Now Reopened in Alpharetta, Foundation Social Eatery Makes Its Triumphant Return
After closing in Roswell two years ago, Foundation Social Eatery finally returns to the dining scene, reopening Friday, December 9, in downtown Alpharetta.
“I’ve been out of the kitchen for about two years. And I will say there has been a bit of pressure to come back better than before,” chef Mel Toledo says of reopening his restaurant. “But after the soft opening and friends and family nights, I’m feeling confident we are going to do extremely well.”He credits his team of chefs, including longtime chef de cuisine David Williams, and operating partner Nick Hassiotis for sticking by him over the last two years during construction and embracing his vision for the restaurant at its new Alpharetta location.
Toledo first announced the closure of Foundation Social Eatery in 2020. Its closure came as a shock to regulars, many of whom had been dining at the restaurant since it opened on Holcomb Bridge Road in 2014. But Toledo promised he was searching for a new spot to reopen Foundation Social Eatery. Five months later, in May 2021, Toledo found it on Roswell Street in downtown Alpharetta.
The Alpharetta location features a similar layout to the Roswell restaurant, and even includes a few familiar design elements from the former location Toledo kept and stored.
“We wanted to give that same familiar feeling of the other restaurant to our regulars, but with higher end finishings. It’s much more refined,” Toledo says of the design by ai3. “But those things we kept from the old restaurant location bring in that sense of familiarity. That was very important to us.”
With seating for up to 160 people and two patios, one of which is covered, the physical footprint of Foundation Social Eatery expands in Alpharetta. The patio spaces were key to the decision to open in this location, Toledo says, to capture foot traffic in the suburban city’s now bustling downtown dining district. The covered patio offers table seating for the restaurant, while a second patio features lounge seating for people waiting for a table or who want to grab drinks and hang out.