Niko Karatassos, President of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group

Tell me about Buckhead Life Restaurant Group and its background

My father opened the first Buckhead Life restaurant in 1979; it was our flagship restaurant for many years. He was then approached by the owner of Lenox Mall at the time, while he didn't have any intentions on opening more than one restaurant, the Lenox Mall owner made an offer my father couldn’t turn it down. This led to the opening of Atlanta Fish Market, originally at the backside of Lenox Mall where the food court is today. After that success, he continued to open up new concept after new concept. The reason why our restaurants have such strong staying power is because they each offer very “identifiable” food concepts, done at a very high level of quality, execution and build out. I think everyone knows what they’re going to get when they come to a Buckhead Life restaurant.

Tell me about your staff within the restaurant group..

We have a great group of some of the most talented hospitality professionals that you’d find in the United States. Some people have spent most of their careers within the company. We all work really hard together side by side and there’s a lot of trust involved in the relationships; it’s been one of the calling cards of the company…our people.

Describe for my readers the difference between Chops - The Lobster Bar vs Chops - The Restaurant

Chops opened first in 1988, after about 10 years, we acquired the lower level space and turned it into the Lobster Bar. The menus at each are very similar, basically the same; most people don’t realize that. The main difference is the ambiance. Some guests prefer the ambiance of the Lobster Bar and some guests prefer Chops, and we have many guests who like to dine at both. We also have the private Club next to the Lobster Bar. The Club at Chops has a cigar bar and dining room, but it’s only available to members. When you put all of it together between Chops, The Lobster Bar and the Club – the experience is at another level of polish and sophistication; it’s Hollywood in Atlanta.