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Rathbun's opens. Former Buckhead Lifer Kevin Rathbun has opened his namesake restaurant in the old Stove Works building in Inman Park.
Rathbun's drew 80 patrons on its first night open (May 27th) and then drew more than 110 patrons that Saturday night despite the Memorial Day holiday.


"It was a very manageable crowd, and it worked out to our benefit because we didn't want to start out walking on two left feet and making mistakes," Rathbun said. "Everything is in great shape heading into summer."

Rathbun's serves contemporary American cuisine ranging in price from $6 for tapas-style "small plates" to $33 for what Rathbun calls "second mortgage plates" -- a reference to his large personal investment in the new restaurant.

Rathbun and his business partners have invested more than $300,000 into the restaurant, a figure that would have been much higher if the previous tenant at 112 Krog St. hadn't also been a restaurant (it was called Virginia's, and it shut down abruptly last winter).

The opening of Rathbun's marks the first time Rathbun has been on his own in the restaurant industry.

Rathbun was most recently corporate executive chef for Buckhead Life Restaurant Group Inc. and was formerly the head chef at Bluepointe and NAVA. The Kansas City native also had stints at Dallas' Baby Routh and he once worked under celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.

Rathbun's is managed by Cliff Bramble (formerly of NAVA and Marriott Corp.) and the pastry chef is former Buckhead Lifer Kirk Parks.