Buckhead Life Restaurant Group to open second Chops Lobster Bar at downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Yards
A longtime Buckhead steak-and-seafood brand plans a major downtown expansion
Chops Lobster Bar, the flagship steakhouse-and-seafood concept operated by Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, is set to open a second Atlanta-area location in Centennial Yards, the large-scale redevelopment underway in downtown’s Gulch district. The restaurant is planned for 85 Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW and is expected to open later in 2026.
The new outpost is slated to span about 13,000 square feet. The operator has said the menu will mirror the brand’s established emphasis on seafood delivered fresh daily alongside USDA Prime aged beef, positioning the restaurant as a high-end, full-service dining option within a neighborhood still in active construction and tenant recruitment.
Design and format: familiar look, new setting
The downtown location is planned to be designed by restaurant designer Pat Kuleto. The developer and operator have indicated the interior will aim for continuity with the Buckhead restaurant’s warm, wood-forward aesthetic, aligning the new space with a brand identity that has been associated for decades with white-tablecloth steakhouse dining in Atlanta.
Chops first opened in 1989 at 70 West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead. The concept is structured as two experiences in one destination: a downstairs Lobster Bar and an upstairs Chops steakhouse. Buckhead Life Restaurant Group also operates a Chops location in Boca Raton, Florida, making the Centennial Yards opening a notable expansion of the brand’s footprint while keeping it anchored in the Atlanta market.
Centennial Yards strategy: using destination dining to build year-round traffic
Centennial Yards is being redeveloped as a multibillion-dollar, mixed-use project aimed at transforming roughly 50 acres of downtown land historically known as the Gulch into a new district of residential, commercial, entertainment and hospitality uses. The project’s development plan has been framed around reconnecting surrounding downtown areas with new streets, retail corridors and gathering spaces near major venues such as Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena.
High-profile restaurant openings are increasingly being used as early anchors in mixed-use developments, where food-and-beverage operators can help establish routine foot traffic beyond event-driven spikes. In that context, a large-format, fine-dining restaurant adds a different customer draw than fast-casual or limited-service concepts, with longer dwell times and higher per-visit spending typically associated with special-occasion dining.
Other announced tenants and what it signals for downtown’s dining mix
The Chops Lobster Bar lease joins a growing list of tenants announced for Centennial Yards, reflecting a strategy that combines local institutions with national brands and entertainment operators.
- Busy Bee Cafe (third location)
- Shake Shack
- Khao Thai Isan
- Irish Exit (pub concept)
- Live Nation (concert venue)
For downtown Atlanta, the addition of a long-established Buckhead fine-dining brand represents a shift toward attracting both visitors and local diners to a district intended to function beyond game days and large events.
Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, which operates multiple well-known Atlanta restaurants, has also been recognized recently by the Georgia Restaurant Association, underscoring the company’s continuing prominence in the region’s hospitality sector as it expands into one of downtown’s largest redevelopment efforts.