// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did The Vortex Bar & Grill say? "You're sucked into our menu.
| The Vortex Bar & Grill | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Interactive map of The Vortex Bar & Grill | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | April 20, 1992 |
| Food type | Burgers and bar food |
| Dress code | Casual |
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| Reservations | No |
Other locations | Midtown and Little Five Points |
| Website | www |
The Vortex Bar & Grill is a 21-and-over restaurant and bar in Atlanta, Georgia, with locations in Midtown and Little Five Points. It was founded on April 20, 1992, by siblings Michael, Hank, and Suzanne Benoit, who had moved to Atlanta from Southern California.[1] The original bar opened at West Peachtree and 11th streets in Midtown. A second location opened in Little Five Points in July 1996, shortly before the 1996 Summer Olympics, and the Midtown restaurant moved to 878 Peachtree Street the following year.[1]
The restaurant is known for its burgers, extensive bar menu, deliberately irreverent house rules, and eclectic décor.[1][2] The Little Five Points building is distinguished by a roughly 20-foot-tall entrance depicting a laughing skull with spiraling eyes, which became a local landmark.[1] The Midtown restaurant contains the Laughing Skull Lounge, a 74-seat stand-up comedy club opened in 2009.[3]
History
[edit]Michael, Hank, and Suzanne Benoit opened the first Vortex with the stated aim of operating a neighborhood bar in which they themselves would enjoy spending time. During its early years, the siblings worked as servers and bartenders and also handled cooking and cleaning duties.[1] According to Michael Benoit, many of the restaurant's practices and menu ideas developed by trial and error rather than through a formal business plan.[1]
The original location opened on April 20, 1992, at the corner of West Peachtree and 11th streets in Midtown. The Little Five Points branch debuted in July 1996, several days before the opening of the Atlanta Olympic Games. Its oversized Laughing Skull entrance and dense collection of signs, artwork, and other decorations became closely associated with the business.[1] In 1997, the Midtown location moved to 878 Peachtree Street, where it continues to operate alongside the Laughing Skull Lounge.[1][4]
The Benoits promoted the restaurant as an adult bar rather than a family restaurant. The Vortex maintains a 21-and-over entry policy and requires customers to carry valid identification.[5] Its published rules describe the restaurants as an "Idiot-Free Zone" and emphasize mutual respect between customers and employees. The restaurants do not accept ordinary reservations and generally seat customers on a first-come, first-served basis.[5] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described the rules as part of the restaurants' deliberately confrontational public persona, while Michael Benoit said that their purpose was to preserve a welcoming atmosphere for customers and staff.[1]
For much of their history, both locations permitted cigarette smoking indoors under an exemption in Georgia law for establishments that excluded minors. In February 2019, after receiving approximately 11,000 responses to a customer survey, the company prohibited indoor smoking at both restaurants. Smoking remained permitted in designated outdoor areas.[6] The current house rules also prohibit smoking and vaping inside the premises.[5]
Locations and operations
[edit]The Midtown restaurant is located at 878 Peachtree Street NE, while the Little Five Points restaurant is at 438 Moreland Avenue NE.[4] Both are full-service bars and restaurants, and both remain restricted to customers aged 21 or older.[4][5]
The Vortex serves burgers, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, nachos, vegetarian and vegan options, cocktails, and beer.[7] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution credited the restaurant with adopting the idea of food as entertainment and promoting craft beer comparatively early in Atlanta's modern bar-and-restaurant scene.[1] Its signature menu items include the Classic Coronary, topped with a fried egg, American cheese, and bacon, and larger variations in the restaurant's Coronary Bypass series.[1] Eater Atlanta included the restaurant among the city's iconic burger destinations and highlighted the Triple Bypass, which uses two grilled-cheese sandwiches in place of a conventional bun.[2][8]
The Little Five Points location's Laughing Skull façade is integrated into the front of the building. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described the entrance as approximately 20 feet tall and reported that it quickly became a neighborhood landmark after the restaurant opened in 1996.[1] The location's interior is comparatively small despite the scale of the entrance and is decorated with signs, artwork, taxidermy, and other objects collected by the owners.[1]
Laughing Skull Lounge
[edit]The Laughing Skull Lounge opened in 2009 in the rear of the Midtown Vortex. Creative Loafing reported that the club had a maximum capacity of 74 seats and promoted itself as an unusually small full-time comedy venue.[3] The club hosts stand-up showcases, touring headliners, open-mic performances, and comedy classes.[9] Discover Atlanta describes it as a full-time comedy lounge located inside the Vortex on Peachtree Street.[10]
Media appearances
[edit]The Little Five Points restaurant appeared in the Atlanta episode of the first season of the Travel Channel series Man v. Food, first broadcast on January 7, 2009. Host Adam Richman sampled the Double Bypass Burger, which was served between two grilled-cheese sandwiches.[11] The appearance contributed to national attention for the restaurant's Coronary Bypass burgers, which had already become central to its public image.[1]
In popular culture
[edit]The Little Five Points Vortex appears as a meeting place in Anthony Francis's 2010 urban-fantasy novel Frost Moon, which is set in Atlanta.[12] It also appears in Charity Langley's novel Wicked Intentions as a favored restaurant of the main character.[13]
A representation of the Little Five Points restaurant and its skull entrance appears in the Atlanta setting of the 2005 racing game Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition.[14]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Townsend, Bob (April 21, 2017). "The Vortex celebrates 25 years of serving burgers and booze". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- 1 2 "11 Iconic Atlanta Burgers". Eater Atlanta. April 17, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- 1 2 Gardenswartz, Noah (May 23, 2009). "Laughing Skull Lounge stands up for intown comedy". Creative Loafing. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "The Vortex Bar & Grill". The Vortex Bar & Grill. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "House Rules". The Vortex Bar & Grill. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ Kahn, Michael (February 1, 2019). "It's 'No Smoking Allowed' Now at Both Vortex Locations". Eater Atlanta. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Food Menu". The Vortex Bar & Grill. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ Kessler, Lauren (March 28, 2024). "15 Tourist-Friendly Atlanta Restaurants Even Locals Enjoy". Eater Atlanta. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Laughing Skull Lounge". Laughing Skull Lounge. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Laughing Skull Lounge". Discover Atlanta. Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ "Man v. Food Visits Atlanta, GA: Vortex, Gladys Knight's Chicken and Waffles, Big Pie in the Sky". Foodie Buddha. January 21, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ↑ Francis, Anthony (2010). Frost Moon. Bell Bridge Books. ISBN 978-0-9843256-8-9.
- ↑ Langley, Charity (2013). Wicked Intentions. The Abattoir. Vol. 1. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-4848-0320-2.
- ↑ Rockstar San Diego (2005). Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition (PlayStation 2, Xbox). Rockstar Games.