BYOB: Build Your Own Brand
How Atlanta restaurants take their artistry beyond the food by working with local artists to create branding strategies that speak to the city’s rich culture.
Atlanta’s culture bleeds beyond its borders, and its effect on the hospitality industry is no exception. To share their point of view, chefs have teamed up with artists to brand and separate themselves from the pack. From Glide Pizza's QR code playlists printed on its boxes to the incredible restaurant design at Talat Market, restaurants get that branding positively impacts the bottom line.
Atlanta has always been a haven for creatives. Centers for art, such as the Savannah College of Arts and Design, act as a beacon for every manner of artist from around the country. The Hip-Hop, Rap, and R&B music industry has embraced it for a long time. Hollywood transplanted and transformed the city into Yallywood. "Atlanta is such a breeding ground for creativity because of how enigmatic a city it is," says Jarrett Stieber, chef-owner of Little Bear in Atlanta's historic Summerhill neighborhood. "People who aren't from Atlanta have no idea what it's like, and those of us who have grown up here also can't explain what makes Atlanta 'Atlanta-like.'”
Atlanta is enigmatic, but the foundation has long been here. "It's a huge booming metropolis but still a small town in the trees. It's old money and long Southern family lines, transplants and young hot shots moving in from New York, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood," says Stieber. "It's rich, and it's poor. It's rap, and it's country, and it's punk rock. It's very strongly American, and it's also full of immigrants from all over the world. No city in the country is a greater fever dream mashup than Atlanta. This city is still the Wild West when it comes to creativity; just do whatever feels good to you and make it good, and people will support it."
When looking to create branding for his pop-up Eat Me Speak Me in 2013, and years later when opening up his brick-and-mortar, Stieber turned to long-time friend Alvin Diec. Diec's outfit, Family Bros., does everything from designing coffee cans to apparel. "His remarkable humor always surprises me with how random, eccentric, and bizarrely perfect it is,” says Siteber. One of Diec's menus for Stieber many years back simply listed the prix fixe dinner as "Just, fuck me up, fam."
Some creatives even toe the line between branding and ownership. One such man is Bart Sasso, founder of the creative agency Sasso & Co. and a stakeholder in Ticonderoga Club. Sasso was a key player in leading the Club's irreverent and funky point of view, designing their menu, signage, and merch. "Restaurant branding can be a great differentiator," says Sasso. "It's often people's first experience with the restaurant, flipping through Instagram or lists online. Recommendation culture is big; you want people to mention your name, and branding is a big part of that. If people are willing to put energy and thoughtfulness into the branding, then it’s reasonable to expect that the food and service will be thoughtful as well."
glide pizza
how crispy express
TKO
Sasso's work is everywhere in Atlanta and beyond. Still, he does more than just put together menus with funky graphics or create restaurant mascots as he did for Chef Will Silbernagel of How Crispy Express. When the owners of Lloyd's were developing their space, they turned to Sasso, who helped curate the restaurant’s old-school, 70s bar feel. Sasso also had some fun making graphics for the illuminated backlit boxes above the bar. “Later, it became more like merchandising things on the menu with old-school pizza parlor-inspired graphics and typography."
Some big contributing factors in Atlanta's success are the city’s hustler spirit and big heart. "We do great work, and it affects everybody around us. We develop innovative ideas; people take them to other places and run with them. People are looking to us," says Brian Steely of Steely Works. His agency has acquired a long list of clients from Nike to bands to cannabis and spirits companies, and of course, restaurants. Steely has worked on the branding at Wylie & Rum, Argosy, and friend Rob Birdsong’s Glide Pizza. "Atlanta influences everything. The live music, art, and great restaurants: it's the culture. It helps inspire us."
Living in Atlanta, you’ll often hear "Atlanta influences everything." Started by Bem Joiner, Atlanta Influences Everything is a brand and creative consultancy focused on "combining civic, corporate, and cultural understanding to harness the influence of Atlanta culture to do good and connect communities." Born out of frustration that large companies outside the city were capitalizing on Atlanta’s culture, Joiner and his partners took the narrative back, with the goal of engaging with their community. Now, Atlanta Influences Everything merch can be seen around the country, adding to the city’s reputation.
Sasso says, "Atlanta [artists] are in an arms race to see who can create the coolest concept, execute it, and deliver on it. Many say Atlanta doesn't have an identity, but we felt we could make our own identity, and food was a massive part. There is an emerging art scene in Atlanta where we're grappling with the Southerness of our city, but wanting to be progressive at the same time. Tension creates wonderful art, whether it be graphic art, or food and beverage."
New artists and culinarians are taking note of what people like Diec and Sasso have done to build their brands. Designers like the Creative Circus are making branded hot sauce for Obama's favorite Atlanta hangout Fishmonger. Funky pop-ups with lots of personality, like TKO, led by Chef Lino Yi, embrace promotion and branding as they build. Yi has done everything from playing with his tagline, "Food and flavors that'll knock you out!" to putting a date with himself up for auction. “I think it's important for chefs to show their authentic personalities when it comes to marketing their restaurant,” says Yi. “On Instagram, I like to keep it fun, spunky, and casual when sharing things. TKO is an authentic representation of my Korean-American upbringing. It is important for showing who I am, what I serve, and what we’re all about in order to build new and ongoing connections with customers."
Wherever you land on the chicken and egg of it all regarding the Atlanta creative conversation, the restaurant community and the artists helping them are making an impact on the city. A new class of creatives, whether artists or chefs, are planting ideas in Atlanta’s fertile soil. “The sky's the limit at this point, and the city's high bar of creativity will only make the next generation hungrier," says Sasso. We can't wait to see what they do.
