Lori & Jim Casal/Lucky Dog Chicago Eatery
Located at 1175 Buford Highway in Suwanee, Lucky Dog Chicago Eatery is proud to offer the true Taste of Chicago with Southern Hospitality. Serving up Vienna Beef and a variety of Italian Sandwiches. Good for families, groups and kids, they offer home delivery, catering, take-out and of course walk-ins.
Sylina Libasci/Branch House Tavern
At Branch House Tavern, it’s all about welcoming you to their house! They provide great food and drinks in an atmosphere that’s exciting, friendly and FUN FUN FUN! Join them and watch great sports with all of your fanatic friends, and while you are there, you will be treated like family by their friendly, knowledgeable staff who keep things fun and take service very serious.
Branch House Tavern may not look like the typical BBQ joint, but make no bones about it, their barbeque is very authentic. They start with carefully selected top quality meats and always smoke daily in house. You will smell their briskets, butts, ribs, sausage, turkey, and chicken being prepared to perfection each and every day. Combine their homemade rubs and sauces with their serious commitment to smoked fresh barbeque, and you have a flavor that is easily the best barbeque around… period!
Edmund Nelson/Edee’s Place BBQ
During a family reunion in 2015, Edmund Nelson talked his cousin Dee from Florida into moving to Georgia so they could open a barbecue restaurant. They opened a food stand next to the Mini Mart on Harbins Road in Dacula. It was called Edee’s Place BBQ to represent Edmund and Dee’s names. After a few months of success, they drove to Alabama and purchased a food truck. The popularity of the food truck prompted them to look for space in the Dacula area. They found a closed restaurant off of Liam Avenue and formally opened Edee’s Place in April 2017. Edmund designed the restaurant after his mother’s kitchen. Everyone that comes to Edee’s Place should feel like they are at home eating his family’s recipes. Since Edee’s Place opened, the restaurant has hosted several events, a variety of patrons, and continues to grow! Come by and enjoy! Edee’s Place BBQ was a recent winner of the Reader’s Choice Award for 2018.
Cheryl Brantley/Café 120
Café 120 started as an idea. The idea of a private coffee house whose focus is not only achieving the best possible coffee experience, but also connecting with the local community. Café 120 was opened with the idea of building relationships that bring out the best in their coffee and their community. “Local” is at the heart of what they do. Café 120 will strive to buy local, be a community gathering place, and craft truly artisan coffee.
Stephen Burge/Johnny’s Pizza – Lawrenceville
At 16 years old, Bruce Jackson was flipping pizza at the original Johnny’s Pizza in Manlius, NY. He loved the business of serving piping hot pizza always made with fresh, authentic ingredients to happy customers, sitting down with the locals on a Friday night for a slice, or feeding the high school football team after a win. He saw an opportunity and he wanted to build his own. Most of Johnny’s franchise operators are familiar with the feeling.
In three short years, Bruce opened a Johnny’s Pizza just off the Syracuse University campus with Johnny’s younger brother Rosario. After six years of success, Bruce and a new business partner, Scott Allen, were ready for a move to warmer weather and Atlanta, GA is where they landed. In 1977, Bruce and Scott wrote “Now Open” on a pizza box, stuck it in the front window of their storefront in Atlanta, and started selling pizza. One year later, they opened a second store. As entrepreneurs, they saw bigger potential in the brand and the business model they so carefully fine-tuned. In 1994, they officially began to franchise.
In 2003, Johnny’s needed a unique name to operate on a national level, so they gave Johnny a last name and Johnny Brusco’s Pizza was born. Now a new generation of leadership is guiding Johnny’s Pizza into the future. Bruce’s son, Luke, is expanding the business across the country and focusing on growth in both dine-in and delivery segments. They’re also focusing on ways to increase individual store volume growth, including new seasonal menu offerings, and an expanded craft beer selection.
Johnny’s Pizza – Lawrenceville
Suzanne Cartwright & Brandon Failla/Friends American Grill
Friends American Grill is a neighborhood grill & bar. They are locally owned and operated by Ray Stanjevich and Suzanne Cartwright, with locations in Dacula, Dawsonville, Suwanee, Winder, Buford and Grayson. Operating since 2010, Friends is a place for good food and service, families and sports. Their growth is attributed to their customer loyalty, and they continue to thrive because of repeat visits by their “regulars”. Friends is filled with high definition televisions showing all NFL games and most other sporting events, including UFC. Each restaurant has a beautiful, inviting and cozy patio.
Their menu offers quality choices such as burgers, sandwiches, steaks, shrimp, chicken, quesadillas, pasta and salads. Some of the most popular food items are “Bada Bang Shrimp”, “Gooey Louie Burger”, “Bayou Chicken Tenders”, “Loaded French Dip” and “Cajun Chicken Pasta”.
They have a full bar serving liquor, beer and wine. You will find craft beers on draft as well as most popular brands. Their bars also offer Keno games for your entertainment.
Contributing to the community and providing a helping hand to others is part of their fiber. Friends holds an annual charity event “Ansley’s Easter”. Ansley Arnette was a young girl that suffered from a rare, non-curable brain tumor, and Friends’ first fundraiser was held to help her family with medical bills. Ansley has since passed away, but her memory and spirit carries on every year at Friends on Easter Sunday.
Shannon Skains/Dickey’s Barbecue Pit
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is a true American success story. In 1941, Travis Dickey, a World War II veteran, opened the first Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Dallas, TX. Dickey was a true Texas character blessed with the gift of gab and the love of authentic, slow-smoked barbecue. In the beginning, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit was truly a family operation with Travis working the block and Miss Ollie Dickey serving sandwiches. Space on the restaurant sign was rented out to help pay the start-up costs for the restaurant and the menu was limited to beef brisket, pit hams, barbecue beans, potato chips, beer, bottled milk and sodas.
Brothers Roland and T.D. Dickey took over the business in 1967, continuing their father’s legacy of quality, hickory smoked signature meats. Under the direction of the Dickey brothers, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit expanded throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area and quickly became known throughout Texas for mouthwatering hickory-smoked barbecue, popular catered events and the iconic Big Yellow Cups. Franchising began in 1994 after loyal guests and barbecue fanatics demanded more locations. Today with nearly 600 locations in 43 states, loyal guests are what keep Dickey’s thriving in every community.
The brand has come a long way from Travis Dickey’s first location. But, some things never change. Dickey’s Barbecue Pit still slow smokes all meats on-site just the same way they did in 1941. The menu features beef brisket, pulled pork, St. Louis style ribs, polish sausage, spicy cheddar sausage, smoked turkey, and marinated chicken, with an extensive array of homestyle sides from jalapeño beans to macaroni and cheese. Buttery rolls are served with every meal along with complementary ice cream. And just like always, kids eat free on Sunday.
Ryan C. Ortlep/Abbotts Bar & Grill
Abbott’s Bar and Grill is the definition of a neighborhood bar and grill. Established in 2003, it has become a favorite in John’s Creek ever since. American Casual dinning with live entertainment. They are a “great destination without the journey.”
Abbott’s is only minutes away from Duluth, Suwanee, Alpharetta, and Cumming, and only five miles from either GA 400 or I-85. Visit and become one of their many regulars.
Abbott’s offers a wide variety of options including a beer-battered burger, house-made caramelized pecans in salads, seafood, steaks, sandwiches, fresh-made soups, and an array of appetizers. Abbott’s Bar offers live entertainment events Tuesday through Saturday. They hope to see you soon!
T.L. Lewis/Baby Al’s Chicago Dog
As a proud Chicago native and owner of Baby Al’s Chicago Dog, T.L. Lewis provides an authentic taste of Chicago using Vienna Beef Hot Dogs and Polish Sausages on an S. Rosen steamed bun. Their Italian Beef Sandwich is homemade using a recipe he learned while working at “The End of the Line” now famously known as “Terry’s Place” on the westside of ChiTown for close to 15 years of his life, and served on Turano bread. Come taste and smell Maxwell Street, Comiskey Park, Wrigley Field, The United Center and any of the many great beef stands throughout Chicagoland. Baby Al’s is also available for private catering events. Let Baby Al’s brighten up your next event!
