Find the Gayest Fried Chicken at Atlanta’s Second Oldest Restaurant

Article by Matt Kirouac | Photos provided by The Colonnade | Published June 19, 2026

Some fried chicken recipes entail a dusting of secret spices, but at one of Atlanta’s oldest restaurants, the formula is simpler than that. At The Colonnade, inclusivity is the spice of life. 

Open since 1927, making it the second oldest restaurant in Atlanta, The Colonnade might not be the most obvious LGBTQ+ destination. But long before partners and current owners Paul Donahue and Lewis Jeffries bought the property in 2024, the comfort-food institution had built a legacy around inclusivity.

Located on Cheshire Bridge Road, long considered one of the city’s most queer-centric thoroughfares, The Colonnade has always been the kind of place where people from all walks of life — from drag queens to church-goers — would sit side-by-side over platters of fried chicken, pot roast, and fried shrimp. It might not fit the mold of more stereotypical queer spaces, but as the restaurant has proven over the past century, community can form in unexpected places.

A Restaurant Built on Belonging

Originally located on Piedmont Road, in a part of Atlanta that Donahue describes as little more than dirt roads during a very different time, The Colonnade became a bastion for people moving out to the “country” for fresh air. It was the go-to restaurant where people could take their whole family, and multiple generations could feel comfortable. Jeffries’ uncle was a former owner and longtime regular, who moved The Colonnade to its current location in the 1960s, after dining there almost every day. When Donahue moved to Atlanta in 1985, he and Jeffries dined there every week. Along with countless others over the years, including staff who have been baking pies for half a century, their loyalty speaks to the enduring sense of belonging the restaurant inspires.

“The former owner described it as a country club without the membership,” Donahue muses. “The kind of place where, if there’s someone new in the dining room, someone’s gonna get to know them. People do feel like family there.” 

That family feeling, even more so than the fried chicken, is what has kept The Colonnade kicking for 99 years, and for LGBTQ+ people especially, it’s a beacon of acceptance. 

More Than Fried Chicken

“It’s because the way they cook the food, it’s like peoples’ memories of a favorite family member that used to cook their Sunday dinners,” Donahue suggests. “It’s not fancy recipes. The fried chicken is not 11 herbs and spices, it’s salt and pepper. It’s food that your grandma cooked, and that’s what brings everybody back to The Colonnade.”

Then and now, fried chicken has always been a big draw, accounting for about 50% of menu sales. The restaurant also touts 30 sides, from salmon croquettes to tomato aspic, and as Donahue explains, everyone has their favorite traditions. The current location was built in the 1950s, with a Mid-Century motif and a retro dining room wrapped in wood. After a fire in the 1980s, a bar was added, and the restaurant seats 160. 

Comprised mostly of banquettes and tables, with only a handful of two-tops, the restaurant is designed for communal dining, a layout that reinforces the atmosphere of camaraderie.. And it’s also what inspired Donahue and Jeffries to buy the restaurant and continue its legacy. 

“It was 2024, my father had just passed away and I was out of town,” Donahue recalls. “It was a Thursday night, which was our normal Colonnade night, and Lewis called me. I said, ‘What are you going to do for dinner tonight? Just go to The Colonnade.’” 

The former happened to be there that night, and approached Jeffries at his table to ask if they’d ever consider buying a restaurant like this. Fortuitously, Donahue and Jeffries already owned a bar, Lingering Shade, and they had been considering looking for a second location, or a similar concept. Coupled with their deep affection for The Colonnade and what it represented to so many Atlantans, the opportunity felt serendipitous.By the next day, a business broker called them, presented a number, and three weeks later, pages of handwritten recipes in tow, they were the new owners of The Colonnade. 

Now, these longtime customers are putting their stamp on the community institution  that has meant so much to so many. While updating some aspects of the property that need a little TLC, adding a cocktail lounge and piano player in a banquet room, and retaining the recipes that have endured for generations (“the fried chicken is never gonna change,” Donahue ensures), they’re ushering in a new era at The Colonnade, while keeping it firmly rooted in inclusivity. 

A Table for Everyone

“Multiple generations have always been there, the gays and the grays,” Donahue chuckles. “It’s been a wonderful combination, and that’s what Midtown was, a bunch of old people, and then the gays came in and they got along great.” 

The atmosphere has long felt welcoming to everyone, and that blend of people is part of what makes the restaurant so beloved.

“On Sunday afternoon, you’ve got the church people coming in, and they gay boys and drag queens having brunch, and everyone gets along,” Donahue adds. “People are made to feel like family, and feel included. It’s a very friendly, happy place, and a great place to be.” 

In many ways, The Colonnade — and the indelible legacy it’s left in Atlanta — reflects the power of shared spaces. At a time when Americans often seem divided by politics, generation, geography, and identity, it remains a place where people with different backgrounds and beliefs regularly gather around the same tables. Not because they agree on everything, but because they share a meal.

It turns out, the recipe for success is fried chicken with a side of inclusivity.