ATLANTA Renowned restaurateur Pano Karatassos reportedly has said he would close his flagship fine-dining restaurant, Pano’s & Paul’s, later this year.
Karatassos, owner of the Atlanta-based Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, cited increased competition as one of the reasons for closing the restaurant, according to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Karatassos opened the restaurant with chef Paul Albrecht in 1979. Pano's & Paul's was inducted into Nation's Restaurant News' Fine Dining Hall of Fame in 1986.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, employees at Pano’s & Paul’s would be offered positions at Buckhead Life’s other restaurants -- 10 of which are located in Atlanta and another two in Boca Raton, Fla.
Despite the restaurant's closing, Karatassos told the newspaper that he was planning two new restaurants in Atlanta: Balon Rouge, a brasserie, and the upscale casual Pano’s at the St. Regis hotel. Both restaurants will be located in the city's Buckhead neighborhood. Gary Donlick has been tapped as executive chef at Balon and a search for the Pano’s chef is ongoing.