SMYRNA, Georgia — It’s a typical Friday night as the regulars shuffle into what, at first glance, might look like a conference room.
Instead of the conference phone in the middle of the table, glasses of bourbon graced the settings. From the start, it should have been a telltale sign that this gathering would be much more enjoyable than the typical corporate meeting.
The bourbon tastings at Local Three are as legendary as they are insightful. Whatever you call them, it’s probably not pretentious, considering the fare accompanying this bourbon tasting includes sliders and truffle popcorn.
It’s perfectly on-brand for an Unsukay restaurant, and it’s what keeps their brand loyalists returning for more.
“Part of the reason why I think we’re still here after (COVID-19) and as we’re rounding toward 19 years is that desire and willingness to have a relationship with our guests,” Ryan Turner, an Unsukay partner, told Sightseers’ Delight. “When they’re here, they feel safe letting us know when we’re off track or didn’t hit the mark or whatever it may be in the experience or in general.”
The relationship is clear for anyone who dines at any of the Unsukay restaurants. The restaurant industry is notoriously tough, but the Unsukay team has been a model of consistency.
“We started off opening the place that we would want to go to ourselves and work at or work for,” Turner said.
When their first concept, Muss & Turner’s, opened on Feb. 8, 2005, in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna, it was a gourmet deli and sandwich shop. It also sold vinegar, pasta, cheeses, beer, and wine.
“That model wasn’t working for us,” Turner said. “And so we were listening to people coming in saying, ‘Your food’s amazing. I would really like to drink a beer or a glass of wine here, eating your food instead of taking it home with me.’
“We made a decision to change because the retail element was hard — very competitive — not our core competency,” Turner said. “So that’s when we evolved to start doing dinner in-house and changed our license to wine and beer and built a little bar and went back to what we knew because we knew how to run restaurants.”
With that, the modern Muss & Turner’s was born, and the rest was history. Since that fateful day in 2005, the Unsukay lineup of concepts has grown from from the original, Smyrna’s Muss & Turners, to include Buckhead’s Local Three, Smyrna’s MTH Pizza and their newest concept, Roshambo in Buckhead.
Check back for Part II.