Love Local: Metrofresh Brings Community Vibes to Midtown High-Rise
Mitchell Anderson’s cafe on Peachtree serves an everyday fast casual menu for those with an elevated palate.
Published: 04/20/21
Metrofresh Uptown offers a variety of lunch options via counter service at its Midtown Plaza location.
BY ELLIE HENSLEY
Soup, salad and a sandwich: it’s a classic lunch, but it can often be an uninspiring one.
These items are all staples at Metrofresh Uptown, but we challenge you to find a single boring item on its ever-changing menu. Chef-owner Mitchell Anderson learned the tricks of the trade under “Souper Jenny” Levison before branching out to open his own cafe in the Midtown Promenade in 2005. Since then, he has amassed his own loyal following, and he expanded to open a second location, “Metrofresh Uptown,” in the Midtown Plaza office building in mid-2019.
We spoke to Anderson about navigating an expansion during the pandemic, staying inspired to create new dishes throughout the seasons, making time for his acting career while running a business and what’s next for Metrofresh Uptown. Read more below.
Adventurous, Seasonal Combinations
Metrofresh Uptown currently serves breakfast and lunch, with breakfast items including egg sandwiches, burritos, avocado toast and Greek yogurt with berries. Its lunch items change daily, and typically include about a half-dozen soups, a half-dozen salads, and a couple of different sandwiches.
There’s always a couple of staples on the menu: chicken noodle soup, turkey chili, garden salad with balsamic dressing, fruit salad. But Metrofresh’s forte is its adventurous, seasonal combinations such as Good Friday Fish Stew, Island Black Bean Soup or Blue Cheese Brussels Slaw.
“The whole idea is to give the customer some sort of elevated palate for everyday fast casual food,” Anderson said. “In-season foods you can always buy for the correct price. I’m always trying to think of new ways to put together ingredients.”
Mitchell Anderson, Chef-Owner of Metrofresh.
A Neighborhood Oasis
Metrofresh first opened in 2005, long before the Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail was paved or Trader Joe’s became its neighbor. And Anderson was an early adopter of blogging, posting his thoughts of the day on the restaurant alongside its menu.
“The blog really grew out of telling a story,” he said. “Seventeen years ago, there was no Facebook, there was no Instagram. But the most important thing is to give people a buy-in. Give them a reason to make this their place.”
Anderson said he never considered opening another permanent location before it was suggested in 2019 by a major architect and design firm that is a big catering client. At first, he was not a fan of the idea. But it occurred to him that he’d already been delivering in the area for years, and it might be possible to recreate the original neighborhood atmosphere of Metrofresh on Peachtree.
“When I decided to flip the switch and go in here, I really wanted to create that same feeling, even in an office building, in a way that you get to see the same people every day,” Anderson said. “That’s why I thought, we can do this. We can still make it a sort of neighborhood gathering, an oasis.”
In the Trenches Together
Metrofresh Uptown opened its doors in the summer of 2019, before the pandemic happened and many offices in its area closed. But even pre-COVID, it was a little difficult to get people to change their habits.
“We were expecting to be super busy out of the gate, but people were like, ‘Do I want to spend $2 extra on a salad or go next door and get tater tots?’” Anderson said. “Just after we started to get our footing, the whole world shut down and we shut down with them.”
The restaurant reopened on Labor Day 2020, and with the help of only a few employees, it came back to life.
“The coolest thing happened: people in face masks became our number one supporters, and they forever will be,” Anderson said. “We were in the trenches together.
Anderson credits Tiffanie Pound McHale, who he brought on board as general manager after working with her for years on catering gigs, for helping to keep Metrofresh Uptown running.
“When I opened this location, I wanted someone who offers great service, who cares, who wants to be here and brings great personality,” he said. “With Tiffanie, that’s what I’ve got, and we’ve been through the wringer together.”
Keeping Things Fresh
As office occupancies have risen and fallen alongside emerging COVID variants, Anderson and his staff have looked for ways to appeal to audiences other than the work lunch crowd. The restaurant debuted “Bar Metrofresh,” with Anderson manning the bar despite never officially working as a bartender before.
“Not to be egotistical about it, but I was the draw,” Anderson said. “It really helped that I was just out here trying to make it work. Once a week, I was there, and we had music on the patio. People really wanted to gather in a safe way while you couldn’t gather anywhere else.”
Bar Metrofresh still has music on Thursdays, and it has expanded to offer trivia nights. Soon it will offer wine tastings and bourbon tastings.
“We’re continuing to find ways to keep Metrofresh in the forefront of people’s minds, and really activate the space as much as possible,” Anderson said. “We need the revenue.”
Despite this fact, Anderson held a Ukraine Relief fundraiser at both of his restaurants one day recently, with 100% of total sales going to World Central Kitchen. He also accepted donations to the nonprofit online, and wound up collecting over $20,000.
“I feel like World Central Kitchen and #ChefsFreeUkraine is a really good way to get involved and be part of the solution,” Anderson said. “On that one day, people came in and called me for catering orders for 40 people just because of the fundraiser. It was unbelievable.”
Finding A Second Career + A Second Family
Anderson didn’t originally set out to be a restaurateur. His first love was acting, and he was a 1990s TV star in shows including “Doogie Howser” and “Party of Five.” For his 60th birthday last year, he also challenged himself to write and star in a one-man show about his life. He’s about to set out for New York City to film the third season of his Amazon Prime show “After Forever.”
And somehow, he finds a way to put in a shift at Metrofresh almost every day.
“I found this life [in the restaurant industry] as a second career,” he said. “I dove into it 110%... You see the same people every day, and you know about their children, and one of my joys in life is to be in the kitchen and look out and see the people, and my staff having fun. It is family.”
Love Local
Midtown businesses like Metrofresh Uptown are here to welcome you back to the district. Please show your support to local restaurants and their hard-working owners and staffers. From posting a positive Yelp review to posting pics of your experience on social media, there are many ways you can show how you "Love Local." Head over to this page for a list of ideas and to read more profiles of Midtown business owners.
