2024 Away Game Guide: Atlanta

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The Dawgs will kick off the 2024 football season in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Clemson Tigers on Aug. 31, 2024. Heading to Atlanta for the game? Here are some favorites from the Atlanta Alumni Chapter — as well as some of our personal favorites — to help you decide where to eat, visit and watch the game.

WHERE TO EAT 

If you are looking for breakfast before the game, the Silver Skillet offers a “real Southern breakfast,” as their website describes it. This popular ’50s-style diner has a retro feel that has been used in several different television shows and movies, including Netflix’s “Ozark.” The Silver Skillet was also featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.”

The Silver Skillet has been featured in several movies and television shows since opening its doors. (Photo/Roadfood)

The Varsity is an Atlanta classic. Since 1928, they’ve been serving up chili dogs and onion rings, and who doesn’t love sporting one of those iconic red hats?  

Antico is newer to the Atlanta food scene but quickly becoming a local favorite. They feature Napoletana-style pizzas and calzones, and their restaurants have a rustic Italian feel. Antico is in an area of Atlanta called “Little Italia,” which features a group of shops and eateries that are all Italian inspired! 

Mary Mac’s Tea Room is another local Atlanta classic. Mary Mac’s has been serving Southern comfort foods since 1945. Several different celebrities and politicians have stopped by, from Beyoncé to President Jimmy Carter.  

WHERE TO WATCH

Sports & Social at The Battery has several television screens and a huge, 30-foot projection screen to watch the game with your fellow fans. They have food, axe-throwing, virtual sports simulators and other amenities to make this a perfect spot to gather for the game. You can even reserve tables ahead of time to make sure you get a spot. 

The Hudson Grille in Midtown also offers a fun game-watching atmosphere. They have a large menu with many dishes to choose from, and they offer private party rooms for your group.  

WHAT TO DO

Atlanta is home to many different attractions and things to do. The World of Coke, located minutes from Mercedes-Benz, shows the history of one of the most recognized soda brands across the world. The College Football Hall of Fame is a great place to start the college football season. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is also located close to Mercedes-Benz. 

The College Football Hall of Fame features memorabilia from several decades of college football. (Photo/Explore Georgia)

The Georgia Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the United States. They have several exhibits showcasing animals from whale sharks to beluga whales to bottlenose dolphins.  

Looking to get some fresh air? Take a walk or bike on the 22-mile BeltLine, a trail sprinkled with parks, art, restaurants and other places to stop and look around. One of these stops is Ponce City Market, which features food from different cuisines and has several different stores to shop in. 

WHERE TO SHOP

The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta are a great place to shop if you are looking for a deal. They have Coach, Lucky Brand, Steve Madden, Vera Bradley and more. The Outlets are in Woodstock, about a 45-minute drive north from Atlanta.  

Phipps Plaza is home to several high-end stores, including Tiffany & Co., Gucci, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. Phipps Plaza is also where you can find the LEGO Discovery Center. 

Phipps Plaza is home to a variety of stores at all price points. (Photo/Explore Georgia)

Not going to Atlanta and want to connect with Dawgs in your area? Look for one of our game-watching parties near you! 

Find Your Game-Watching Party

Alum leaves $1M to support travel, study away

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Grady’s UGA-alum Writer in Residence has a star-studded resume

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Nick Chiles (MFA ’22) has written more books than any other faculty member in the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, so it is no surprise he is their Writer in Residence. Chiles has written over 20 books chronicling Black culture in America, including multiple celebrity memoirs.

He landed at Grady as the Grady Writing Lab coach. At the same time, he joined the MFA Narrative Nonfiction program in the hopes of gaining a full-time faculty role. While going through the program, Chiles continued to teach a writing course.

“I was kind of split in half,” he said. “Half of me was in the building as a student. Half of me was in the building as a faculty member.”

The MFA program has a heavy focus on reading and writing, Chiles shared. Mentors are the key to student success. Graduate students spend a lot of time with their mentor to get feedback and help on projects.

“[Mentors] make the program,” Chiles said.

He took what he learned during the MFA to inform his own classes. He graduated in 2022 and went straight into his new position.

Even as a full-time faculty member, Chiles continues writing. He is currently working on memoirs for Martin Lawrence and Colin Kaepernick. The process of working with these notable figures requires spending a lot of time with them so Chiles can delve into their lives and background.

“Dredging all that stuff up, I think, is unexpectedly painful and emotional for a lot of them in ways that they weren’t expecting,” he said. “And so, there’s a lot of tears, often when I’m going through their family history. I mean, everybody has some pain in their background, in their story.”

Chiles spends months with the celebrities he writes about.

He is also working on a book to chronicle the history of Black comedy in America. He spent the summer doing research, starting as far back as the 1840s with minstrel performers.

“It’s pretty much the history of comedy in the US, because Black people were so integral in forming the idea of what American comedy would look like,” Chiles said.

Chiles won a Pulitzer Prize in 1992 as part of an investigative reporting team for New York Newsday. He teaches multiple writing classes at Grady, including feature and memoir writing. Before coming to UGA, Chiles earned his BA at Yale University. He spent time teaching at both Princeton and Columbia.

Throughout his career, Chiles was a reporter for New York Newsday, the Dallas Morning News and the Star-Ledger of New Jersey. He also wrote for the magazines Essence and Ebony, The Atlantic and The Christian Science Monitor.

Learn How You Can Become a UGA Mentor

UGArden receives $10K from Kubota, votes can raise to $50K

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Just a short drive from UGA’s downtown campus sits 10 acres of land known as UGArden. Rows of carrots, okra, kale, squash and much more line the fields. An average of 15,000 pounds of produce is grown on the student farm each year, and that food gets distributed to community members in need.

But that capacity and those partnerships could soon grow, thanks to a $10,000 Kubota Hometown Proud Grant. This grant comes with a unique — and valuable — additional component: a vote competition that could get UGArden an additional $40,000 and one lucky voter a Kubota mower.

VOTE FOR UGARDEN

To vote for UGArden, click on Georgia in the U.S. map that appears on the Kubota voting page.

The $10,000 grant will be utilized to build a self-serve farm stand at UGArden, according to farm director Ty Brooks. Should they get enough votes to receive the additional money, the rest of the funding would support broad improvements to the entire farm.

Other hunger relief programs in Athens are limited because they are not available all year. These programs also tend to only be open during typical workday hours, farm manager April McCoy shared. This prevents some people from being able to use relief programs.

“We’re hoping to fill kind of a gap by creating something that’s available 24/7 so that it’s more convenient,” McCoy said.

Student interns at UGArden in 2017. (PHOTO: Andrew Davis Tucker, UGA MarComm)

During its first year, the farm stand will help an estimated 40 families each week. That number is expected to double to 80 families per week in the stand’s second year. A pay-what-you-can model will be implemented so community members can get the food they need with what they have — even if they can’t afford to pay anything.

Brooks and McCoy both shared excitement about Athens having a 24/7 hunger relief project.

“They used to do a farmers market as part of a class, and the big complaint that people had was that it was during work hours and it was hard for people to get to it,” Brooks said. “So now, we’ll have something that’s available outside of work hours for people to be able to access.”

Aerial view of UGArden from the summer of 2021. (PHOTO: Andrew Davis Tucker, UGA MarComm)

Hear more from Brooks on how UGArden operates in the Cultivating Curiosity podcast from CES.

“The Kubota Hometown Proud grant program was created four years ago as a way for Kubota to give back to our dealers’ hometowns in a meaningful way,” said Todd Stucke, president of Kubota Tractor Corporation and senior vice president for Kubota North America. “Today we are announcing more grants than ever before – for 20 nonprofits from various hometowns across the country – to help with community projects that will make a positive impact in these communities for years to come. We hope the next phase in our program generates even more hometown pride by rallying around each organization and helping to shine a light on the important work they all do.”

The public voting period started on August 1 and ends on August 14. Votes can be cast once a day and the results and winners will be announced in September.

It is estimated that the grand opening for the farm stand will be held in January 2025. Volunteer events will be organized to help UGArden get the stand built and operating. Those interested in supporting the farm stand or UGArden can do so by making a donation or volunteering their time.

Vote For UGArden’s Farm Stand

To vote for UGArden, click on Georgia in the U.S. map that appears on the Kubota voting page.