On the heels of sharing that they will be debuting their new concept Y Bar at Buckhead Village this fall, Pietro Gianni and Stephen Peterson already have a second location in the works for the new brand. Gianni told What Now Atlanta in a phone interview that he and the team plan to bring Y Bar to the Star Metals District in West Midtown, with a targeting opening in Q1 of 2026.
The space will be 2,500 square feet in the existing Star Metals Residential building, with outdoor seating available. They also made an agreement with Spencer Morris, president of The Allen Morris Co. behind the Star Metals District, to take over the ruins at Northside Tavern.
“We’re going to be taking over the ruins at Northside Tavern — all the abandoned walls and graffiti and such – so we’ll be cleaning that area up,” Gianni said. “We’ll be adding bathrooms to Northside Tavern in exchange, and we’ll be operating that space as a veranda that will be connected to the indoor space inside Star Metals Residential. It’s pretty cool — kind of like an urban archaeological redo.”
Gianni and Peterson currently operate other brands including Yeppa & Co, Storico Fresco and Forza Storico. The concept for Y Bar stemmed from the need for a simple late-night, small-plate concept in their portfolio. Y Bar will allow them to offer a spot that stays open later — until midnight on weekdays and 1 a.m. on the weekends — and that offers reservable bar seating, among other elements they have been looking to incorporate into their brand.
“It’s what our customer base has been asking for for a while now,” Gianni said. “People want an early-bird happy hour, people want reservable bar seats, people want to stay up later. We don’t currently do that in our other restaurants, but [Y Bar] should be able to accommodate those needs.”
