What kind of FAFH market is COEX’s host city of Atlanta?

CHICAGO, January 28, 2026 — Even with 40,000 outlets feeding more than 42 million residents and visitors annually, Atlanta's food-away-from-home industry is sometimes denied the recognition it’s due as one of the nation’s foodservice powerhouses. It may not be New York City or Los Angeles, but it’s no Podunk, either. 

Indeed, it’s easy to see how the Southern metropolis could develop an inferiority complex. Its signature dish is arguably lemon pepper chicken wings—unbreaded wings steeped in a sinus-clearing butter and pepper mix before being deep-fried. The dish is to many Atlantans what deep-dish pizza is to Chicago or lobster rolls are to Portland, Me.

Yet some cynics dismiss the dish as nothing more than a slight twist on Buffalo wings, the finger food that put the upstate New York city on the culinary map.

Fast becoming an Atlanta cult favorite is the cheesesteak, the sandwich of thinly sliced steak and grilled toppings whipped up in local institutions like Big Dave’s and Woody’s. But locals with suspected northern sympathies snipe that it’s just a knock-off of the sandwich that Philadelphia made famous. They suggest the Southern city might as well claim the Liberty Bell as its own.

Never mind that the version offered by Atlanta’s Fred’s Meat & Bread prompted the Michelin Guide to remark, “Don’t tell Philly, but this iteration easily put many there to shame.”

And about that Michelin guide:  An Atlanta edition didn’t even exist until three years ago. That’s despite 20,147 restaurants calling the city home, with 111 self-identifying as fine-dining places.

A statistical profile of Atlanta, as provided by IFMA The Food Away from Home’s Scope market analysis tool, suggests the city is a textbook illustration of foodservice’s breadth. In addition to its restaurants, the metropolis sports foodservice facilities within 113 hospitals, 352 retirement communities, 114 colleges and universities, 2,560 K-12 schools, 103 movie theaters, and 4,014 convenience stores.

The local food-away-from-home outlets are supported by an average annual household income of $73,942, an extraordinarily high mean compared with the figures of the more than 100 markets profiled in Scope. 

All told, the local food-away-from-home market annually buys about $8 billion in goods and supplies.

Also highly unusual is the city’s ethnic diversity. Atlanta ranks as one of the nation’s standout melting pots, with non-White residents accounting for 50.4% of the population.

That distinction is echoed in the diversity of the city’s restaurants. About 266 specialize in African food and 224 specialize in Caribbean fare, reflecting Atlanta’s large Black population.

The city’s unofficial status as a capital of the South is also evident in its array of restaurants. Finding a breakfast place that doesn’t feature biscuits or chicken and waffles can be a challenge.

Among the landmark dining establishments is Mary Mac’s Tea Room, the last of what was once a 16-unit local chain of lunch and dinner outlets. Since 1945, the menu has featured such Southern staples as fried green tomatoes, fried okra, fried chicken livers, and deviled eggs. First-time visitors are treated to a free cup of pot likker with a side of cornbread. 

Everything can be washed down with sweet tea or a Frosted Orange, the creamy, citrusy signature drink of The Varsity, the quick-service behemoth that claims to be the nation’s largest drive-in. With 600 slots for customers’ cars, the downtown landmark’s boast is seldom challenged.

Atlanta has long been an incubator of new restaurant concepts and outright experiments. Here’s some you may want to see while in town.