“Bar Rescue” host Jon Taffer opens Alpharetta restaurant
ALPHARETTA, Ga. - "A bar is bar, but a tavern has soul," proclaims the website for Taffer’s Tavern — and with the quick snip of a ribbon this week, Alpharetta’s booming culinary scene got a lot more soulful.
Alpharetta city leaders gathered alongside famed hospitality expert and "Bar Rescue" star Jon Taffer Monday to officially celebrate the opening of Taffer’s Tavern, a casual-dining restaurant featuring what the creator calls the "kitchen of the future." Located in the heart of Alpharetta on Main Street, the restaurant was designed to honor traditional taverns while incorporating modern technology to enhance safety and hygiene inside. Taffer — also a bestselling author and entrepreneur — says he came up with the concept prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that the focus on health and safety is an obvious match for the current global situation.
"For example, we have hand-scanning equipment, so that after our employees wash their hands, they put it under this device and it verifies that there's no bacterial or viral matter on their hands," says Taffer. "My employees have the cleanest hands in the restaurant business."
Of course, we can’t talk about Taffer’s Tavern without discussing what’s on the menu. Highlights include main plates like the braised short rib (slow-braised for 72 hours and topped with demi-glace sauce), Tavern fish & chips (featuring beer-battered cod), and sandwiches like the BLT (that’s pork belly, lettuce and tomato). As a modern take on the neighborhood pub, Taffer’s Tavern also features a long list of cocktails, beer and wine.
Although future franchise locations are planned for major U.S. cities, Metro Atlanta is the first to get a taste of Taffer’s Tavern.
"We chose this community because, look at it; it's an incredible community. We're in the middle of the town square, there's farmer's markets here, there's great events in this town," says the "Bar Rescue" star.
Click the video player to get a look at Monday's ribbon-cutting ceremony, and click here for more information on the restaurant and to check out its menu.
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