Quick Bites for April 24: NFA Burger departs Truist Park, food stall changes at Sweet Auburn Curb Market

NFA Burger shuts down operations at Truist Park

It’s been widely reported that NFA Burger is no longer at Truist Park, a departure coming three weeks after opening at the new Outfield Market food hall. And while owner Billy Kramer understands people are a bit bewildered by his decision to close down the NFA Burger stall so quickly, he told Rough Draft nothing nefarious led to the closure, nor is he in dispute with concessions operator Delaware North. 

The decision, Kramer said, came down to prioritizing NFA Burger’s upcoming Alpharetta location and not spreading himself too thin.  

“We weren’t running the booth. It wasn’t our people. We were supplying the ingredients and the recipes. We were supposed to supply oversight, too, making sure everyone was trained and doing things the right way,” Kramer said. “But it became apparent that we were going to be spending more time there than we thought, and then the opening of the Avalon location was accelerating more quickly than anticipated.” 

Kramer approached Alex Brounstein of Grindhouse Killer Burgers, who already operates two stalls at the ballpark, to replace NFA Burger. Then Kramer pitched the idea to Delaware North. With an agreement reached between Kramer, Brounstein, and Delaware North, the transition of the stall from NFA Burger to Grindhouse took place in just a few days. 

“Having never done this sort of thing before, I thought it would be a little easier to manage this location. But with Alpharetta opening faster than we thought, I had to make a call,” Kramer said. “I thought it was going to take three to four months to get my liquor license for Alpharetta. The attorneys got it in 40 days.”

“Anybody who knows me knows I’m not going to draw something out, but if Alex had not been on board or Delaware North had not been okay with this, NFA Burger would still be there,” he added.

Located in the former Rina space at Avalon, NFA Burger in Alpharetta will include indoor and outdoor seating with TVs, a walk-up window for takeout orders, an expanded food menu, and a full bar. Kramer anticipates a late-spring opening.

A Dunwoody resident, Kramer first began popping up with his smashburgers at area restaurants before opening a permanent location of NFA Burger six years ago inside the Chevron market on Chamblee Dunwoody Road. Since then, Kramer’s burgers have racked up accolade after accolade and been recognized by national and local publications. 

Food stall change-ups at Sweet Auburn Curb Market

Phew’s Pies, a popular pizza delivery service owned by Matthew “Phew” Foster, will open next month at Sweet Auburn Curb Market. Foster posted an Instagram reel showing work in progress on the pizza stall, including the installation of a new pizza oven. Foster leans into Atlanta with the flavors for his pizzas, like a lemon pepper wet pie topped with lemon pepper wet wings and an oxtail and ricotta cheese pizza topped with stewed carrots, butter beans, green and yellow onions, and Scotch Bonnet. 

Sadly, South African food stall Panbury’s Pies next door will close on April 26 after 11 years at Sweet Auburn Curb Market. “Like many small businesses, we’ve faced increasing challenges, from inflation to rising food costs and the ongoing pressures of running a labor-intensive business in an uncertain economy that is increasingly unfavorable to small family businesses,” the Instagram post reads. But this may not be the end for Panbury’s Pies, as the post also indicates owners Lauren Duxbury and Adam Panayiotou are working on a way to continue selling their hand pies in Atlanta. Stay tuned. 

It’s festival szn!

It’s another big festival weekend in Atlanta, with the Inman Park Festival and parade, the Atlanta Film Festival, Amplify Decatur music festival, the debut of Taste of Marietta, and the return of Streets Alive to Peachtree Street on Sunday. Food will be an integral part of all five festivals, whether through local restaurants in these neighborhoods or food trucks and pop-ups serving at the events.