45 W Park Square, the dining room facing Glover Park, has had three names in under a year. Piastra served Italian food there for a decade and closed after its final dinner on December 31, 2025. The same owners reopened the space in late January 2026 as Asher & Rose Modern Grocers. It was a specialty market with produce, regional cheeses, a butcher counter and a café that kept some Piastra pizzas and pastas. The company behind it filed for Chapter 11 on May 7, 2026. On August 27, the bankruptcy judge approved a sale of the business assets and the lease. The buyer plans a French restaurant called Brasserie Genevieve, expected between late 2026 and early 2027.
That one address follows the same pattern as most Square restaurant news this year. Almost every 2026 arrival moved into a room that already held a restaurant. And each one opened with a narrower concept than the restaurant before it.
How Many Restaurants Is the Square Carrying?
The count depends on who is counting. When Asher & Rose filed for bankruptcy, Chef Greg Lipman told reporters business had been difficult. He pointed to growth around the Square, from roughly 28 food and beverage locations when Piastra opened in 2015 to about 43 by 2026. Marietta.com counts more than 60 restaurants within walking distance of the Square, not including fast food chains.
The two counts use different boundaries, so they don't contradict each other. Either way, the Square has gained at least 15 food and beverage spots in about a decade. That leaves less room for a menu that tries to do a bit of everything.
Who Took Over Which Address
Most of the year's news happened in rooms that already served food. This table tracks the Square-area changes reported through September 2026.
| Address | Previous tenant | New tenant | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 W Park Square | Piastra, then Asher & Rose | Brasserie Genevieve | Expected late 2026 to early 2027 |
| 16 Atlanta Street | Carmen's Kitchen & Cocktails | Fin & Feathers | Open; grand opening September 3 |
| 34 Powder Springs Street | The Frozen Goose | Antika | Open |
| 154 Roswell Street | Boru Ramen Noodle & Poke Bar | Two Bells Burgers & Cheesesteaks | Not yet open |
| Next to Willie Rae's Social House | Ahoy! There Be Dragons gallery | Willie Rae's x Pisano's | Reopened July 31 |
| Marietta Square Market | Food hall stall | El Jalisco | Open |
Willie Rae's x Pisano's is the only entry that took over a non-restaurant space, the former Ahoy! There Be Dragons gallery next to Willie Rae's Social House. The combined restaurant reopened on July 31, 2026, after several weeks of construction. It serves condensed menus from both Willie Rae's Social House and Pisano's Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen under one roof. So instead of adding a second dining room, two restaurants shared one.
Each Newcomer Picked a Narrower Specialty
Piastra was a full-service Italian restaurant with pasta, pizza, seafood and wine. The places opening this year have defined themselves much more tightly.
Antika is an Aegean restaurant at 34 Powder Springs Street. Its cocktails are built around scratch-made syrups, herbal infusions and Aegean botanicals, and it has a garden patio steps from the Square. It took over from The Frozen Goose, which opened in late 2022 and closed at the end of November 2025. Antika scored 100 on its first food-service inspection on April 14, 2026. No exact opening day has been published, but the restaurant is now open and taking online orders.
Fin & Feathers took over 16 Atlanta Street. Marietta.com notes the address "has had a long and busy track record," most recently as Carmen's Kitchen & Cocktails. The menu covers Southern comfort food, seafood, steaks and brunch. Shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, honey bourbon salmon and jerk chicken egg rolls are among the signature dishes. Fin & Feathers soft opened August 6 and held its grand opening Thursday, September 3, 2026. Two house rules matter when you plan an evening there. After 8 p.m., only guests 21 and older are admitted, with valid photo ID required. And a 20% gratuity is added to every bill. After 8 p.m., the room also turns into a late-night lounge with hookah.
El Jalisco opened Monday, August 17, 2026, at Marietta Square Market. The family-run chain has 28 locations across Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Its Marietta stall serves quesabirria, has a full-service bar and offers $8.99 lunches Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Weekly deals include $12 Mexican Chicken Mondays and $13 Fajita Tuesdays.
Two Bells Burgers & Cheesesteaks is the clearest example of how crowded some categories have become. Marietta.com lists the burger and cheesesteak competition already within reach of 154 Roswell Street:
- Woody's Cheesesteaks at 95 Church Street
- Philly & Wrap and Roxy's Burger inside Marietta Square Market
- Two Birds Taphouse, with an elevated Philly and a smash burger
- West Park Sports Club and its bulgogi cheesesteak
- Stockyard Burgers & Bones on Mill Street
What Is Still on the Way
Three projects near the Square have no confirmed opening date.
- Brasserie Genevieve, 45 W Park Square. The new operator takes over a large production kitchen, a bar, a sidewalk patio and plenty of indoor seating. As of early September, no menu, chef, hours or design details had been released.
- Glover Park Kitchen, 72 Atlanta Street. The new restaurant comes from the group behind Glover Park Brewery, across the street. Executive Chef Lance Hagan has more than two decades of fine dining experience across the Southeast. Plans include seasonal cooking, Gulf Coast seafood and a garden patio. It scored 100 on its first health inspection on July 28, 2026, and raw oysters will be on the menu. No opening date has been announced. Its website still says "Coming soon to Downtown Marietta."
- Two Bells Burgers & Cheesesteaks, 154 Roswell Street. The city's file on an application for exterior changes at the address was introduced August 26 and still shows "In Committee."
Glover Park Kitchen is the only one of the three going into a new address for the group, which already runs the brewery across the street. Brasserie Genevieve and Two Bells are both moving into former restaurant spaces.
October Brings the Crowds to the Newcomers
The next two Saturdays bring the biggest crowds of the season to the Square.
Chalktoberfest runs October 10 and 11, free and open to the public. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The Marietta Cobb Museum of Art hosts it. The ticketed Craft Beer Festival runs Saturday, October 10, from noon to 5 p.m., with 120+ local craft beers, ciders and seltzers and 20+ varieties of wine. The city says ticket prices go up on the day of the event.
HarvestFest follows on Saturday, October 17, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It includes the HarvestFest Market and Scarecrows in the Square. The pie eating contest starts at 11:30 a.m. for ages 6 to 12 and at noon for ages 13 and up.
On both Saturdays, the Marietta Square Farmers Market keeps its usual year-round hours, 9 a.m. to noon at the Mill Street lot, 41 Mill Street.
For an evening on a festival day, Fin & Feathers' 21-and-older rule after 8 p.m. applies on October 10 and 17 like any other night. El Jalisco's $8.99 lunch runs weekdays only, so it won't be available on either festival Saturday.
Restaurant turnover on the Square also tells you something about property near downtown Marietta. If you're thinking about buying or selling near the Square, Malka Shulman can walk you through what the changes mean for your plans. Contact Realtor Malka to start the conversation.
