Chef Kevin Gillespie’s Red Beard Restaurants and Meriwether Companies Form RedWether Collaborative to Help Chefs Get Started in the Biz

Talent and exciting food culture spread across the U.S. The challenge is helping new chefs reach diners so more folks can enjoy the experience. Enter RedWether Collaborative, a partnership between chef Kevin Gillespie’s Red Beard Restaurants and innovative hospitality developers Meriwether Companies that takes the food hall trend to a new level by encouraging chefs to try a new concept or open their first restaurant. In a nutshell, “I have been wanting to help chefs try a new concept or open their first restaurant, and I finally have the right partner to do this,” says Gillespie. “As a restaurateur, I think mostly about food and service. Meriwether thinks about the setting and the overall experiences. Together, we envision a curated, micro-restaurant environment where aspiring entrepreneurs get to take the next step toward their dreams with RedWether as a support structure behind them. It’s a unique hybrid of restaurant and incubator.” Noting that our nation’s progressive food culture extends beyond major cities, RedWether Collaborative is choosing Nashville and Kansas City for initial ventures. The company’s first location is slated to open in Kansas City in mid-2018 with Nashville’s Germantown Union mixed-use development next on the horizon. RedWether will control service and bars inside each space, giving chef tenants the ability to focus on their food without other restaurant and bar burdens. Red Beard Restaurants is the parent company that oversees Atlanta chef, restaurateur, speaker and cookbook author Kevin Gillespie’s food and beverage ventures, including his restaurants Gunshow and Revival, all of his merchandise and Red Beard Special Events, which operates Communion Cantina, his BBQ pop up Terminus City and Gamechanger, opening in August 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Meriwether Companies is a multi-disciplined, experiential real estate development and investment firm focused on designing distinctive and interesting hospitality and residential projects located in resort communities and select urban settings.

Merry Beardsmas, Everyone! Chef Kevin Gillespie’s Holiday Gifting Extravaganza Now Underway

Turn to the Santa sporting a red beard and apron for chef-inspired holiday gifts. Atlanta chef, restaurateur, speaker and cookbook author Kevin Gillespie’s Beardsmas is back for its second year, and the Beardsmas bag spills over with new delights and returning favorites. Head to Red Beard Merch for these gifts or other hats, t-shirts and Red Beard items that are the perfect additions to your holiday checklist.

What’s New:

• Gunshow Golden Ticket bidding begins Cyber Monday, Nov. 28 at redbeardmerch.com. Bid on a one-of-a-kind “golden ticket” redeemable for an immediate 7:30 p.m. reservation for four (private event nights excluded), glass of complimentary Champagne for each guest and a complimentary round of cocktails any time you dine at Gunshow through 2017. Bidding starts at $1 and lasts for 72 hours with a portion of the winning bid benefitting the nonprofit Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry campaign. Sorry, dinner and additional drinks are not included.
• Shop the Peachtree Road Farmers Market with Kevin explores the state’s largest producer-only farmers market on May 13, 2017. Chef Kevin and a small group begin with a pre-opening tour followed by time to shop and meet the farmers and capped by a post-market cooking demo with Kevin (15 spots available; $99 each).
• Personalized Voicemail/Audio Greeting by Chef Kevin lets them think the chef is answering your phone. Keep it to a clean 30-second message ($25).
• Gunshow’s Joey Ward Chefs Dinner in Your Kitchen, a four-course dinner for 10 with wine to impress friends or business clients. (Three will be sold, $5,000 each).

Beardsmas Back by Demand:

• Go Hog Wild with Terminus City BBQ for 100 served up by Chef Kevin and a keg of Kevin’s favorite beer ($6,000)
• Pair of 2017 Hired Guns Season Tickets for Gunshow’s guest chef series ($1,000)
• Private Dinner with Kevin for you and 10 friends, with customized signed menus and autographed cookbooks ($10,000)
• Gunshow Cocktail Class ($75 per class)
• Red Beard Restaurants Stocking Stuffers – a few of Kevin’s Red Beard faves all packaged up in a company-branded bag ($40)

Red Beard Restaurants is the parent company for Gillespie’s restaurants Communion, Gunshow and Revival, his BBQ pop-up Terminus City and all of his merchandise.

Atlanta Community Food Bank Roasts City’s Hospitality Titans Kevin Gillespie, Ford Fry and Linton Hopkins Nov. 7

Well done, gents. Kevin Gillespie, Linton Hopkins and Ford Fry won’t be cooking, they’ll be roasted while chefs from their restaurants prepare a three-course “Legend of Atlanta Roast” dinner in their honor on Monday, Nov. 7. Chefs Andreas Müller of Revival and Joey Ward of Gunshow rep Gillespie’s Red Beard Restaurants. The elegant affair at Legendary Events’ new Flourish space benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank as it gears up for holiday and winter food needs. Jenn Hobby and Jeff Dauler of Star 94.1 FM emcee the evening. Read more about Gillespie on the event website.

Feed Your Gift Stash with 12 Days of #Beardsmas

Jingle all the way to Redbeard Restaurants to find squeals, steals, meals and more gifts for the foodies on your list during the 12 Days of Beardsmas. Gunpowder finishing salt, Revival’s top-secret fried chicken rub and a private dinner made by chef Kevin—say no more! Stay tuned to Instagram,Twitter and Facebook for #Beardsmas deal-of-the-day videos. And while you’re checking out these sweet deals, don’t forget to donate to Quality Care for Children, a Georgia resource for information, assistance and support in securing high-quality early learning experiences for infants and young children.

Chefs and Mixologists Map Out 2016 Hot Trends

We asked some of the South’s best chefs and mixologists to check their GPS readings (Gourmet Prediction Senses) and share directions on where they see food and cocktail trends heading in 2016. Microscopic portions? Kale kudos? Recalculating.

• Spice spikes -- Southern Gentleman and Gypsy Kitchen chef Matthew Ridgway plans to add depth with principal players from eastern lands: black garlic, black lime, black cardamom, white cardamom, Aleppo pepper and wolfberries (a.k.a. goji berries).
• New cuts, grain gains -- Moxie Kitchen + Cocktails chef Tom Gray in Jacksonville, Florida looks for novel meats such as chicken livers, pig ears and flank steak to land on plates. Another kernel of insight points to alternative grains, emphasizing whole and ancient varieties.
• Origins -- Atlanta’s Ray’s Restaurants consultant Chad Crete predicts a vegetable takeover as diners pursue healthier eating habits. Lineage is equally important. Customers want to know where their food originates and are seeking out local produce, sustainable fish and free-range and hormone- and antibiotic-free meats. Moxie’s Gray dittos Crete, noting diners want the backstory on ingredients, enthusiastically supporting smaller carbon footprints generated by locally made products and urban farming businesses. Ridgway unpacks further, suggesting the deepening affection for Southern cooking will lead to greater dependence on local farmers for heirloom varieties of produce, beans and grains. Bellina Alimentari creative director Alice Fabi sees land sustainability as a critical 2016 food path priority as menus seek the essence of food and prime ingredients.
• Oysters -- Doug Turbush of Seed Kitchen & Bar, Stem Wine Bar and soon-to-open Drift Fish House & Oyster Bar offers pearls of wisdom, foreseeing a bright future for briny oysters as devotee interest increases in oyster slurping rituals and the nuances of oysters from various regions, terroir and growing methods. Flavor-masking cocktail sauces and horseradish will be tossed overboard.
• Prized portions -- Bantam + Biddy and Chick-a-Biddy chef Lance Gummere cries “fowl” on high-priced, minuscule portions garnished with dabs of purée and micro greens. Enough already. Folks want to share their food when dining out, Gummere believes, which necessitates restaurants filling plates with identifiable food.
• Healthy and hop to it -- Chef, restaurant owner, speaker and cookbook author Kevin Gillespie of Red Beard Restaurants sees an uptick in consumer demand for faster, healthier options. Not salad bars but lighter cuisine served at fast-food speed. Crete of Ray’s Restaurants affirms, millennials, soon to be the nation’s largest demographic group, want local ingredients in chef-driven dishes served fast and affordably.
• Kitchen cocktails -- Johnny’s Hideaway bartender Shawn McCoy sees bartenders shaking up the kitchen for cocktail perks such as freshly squeezed juices, herbs, spices and ingredients like chipotle and balsamic vinegar. Ice age? McCoy picks away at standard issue cubes as mixologists seek quality ice for drinks.
• Be sensitive -- Food sensitivities are here to stay and gluten-free demands will keep rising, according to Milton’s Cuisine & Cocktails and The Big Ketch Roswellchef Derek Dollar.
• Tiki talk -- Amid the predictions, Kevin Gillespie would like to see one flashback to retro Tiki bars like Trader Vic’s!  

Ho, ho, ho and Merry…Beardsmas!

Skip the long lines at the mall—Chef Kevin Gillespie’s Red Beard Restaurants offers up one-stop shopping for every food lover on your gift list! The 12 Days of Beardsmas allows you to bundle up great savings on 12 of the most unique gifts and one-of-a-kind experiences. What’s on the menu? Private cooking classes with Chef Kevin, Gunshow and Revival swag, season tickets to next year’s "Hired Guns" series and stocking stuffers galore. Log onto redbeardmerch.com to grab these limited-time gifts while supplies last! And stay tuned toInstagram, Twitter and Facebook for #Beardsmas deal-of-the-day videos.

Spread even more holiday cheer at the checkout by donating to Quality Care for Children, a Georgia resource for information, assistance and support in securing high-quality early learning experiences for infants and young children.

October is Red Beard Restaurants Month at Garnish & Gather

Garnish & Gather, Atlanta’s organic dinner kit delivery service enabling home cooks to prepare their own restaurant-worthy meals in 30 minutes or less, is partnering with chef Kevin Gillespie’s Red Beard Restaurants in October. Four Red Beard Restaurants chefs are providing dinner recipes using Garnish & Gather’s local, farm-fresh ingredients. During Red Beard Restaurants month, look for stuffed Swedish sausage gratin with apple, onion and cheese from Revival executive chef Andreas Müller the week of October 5; pasta puttanesca with spaghetti squash from Gunshow executive chef Joey Ward the week of October 12; roasted chicken with sage and lemon caper sauce, fingerling potatoes, snow peas and shitake mushrooms from Revival executive sous chef Rémi Granger the week of October 19; and Korean barbecued pork bulgogi from Gunshow and Revival owner/chef Kevin Gillespie the week of October 26. Meal kits can be picked up on Monday of each week or delivered to a home or office. See website for order deadlines and more details. 

Kevin Gillespie Launches Red Beard Restaurants

Red-bearded Atlanta chef, restaurateur and cookbook author Kevin Gillespie is launching Red Beard Restaurants to oversee his Atlanta dining concepts and provide consulting services to other food and beverage start-ups. The company was created to maintain consistency at both Gunshow and Revival, Gillespie’s second restaurant slated to open in Decatur this month, but also will offer its leaders’ restaurant development experience to help other restaurateurs get off the ground. Red Beard’s executive team includes longtime friend, restaurateur and business associate Marco Shaw as director of food and beverage and M. Blake Morley as director of development. Morley first worked with Gillespie at Woodfire Grill and has helped the celebrity chef turn ideas into reality as Gunshow’s opening general manager. In addition to employing a small sales team to coordinate events at Gunshow and Revival, the company will oversee all of Gillespie’s merchandise.