Mary Mac's Tea Room

In the postwar years, enterprising women established eateries all over Atlanta, but took to calling them “tea rooms” because they were forbidden from opening restaurants. Mary Mac’s, founded by Mary MacKenzie in 1945, was one of 16 such tea rooms to open during this era, and is the only one that still survives. What started with a single dining room has since expanded into one of Atlanta’s largest restaurants, but it’s still 1945 in the kitchen: Every morning, corn is shucked, greens are washed, breads and desserts are baked, and chicken is fried, all by hand, all from scratch, exactly as it’s always been.

This dedication to keeping things unchanged has cemented Mary Mac’s as one of the very best and most famous Southern restaurants in America, with guests over the years ranging from James Brown to Beyonce to Jimmy Carter. In fact, it’s such an icon that in 2011 the Georgia House of Representatives passed a resolution dubbing it “Atlanta’s Dining Room.” From legendary golden-brown peach cobbler to timeless Southern sides to hand-rolled cinnamon rolls to crispy, crunchy, fried chicken, Mary Mac’s Tea Room is a true taste of the South – and it’s finally shipping nationwide!