling lifestyle more than product. We have an art gallery. We have an event space, where we do 80 weddings a year. We have 45 vendors that all have their own stores and are growing each month. I’m about to open up 30 more in 10,000 square feet. That’s a lot of artists and furniture dealers in a true market boutique.”

Back at the BeltLine patio at Kevin Rathbun Steak, Rathbun reflects on the changes he’s seen in a decade of BeltLine watching, and thinks about what the future may hold.

“For seven years, we sat out on the patio every night and all we saw was a few homeless people,” he says. “Now it could be 10,000 people a day walking down here. You could sit here for 10 minutes and count 300 people. There’s life here now.

“KR Steakbar, my other restaurant in Peachtree Hills, may eventually be on the BeltLine when everything is finished,” Rathbun says. “This thing is 22 miles long.”

He also plans to further capitalize on the BeltLine at his first restaurant. “At the original Rathbun’s, the BeltLine is within two feet of the back door,” he says. “My next step is to bring Rathbun’s to the BeltLine with a new covered outdoor bar.”

His addition will add one more place to sit on the BeltLine and watch Atlanta go by.

Just a little over a year old, Orpheus Brewing draws enthusiastic crowds of walkers and bikers to its tasting room at the cul-de-sac of Dutch Valley Place, which features a decks that overlook the gravel BeltLine Hiking Trail at the northern tip of Piedmont Park.

Photo: Orpheus Brewing co-founder Jason Pellett pulls a sample from the fermenter in May 2014. Photo: Brant Sanderlin, bsanderlin@ajc.com