Elite Black servers say Atlanta’s fine dining scene offers opportunity

Chris Ford, an experienced bartender at Lazy Betty, felt pushback while applying to fine dining jobs when he temporarily moved to Los Angeles.

Rachel Lundell recently moved to Atlanta with plans to further her wine expertise after some frustrating experiences at a five-star hotel in Minneapolis. She now works at Aria.

All three believed Atlanta offered unusually fertile ground for Black hospitality professionals.

“I really feel like I can build my career here,” the 25-year-old Lundell said.

Credit: Molly K.Smith

Credit: Molly K.Smith

Lundell remains fond of her hometown but said she sometimes felt isolated at the luxury hotel restaurant where she worked. Her identity occasionally led to awkward encounters with customers.

“Guests would ask my name and I’d say, ‘Rachel,’ and there’s just this tinge of surprise that I’d always see,” Lundell said. “A lot of times, people would say, ‘Oh, is it Racquel?’ And it’s like, no. Rachel.”

Ford, 43, felt the headwinds of fine dining stereotypes a few years ago when he temporarily moved to Los Angeles. Ford brought with him a lengthy fine dining resume that included opening Ford Fry’s St. Cecilia in Buckhead.

Ford told the AJC he interviewed at multiple fine dining restaurants in LA where hiring managers were openly surprised by his appearance. In at least one case, the manager took a condescending tone, testing Ford’s wine knowledge with insultingly basic questions.

“He asked me to name the five noble grapes of Bordeaux. Oh, you mean cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, Malbec and petit verdot?” Ford rattled off.

Credit: Lazy Betty

Credit: Lazy Betty

He ultimately chose to work at Red Lobster during his three-year stint in California. When he returned to Atlanta, he helped open Lyla Lila in Midtown, then Lazy Betty in its original location. Ford moved with the restaurant to its Midtown space, where it became one of the only establishments in Atlanta to earn a Michelin star and a 4-star rating from the AJC.

Hall, a 30-year-old server at Chef Kevin Gillespie’s Nadair, is passionate about food and wine and said his level of knowledge usually dispels any doubts he sees in his diners.

“All it takes is me talking for five minutes and it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, you know a lot more than me,’ and now I have their full attention,” he said.

To Hall’s point, culinary education can help level the playing field for minorities working in fine dining. He earned an introductory sommelier certification and said it “opened up so much for me.”

In fact, Ford and Lundell have each earned the same certification, putting them in rare company. According to a 2023 survey by the American Court of Master Sommeliers, just 3% of sommeliers with any level of certification are Black. At the highest level, there is a worldwide total of 170 Master Sommeliers; just four are Black.

When Lundell began studying wine in Minneapolis, she discovered a new passion but also faced setbacks that felt discriminatory.

While she was an enthusiastic young server at a high-end hotel, her manager said anyone who got their wine certification would earn a key to the wine wall, where the hotel’s unopened wine was stored. The key would make it easier for her to grab bottles ordered by her guests, but also served as a symbol of achievement and trust.

After Lundell earned the certification (with the help of a scholarship but no financial assistance from her employer), she asked her manager about the key to the wine wall. She was denied; The manager said she didn’t remember making that commitment. In the meantime, some of Lundell’s older, white colleagues were given keys.

Ultimately, it’s bad business to marginalize eager, talented employees like Lundell, who sought better opportunities in Atlanta, where she said she noticed an immediate vibe shift.

“In Minneapolis, it was few and far between that I would serve anyone of color, but particularly a Black couple,” she said. “Now it’s like a common occurrence, which is so lovely.”

At Lazy Betty, Ford’s contributions have left an indelible mark on the beverage menu.

After the restaurant moved to Midtown, he said its bar clientele often asked for martinis with bleu cheese-stuffed olives. Lazy Betty doesn’t typically carry blue cheese and has a zero food waste philosophy, so buying the highly perishable ingredient for the occasional martini order was not an option.

Ford jokingly suggested stuffing olives with creme fraiche and caviar; He was surprised when the kitchen ran with the idea, and the $50 Aristocrat martini was born. Made with black truffle-washed vodka or gin and olives stuffed generously with caviar, Ford said the drink sells well.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Credit: Henri Hollis

Ford, Hall and Lundell all said they appreciated the opportunities afforded by Atlanta’s fine dining scene, and they hoped to see more Black diners in their restaurants as perceptions continue to change.

Hall said he identified with anyone who felt apprehensive about spending their money at a fine dining restaurant. He said he vividly remembered his first tasting menu, when he was nervous to ask a question and felt self-conscious and uncomfortable. But he also said that talented servers can recognize those apprehensions and guide any diner to a great experience.

“We want you here! Your server of color wants you to come to their fine dining establishment,” Lundell said while talking about attracting more Black customers.

“You have this perception that there’s a pretentiousness that comes with fine dining, and I think places like Nadair with younger chefs want to change that, where it’s not so stuffy,” Hall said.

“I hate when a server makes you feel like you have to speed up or makes you feel uncomfortable for asking a question,” Hall continued. “There’s no dumb question. … You came here to have a great experience, so it’s my job to provide that experience for you.”

ABOUT THIS SERIES

This year’s AJC Black History Month series, marking its 10th year, focuses on the role African Americans played in building Atlanta and the overwhelming influence that has had on American culture. These daily offerings appear throughout February in the paper and on AJC.com and AJC.com/news/atlanta-black-history.

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