A new Caribbean restaurant has opened near Gwinnett Place, bringing an unusually ambitious dining concept to a commercial district preparing for a much larger reinvention.
MERGE Caribbean Cuisine held its grand opening Thursday, July 30, at 3505 Mall Boulevard in Duluth. The restaurant sits just outside the former Gwinnett Place Mall, in an area better known for established chains, international shopping centers and the remnants of the mall’s once-dominant retail district.
MERGE is entering that landscape with a different proposition: Caribbean food presented as an upscale evening experience, complete with a cocktail lounge, private dining room, weekend brunch and an enforced dress code.
Several Islands Share the Menu
Rather than building the menu around one national tradition, MERGE draws from several parts of the Caribbean. Jamaican braised oxtail, curry goat and pimento jerk pork appear alongside Haitian griot, Trinidadian pelau, whole snapper and other seafood dishes. Steaks and vegetarian selections broaden the menu beyond its island specialties without pushing those dishes to the margins…