Today, Mary Mac’s is the last of the sixteen tea rooms that once dotted intown Atlanta in the 1940s. The food is undeniably comforting, the atmosphere feels as familiar as your grandmother’s kitchen, and our staff treats every customer as if they were serving their long-lost cousin a holiday meal.
Back in 1945, Mary MacKenzie opened Mary Mac’s Tea Room near Peachtree Street on Ponce de Leon Avenue. In those tough days right after the end of World War II, enterprising women in search of a living, some of them mothers widowed by the war, were establishing restaurants all over Atlanta.
At the time, a woman couldn’t just open up a restaurant, so many female proprietors used the more refined Southern name of “Tea Room.” Mary Mac’s Tea Room was one of 16 tearooms in Atlanta and seated 75 guests. Today, Mary Mac’s is the only original tearoom that remains.
Mary Mac’s originally opened with one dining room; today, we have 6 bustling dining rooms and a full service bar. The restaurant has expanded to 13,000 square feet, occupying several storefronts, and is one of the city’s five-largest restaurants.
Though our restaurant has grown over the years, it’s still 1945 in the kitchen. We still do things the way Mary MacKenzie and her successor, renowned owner, Margaret Lupo (1962-1994), did things. We have a few people still serving and cooking at Mary Mac’s who have been employed with us for over forty-five years.
Every morning, we shuck bushels of corn, hand wash our carefully selected greens, and snap fresh green beans by hand. We bake our own scrumptious breads and desserts, like old fashioned banana pudding, coconut cake, and fresh Georgia peach cobbler, and brew up the best sweet tea - “Table Wine of the South”.
We welcome the generations of Atlanta families: Mary MacKenzie served their grandparents; Margaret Lupo served their parents; and now we welcome a new generation to Mary Mac’s.
The location has stayed the same, and the food remains nearly identical to what it was over seventy years ago.
We were recently honored by the State of Georgia and the House of Representatives with a special resolution for providing authentic Southern fare, always served with a side of Southern graciousness, and we were officially named "Atlanta's Dining Room".
We look forward to serving you soon! From the time you come in the door, you’re welcomed with open arms and a big smile.
Mary Mac’s attracts a vast & varied crowd. When you visit, you can’t help but notice the pictures adorning our walls with the celebrities & famous faces that make dining with us a part of their visit to Atlanta. Over the years, Mary Mac’s has welcomed many famous visitors, including Dalai Lama, Congressman John Lewis, James Brown, Beyonce, Senator Hillary Clinton, Alan Jackson and President Jimmy Carter.
