Wednesday’s announcement that the Michelin Guide would expand across several Southern states with its first regional American guidebook was met with confusion in Georgia.
The 2025 American South Michelin Guide will include Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and metro Atlanta. However, Michelin’s inspectors will not consider restaurants across the rest of Georgia, a spokesperson for the company confirmed.
As a result, restaurants in Savannah, one of Georgia’s most popular tourist destinations and vibrant dining scenes, will not have the opportunity to earn accolades from the regional guidebook when it launches later this year.
Brandon Carter, the chef and owner of Common Thread, said the guide’s exclusion of most of Georgia was “definitely odd.”
Credit: (Courtesy of Common Thread / photo by John Park)
Credit: (Courtesy of Common Thread / photo by John Park)
Common Thread opened in 2021 and quickly ascended to upper ranks of Savannah’s restaurant scene. It was named one of Bon Appetit’s 50 best new restaurants in America in 2022, and earlier this year, Carter and co-executive chef Joseph Harrison were named James Beard Award semifinalists for the Southeast region’s Best Chef.
Carter said he was confused but not upset that Savannah would not be included in the Michelin Guide.
“I would love for us to win a James Beard Award or get a Michelin star,” Carter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “But what’s really more important to us as an organization is, do we have a successful restaurant?”
Carter said he measures his Farm Hospitality Group’s success in a variety of ways, including running profitable restaurants, taking care of staff and engaging with the community.
Credit: (Courtesy of Common Thread / photo by Eastwoods Media)
Credit: (Courtesy of Common Thread / photo by Eastwoods Media)
“Awards and lists and things like that can be a vehicle to get to that place. So yeah, I think they’re important. They’re interesting, maybe more than important,” he said. “But I think that we’re going to be fine without the Michelin Guide.”
Chef Andrew Brochu opened Brochu’s Family Tradition in 2023 after moving to Savannah with his family from Chicago during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was the executive chef of Roister in Chicago, where he earned a Michelin star. Roister is the casual sister restaurant to the iconic Alinea, which has held the maximum of three Michelin stars for 15 years.
Brochu told the AJC he had mixed feelings about Savannah being left out of the guidebook’s coverage area.
“When you get that phone call, it’s awesome. It’s just fantastic,” he said about winning a Michelin star. “On the other end of that, I sleep well knowing I don’t have to worry about whether or not we got one.”
Like Carter, Brochu said his goal was to run a successful restaurant, and that he considered awards and recognition a bonus but not a necessity.
“I think we hide it pretty well in a super casual, laid-back environment, but we operate no differently than I ever have at any of my other (restaurants) where we garnered Michelin stars,” Brochu said.
Credit: John Park
Credit: John Park
Both chefs also said they recognized the benefits that Savannah could receive if the city were to attract the Michelin Guide’s attention one day. Brochu said the guide was “undeniably good for business,” and both acknowledged that having local restaurants with Michelin stars could help attract and retain culinary talent in the city.
So why are Michelin’s inspectors covering Alabama and Mississippi from corner to corner, while those in Georgia focus only on metro Atlanta? A spokesperson for the French tire company would not comment directly on the decision, but said the door was open for the rest of Georgia to be included in the future.
“This is only the beginning of our story with the American South region and as the Michelin Guide looks to the future, we observe very often the extension of its geographical scope within a state or a region over time,” a Michelin spokesperson wrote in response to questions the AJC submitted via email.
Credit: John Park
Credit: John Park
The 2025 American South Michelin Guide is being produced in partnership with Travel South USA, a marketing organization that promotes tourism in 12 Southern states. Atlanta’s Michelin guide was initially underwritten by the Atlanta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and the local organization will now share the costs of producing the guide and the annual awards ceremony with Travel South. The Atlanta guide will be rolled into the regional guide and the annual ceremony will rotate to different cities in the region.
“Michelin cannot discuss commercial terms of partnerships for competitive reasons,” the Michelin spokesperson said.
The two Savannah chefs said they hoped Georgia’s various tourist associations would find a way to expand the Michelin Guide to include the Hostess City.
“I think we’re worthy,” Carter told the AJC.
Echoing Andre 3000’s famous proclamation at the 1995 Source Awards, Carter added, “Savannah’s got something to say.”
- Staff writer Olivia Wakim contributed to this article.
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