Taste Brookhaven will bring 16 local restaurants to Brookhaven City Centre on Thursday, October 1, with unlimited tastings, cocktails and live entertainment. The 21-and-over fundraiser benefits Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Strong4Life program and returns to the civic venue for a second edition. Organizers say the event typically sells out and encourage advance ticket purchases because of the site’s limited event space.
A Lineup Built Around Steak, Barbecue, and Global Flavors
Explore Brookhaven, the organization presenting the event, announced the roster this week, according to Atlanta Daily World. The lineup can be read across several dining categories: Arnette’s Chop House, Fox Bros Bar-B-Q, Galla’s Pizza & Tavern, HAVEN Restaurant, Marlow’s Tavern, The Ashford and Siren cover steakhouse, barbecue, pizza, American, tavern and seafood offerings.
The international and specialty selections include Chico Cantina’s Mexican street food, Eataliano Kitchen and Valenza’s Italian fare, Jerk’s Caribbean Grill’s Caribbean dishes, Moon Indian Cuisine Atlanta’s Indian menu and Petite Violette’s French cuisine. Henri’s Bakery & Deli, Honey Suckle Gelato and Summit Coffee add bakery, dessert and beverage options, giving the 16-restaurant event a mix of meal styles and price points.
Tickets, VIP Perks, and a New Rooftop Setting
General admission costs $125 and includes tastings, signature cocktails and mocktails, live entertainment and entry into a deluxe raffle, according to the same report. VIP admission is $250 and includes early access, a rooftop cocktail hour, a premium full bar, a gift bag and complimentary valet parking. The VIP hour is scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Cherry Blossom Dome inside Brookhaven City Centre, an open-air rooftop space. The venue’s glass panels became a subject of local coverage after the city ordered the removal of panels installed in bright primary colors instead of the muted blue and green hues requested by the City Council, as Rough Draft Atlanta reported.
The event suggests cocktail attire and will use indoor and outdoor areas throughout the building. Proceeds will support Strong4Life, tying the fundraiser to Explore Brookhaven’s broader effort to highlight local restaurants while raising money for a Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta program.
From Hotel Ballroom to Georgia’s First Mass-Timber City Hall
The move changed the fundraiser’s setting from a hotel banquet space to a purpose-built civic venue. Taste Brookhaven had been held for several years at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina, with earlier editions hosted on Summit Boulevard near the Perimeter office hub, according to Patti Junger Real Estate. The event moved to Brookhaven City Centre in October 2025. The $78 million project at 4001 Peachtree Road NE held its grand opening in August 2025, according to Creative Loafing’s coverage of the opening. The three-story facility sits on a one-acre site and includes city hall offices, public council chambers and event areas.
What Sets City Centre Apart
City records show Brookhaven City Centre was approved with a $63.5 million guaranteed maximum construction price and a $78 million total project budget, with groundbreaking held October 12, 2023, according to the City of Brookhaven’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. Since its August 2025 opening, the building has combined municipal functions, public council chambers and event space; its use for Taste Brookhaven differs from the fundraiser’s earlier hotel-ballroom format. Rough Draft Atlanta reported that it is also the first municipal building in Georgia constructed primarily using mass timber. Taste Brookhaven is part of a longer sequence of Brookhaven dining promotions rather than the city’s first restaurant-focused event. As a separate 2023 precedent, Rough Draft Atlanta reported that Explore Brookhaven promoted a weeklong event featuring a dozen locally owned restaurants. That promotion ran Aug. 1-7 and had a restaurant-week format, distinct from Taste Brookhaven’s one-night tasting and fundraiser…