The Spring 2021 Flagpole Guide To Athens

File Under: Coffee Houses. Hours: Seven days. Some of the best coffee around, roasted in tiny batches in a space visible through the window. Pour-over will give you the best flavor, but there's also pre-made if you're in a hurry as well as tea and other drinks—plus beans, coffee accessories and baked goods by The Comerian. Coffees on offer change out frequently.

File Under: Sandwiches, Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Catering, counter service, delivery, Wi-Fi. Hours: Breakfast and lunch. Excellent bagels boiled and baked in-house in a wide variety of flavors. Top with hummus, butter (whipped, honey, peanut) or housemade cream cheese OR turn into a sandwich with egg, meat, cheese or veggies.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Wi-Fi.

File Under: Ice Cream and Smoothies, Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Drive-thru, Wi-Fi, counter service.

File Under: Bakeries, Sandwiches, Delivery. Features: Catering, counter service. This bakery is cute and decorative, like the fancy cookies and cakes it offers. Frilly cookies and cakes, either custom or impulse-buy, plus box lunches with a sandwich, cheese straws and a cupcake.

File Under: Bakeries, Something Different, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Beer and wine, catering, counter service, outside seating, Wi-Fi. Hours: Breakfast and lunch, plus Friday dinner. Lots more than bread and baked sweets, although plenty of those, too. Supa-good French toast, eggs, quiche, nice burgers (veg and meat), big salads, tons of veggie and vegan options. Lots of beverages, boozy and non. Large outdoor patio.

File Under: Coffee Houses. This coffee shop out of Wilmington, North Carolina, employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and serves a range of coffee and espresso drinks. Opening this year. 

File Under: American, Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Take-out, outside seating. Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. This restaurant inside UGA’s Georgia Center does a wide variety of dishes throughout most of the day, including some grab-and-go stuff. Bar snacks, Savannah Room favorites like celestial chicken, Thai chicken salad, burgers and more. Breakfast available for pickup weekdays in front of the hotel.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Bars, Sandwiches. Features: Beer and wine, counter service, full bar, outside seating, Wi-Fi. European-style cafe that goes from early a.m. to lateish p.m. Delish pre-made sandwiches, pastries and soft pretzels by The Comerian, hard-boiled eggs, snoballs (including boozy ones) and snacks by the scoop. Coffee, tea, cool sodas, craft cocktails, wine, beer and aperitifs.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Drive-thru, pick-up. Hours: Breakfast and occasional pop-up dinner. Wee, darling, hipster donut place out in the country that also does amazing biscuits, great coffee and, lately, pop-up burger nights, too. Worth a drive.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Catering. Long-time Athens bakery makes all cakes to order, including for special occasions like weddings and birthdays. Popular flavors include lemon, tres leches, hummingbird, mocha, caramel, coconut and red velvet. Purchase only. No seating.

File Under: Coffee Houses, Something Different. Hours: Open seven days. Features: Outside seating, Wi-Fi. Locally based small-batch chocolate shop makes stuff right in front of you: truffles, chocolate bars, coffee bars and more, plus drinking chocolate, coffee, gelato, ice cream sandwiches, toffee, etc. Vegan options. 

File Under: Coffee Houses, Something Different. Coming to downtown Athens this year is this expanded version of Condor’s production facilities, with big windows to see the makers at work and coffee roasting. Bigger café menu than at the original Five Points location, plus retail and gifts.

File Under: Coffee Houses, Sandwiches. Features: Curbside pick-up, take-out, Wi-Fi. Hours: Lunch. Deli sandwiches (build-your-own or pick a combo), kids’ meals, salads and, surprisingly, bubble tea, plus sides like potato salad or chips and a range of coffee drinks.

File Under: American, Bakeries. Features: Catering, counter service, curbside pick-up, delivery. Hours: Breakfast and lunch. Family-run eatery inside Hawthorne Drugs, does big breakfast plates, biscuits, omelets, pancakes, quiche, Benedicts, classic sandwiches (chicken salad, pimento cheese, egg salad), a surprisingly good Cuban, ice cream, milkshakes, hot dogs and robust take-home meals.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Bars. Features: Full bar, catering, counter service, live music, art, Wi-Fi, outside seating. Hours: Open seven days. Coffee drinks, nitro coffee, teas and juices all day pair with a rotating menu from the Plate Sale. Lots of draft and bottled/canned craft beers, plus wine, craft cocktails and mocktails (some made with coffee).

File Under: Bakeries, Sandwiches, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Counter service, outside seating, take-out. Hours: Breakfast and lunch. Breakfast and lunch, with nice, small bagels, excellent house-smoked fish and sandwiches (either on bagels or on Luna bread). Sandwiches involve meats sliced in front of you (capicola, roast beef, etc.) but also hummus, roasted veggies, sauerkraut and scrambled eggs. Kids meals.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Outside seating, Wi-Fi. New owner hasn’t changed how good the bread (made with house-milled wheat) and viennoiserie are. Check the case for specials, like beautiful galettes made with local fruit, but nothing here is froofy or overdone. Counter Culture coffee and a limited selection of cookies. Products available at a few other places around town.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Catering, delivery. Hours: Seven days.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Drive-thru (Baxter, Greensboro and Epps Bridge), outside seating, art, Wi-Fi. Hours: Vary by location. The local coffee roaster now extends beyond Athens, but the beans are still roasted on Barber Street. Lots of specialty roasts benefit different causes. Hot and cold drinks, premium teas, locally baked goodies.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Outside seating, Wi-Fi. Hours: Mon–Sat. Fresh-roasted beans by the pound — whole or ground; cups of coffee, teas and shots of espresso, all out of a quonset hut where the actual roasting is done in an unprepossessing parking lot. Normally hosts lots of events and food truck/market pop-ups.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Sandwiches, Burgers and Chicken. Features: Curbside pick-up, drive thru. Hours: Breakfast and lunch; open until 8 p.m. for coffee. Jittery Joe’s coffee drinks, biscuits and breakfast plates in the a.m. Lunch features classic sandwiches, soups, salads, kids menu. Baked goods, too.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Catering, counter service, curbside pick-up, take-out. Hours: Mon.–Sat. All kinds of baked goods, sweet and savory, plus pimento cheese, chicken salad, tuna salad and hummus in the cold case. Specialty cakes and pies orderable in advance. Holiday menus.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Catering, drive-thru, Wi-Fi. Hours: Seven days.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Counter service, take-out. Hours: Wed–Mon. Cake by the slice, cookies, Mexican sweet breads, doughnuts, whole cakes, coffee and surprisingly excellent bagels. Sno-cones sometimes. All exceedingly reasonably priced.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Drive-thru. Hours: Seven days. New coffee place on Macon Highway does drip coffee, cold brew, lattes, tea, kombucha, mochas and pastries from Kiki’s Bakeshop. Coffee from 1000 Faces, meaning they’re serious about it.

File Under: Ice cream and Smoothies, Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Delivery, catering, outside seating. Hours: Breakfast and lunch. Former mobile business turned brick-and-mortar does both liege waffles and crowaffles, fun doughnuts in intense flavors and now biscuits with pulled pork, sausage, fried chicken and homemade jams as well as coffee drinks. Vegan and gluten-free offerings. Lots of compliments.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Catering, counter service, curbside pick-up, delivery. Hours: Mon–Sat.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Outside seating, art, Wi-Fi. Hours: Seven days. Small, independent coffee shop makes caffeinated beverages with local coffees, carries pastries and treats. Fun specials like Vietnamese iced coffee or frozen lemonade. Many loose tea options and smoothies.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Catering, take-out, curbside pick-up. Hours: 7:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Tue–Sat. This darling bakery does Asian-inspired as well as Western sweets, including fancy custom cakes, taro croissants, cupcakes, mini pies, bar cookies and anything you can imagine with fondant. Savory things, too, including scones and mini quiches. Espresso and drip coffee, online ordering and custom orders of all kinds.

File Under: Mexican and South American, Bakeries. Features: Curbside pick-up, delivery, full bar, take-out. Hours: Lunch and dinner. Our only Uruguayan restaurant, with some burritos and tacos but also choripan, chivito, churrosco del sur and more. Great baked goods, especially Latin American sweet breads, and tasty empanadas, both sweet and savory. Some gluten-free items. Location #2, on Oglethorpe, should open this year.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Hours: Mid-morning to mid-afternoon, Mon–Sat. Darling space in the Chase Park warehouses packed with art, books and more. Coffee from Jittery Joe’s, tea, pastries from Independent Baking Co. and others, plus packaged snacks (yogurt, cheese sticks, pretzels, etc.) and some ready-made sandwiches.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Bars, Sandwiches, Burgers and Chicken. Features: Full bar, outside seating, counter service, art, Wi-Fi. Hours: Open seven days. Local coffee and pretty good light food by day, bar by night. Six beers on draft and over 70 in bottles, including many microbrews.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Curbside pick-up, delivery, outside seating, Wi-Fi, catering. Hours: Seven days. Coffee (including iced coffee made with coffee ice cubes) and doughnuts customizable right then and there with toppings from shredded coconut to bacon, pecans, Fruity Pebbles and the traditional sprinkles. Vegan, paleo and gluten-free options.