CHICAGO, September 15, 2026 - Any serious student of the restaurant business knows Atlanta, host of COEX 2026, is home to some of the industry’s most intriguing experiments, from Chick-fil-A's new drinks concept, Daybright, to Shake Shack’s Kitchen Innovation Lab.
What’s more, 24 restaurant chains are based in the area, and units near a headquarters are typically where possible innovations for a brand are first given a try.
Even a brief tour of the local scene can provide more food for thought than anything served up by the business programs of Emory or Georgia Tech.
Sneaking away from COEX’s packed program can result in serious demerits and double-secret probation for attendees. But time abounds before and after the event to take in these indicators of where the food-away-from-home business is headed.
Here are the places to consider seeing in and around Atlanta:
Chick-fil-A's Daybright Coffee & Refreshment
The months-old venture addresses a slew of the trends shaping the chain restaurant market, from the focus on beverages to an emphasis on high-protein offerings (the menu features three “protein coffees,” or iced drinks topped with cold protein foam.)
The beverage selections include just about everything you’d see high-schoolers and college students drinking post-class, from cold-pressed juices to fruit-juice spritzers.
The limited food menu skews toward breakfast, with several “classic” a.m. sandwiches showcased along with English muffins stuffed with such younger generations’ favorites as mashed avocado and peanut butter and jelly. The nod to the protein craze is reflected in the line of Everyday Donuts, or fruit-flavored baked pastries each sporting six grams of protein.
The main carryover from Chick-fil-A's mother brand is being closed on Sundays; there’s not a chicken sandwich or package of waffle fries in sight.
The Daybright prototype is located in Hiram, Ga., or about a 40-minute drive from COEX’s host hotel, according to Google Maps.
Shake Shack at The Battery
Beverages also figure large in the one-of-a-kind (so far) unit that Shake Shack opened near Truist Park, home to the Atlanta Braves. The store features a full bar serving cocktails, wines, and local beers. The drinks are also available from a walk-up window.
The chain’s usual menu is offered, but the brand’s signature hot dogs can be purchased from a cart, a nod to Shake Shack’s beginnings as a hot dog cart in New York City’s Madison Square Park.
The restaurant-bar is located about a 17-minute drive from the Westin Peachtree Plaza.
Shake Shack has another local testing facility, the Shake Shack Kitchen Innovation Lab, where the chain can test new equipment, technology, and operational procedures. But it’s closed to the public.
Switchman Hall
Eighteen food-away-from-home concepts are shoehorned into this food hall, the centerpiece of a recreation area called Terminal South in an historic Atlanta neighborhood called Peoplestown.
Exactly what’s being served depends on which concepts have just rotated in or out. Recent operations have included Ruki’s Kitchen, a fast-casual venture that’s drawn considerable attention for its Ethiopian food with soul-food touches. Outlets slated to open include Everyday People Caffeine & Cocktails, featuring—what else?—a beverage-heavy menu; and a New Orleans and Philadelphia matchup called Saint Jawns that features the signature sandwiches of both cities.
The current line-up of food stalls can be found here.
The hall is about a 12-minute drive from the Westin Peachtree.
Big Bad Breakfast
If you’ve not yet tried any of the breakfast-and-lunch-only biscuit places that have been proliferating in the Southeast at a head-turning clip, here’s a unique one to sample. It’s the brainchild of New Orleans native and celebrated chef John Currence, whose accolades include multiple nominations for a James Beard Award.
The chef’s Southern roots are reflected on the menu. Featured are grits and smoked meats from artisanal sources well known to serious foodies, along with cocktails like a Bloody Mary that follows the original recipe of the drink’s supposed originator, San Francisco’s Buena Vista Cafe.
The Big Bad Breakfast in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood is one of 29 open at press time in eight Southern states.
The Varsity
No tour of Atlanta restaurants would be complete without a visit to The Varsity, a step back in time located about a biscuit’s toss from Georgia Tech.
You have to see it to believe it. What started as a six-stool counter in 1928 is today a massive quick-service outlet with accommodations for 800 dine-in customers and 600 cars.
As any Atlantan can tell you, The Varsity specializes in hot dogs, fries and onion rings that will make you rethink where to vacation. Its signature desserts are turnover-style peach and apple pies, not dissimilar in appearance from the ones offered at McDonald’s. But The Varsity makes the desserts on-premises.
Like In-N-Out, the establishment has its own ordering codewords. A Mary Brown Steak is a burger with no bun. A bag of rags is a serving of potato chips. Ask the person at the ordering counter to ring one and you’ll get onion rings. Strings is the shorthand for the hand-cut fries.
A visit may be particularly engaging for any COEX attendee from the colleges and universities segment. The Varsity was so named because founder Frank Gordy envisioned The Varsity as a concept that could be developed on or near every college campus in the nation.
His family still runs the operation, which now has eight locations in Georgia. The flagship is on North Ave., a five-minute drive or a 21-minute walk from the Westin Peachtree.
Discover a food-away-from-home outlet that fellow foodservice executives should see? Share your findings by dropping a note to promeo@foodaway.org.
For more information on COEX, click here. More information is available here.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.