When
you've risen through the ranks of one of the United States' most successful
restaurant groups until you've become the president, what do you do
as an encore? For Karen Bremer, former president of Atlanta's Peasant
Restaurants and Mick's Restaurants, the answer was to become an owner.
As
President of the Peasant Restaurant Division of the Atlanta Dining
Group, Bremer was the chief officer in a $26 million, multi-unit,
high visibility city-wide operation. In her first year as president,
she increased the revenues of her division by six percent, and overall
profits by an impressive seven percent.
After three years as president of the Peasant Restaurants, she assumed
ownership of two of its most popular restaurants, Dailey's and City
Grill, and began her own Atlanta-based company, Great Hospitality,
LLC.. The two restaurants are quite different architecturally and
in cuisine, but both offer an exceptional dining experience, and exhibit
Bremer's commitment to excellence.
City
Grill (which we reviewed in the first edition of Doc's News) opened
in 1989 in the Hurt Building, in space originally occupied by the South
East Federal Reserve Bank and now listed on the National Registry of
Historic Places.The feeling of opulence and grandeur often found in
old established clubs in New York & Europe surrounds diners there
as they enjoy City Grill's "American food straight up with a twist".
Since
1981, Dailey's has occupied a two-story renovated warehouse in downtown
Atlanta. The landmark restaurant prides itself on what it calls "creative
American cuisine".
READ DOC'S ACCOUNT OF TWO
RECENT DINNERS
AT BREMER'S CITY GRILL:
Bremer is currently president of the Georgia Restaurant Association
(GRA) and treasurer of the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association
(GHTA). She is on the board of directors of the Atlanta Convention and
Visitors' Bureau (ACVB) and a member of the executive board of the Georgia
Chapter of Teaching Effective Alcohol Management (TEAM). Bremer is one
of only two women to be named Food Service Industry Leader of the Year
(1997) by GHTA.
CANOE—A
RIVERSIDE ADVENTURE
Before it became an acclaimed and awards-winning
restaurant, Atlanta’s Canoe was known as Robinson’s
Tropical Gardens, a dance and drinking venue that was part of the
racial underground in the segregated South. White kids from nearby
Buckhead danced to the music of Little Richard, Otis Redding, Big Joe
Turner and Big Momma Thornton.
The only reminders of this past are
some photos on Canoe’s walls. Most guests likely aren’t
overly concerned with Canoe’s history, and are much more
involved with the delights from Executive Chef Gary L. Mennie’s
kitchen and the exceptional wines from a cellar that garnered Wine
Spectator’s “Award of Excellence.”
Canoe is easily one of the region’s
top restaurants. That’s been undisputed for some time now. What
adds immeasurably to Canoe’s exceptional reputation is
management's dedication to its wine offering. A constantly updated
wine list reflects a cellar stocked with an eclectic collection from
various regions. Many are available by the glass suggesting that customer
care is a top priority.
Canoe, "On the Chattahoochee River where Buckhead meets
Vinings" is a Mobil Four Star Restaurant and also boasts AAA’s
Four Diamond Award. Both are well deserved.
DocsNews,
(www.docsnews.com), is produced, published by and is a subsidiary of Lehmann
Desloge Media, Inc.
Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. Doc Lawrence can be reached at: editors@docsnews.com
CANOE—A
RIVERSIDE ADVENTURE
