Athens, Georgia: The US South's coolest college town

Renowned for its party scene and the birthplace of some hugely influential bands, this small city is quietly showing its bigger counterparts how a place can grow up while keeping its edge.

Some Americans may know the lore of Athens, Georgia, and its claims to fame. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains 70 miles north-east of Atlanta, the small city is home to the University of Georgia (UGA), the US's first state-chartered college established in 1785. UGA's football team, the Georgia Bulldogs, is a perennial, national championship-calibre powerhouse. What's more, Athens's homegrown heroes, the B-52s and REM, were as influential as any rock 'n' roll bands to meld post-punk, new wave and indie sounds during the last quarter of the 20th Century. That notoriety spawned a musical legacy that continues to attract aspiring artists today.

But many visitors are now discovering a new side of Athens, and this music-obsessed college town is quietly showing bigger US cities how a place can grow up while keeping its edge.

I'm discovering it too: a year ago, I moved back to The Classic City where I went to college in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Back then the place brimmed with cramped and sweaty music halls, raucous house parties, gritty dive bars and cheap, late-night eats. Much of that edge remains, but the polished city I've returned to now also shimmers with a nuanced culinary scene, boutique hotels, cocktail lounges and the soon-to-open 8,500-person Akins Ford Arena, which will be christened with a concert by the B-52s this December. The arena will also host the local hockey team, the Rock Lobsters (named after the B-52s' first single) and is expected to draw some of the nation's biggest bands.

What I quickly learned is that, like me, Athens has matured. A point underscored by a string of recent, very adult-sounding anniversaries. Last year was the 40th for REM's first album, Murmur. The B-52s' first album turned 45. The famed Georgia Theatre, where BB King, The Police and Wynton Marsalis have played, also turned 45 as a concert venue. And the countdown is on for the 50th anniversary of Wuxtry Records, ground zero for musicians since 1976 and where devotees find racks of vinyl dedicated to local legends like Pylon, Drive-by Truckers, Widespread Panic and of Montreal.

As such, Athens has also started catering to a more mature crowd. Travellers are increasingly attracted to its blend of homey-meets-urban, where people walk to the post office and wave to their neighbours, but still demand great restaurants and the chance to squeeze into those sweaty music halls nightly. Recent tourism numbers bear out this attraction. Travel here is surging, with visitor-spending up more than 30% since the city's pre-pandemic crest in 2019.

"I'm not sure why there's been an uptick in folks 'discovering' Athens recently, but I have a few educated guesses," says Janet Geddis, the owner of the zealously indie Avid Bookshop. "Athens feels like a small town, yet is marked by creativity and social activism that are more often associated with large cities. It's a rare combination that provides folks with comfort that comes from being known as well as the expansiveness that comes with exposure to a creative vibe."

And though some locals worry this new rendition of Athens comes at the cost of being "discovered" and the need to "keep Athens weird" (to paraphrase the counter-commodification battle cry of Austin, Texas, over the last 25 years), for other long-time residents, such evolution is both welcomed and no surprise.

"The fact that we were off the beaten path really allowed for unbridled creativity," Mike Mills, a founding member of REM, told me when asked about Athens's importance to the band's early days. Mills has been here since 1979, when he enrolled at UGA. "But the cat's pretty much out of the bag as far as the things Athens has to offer … a lot of great things happen here. There are a lot more dining choices than there used to be [and] there is still a lot of music going on. The Georgia Theatre is a beautiful venue. The 40 Watt [which has hosted the likes of Patti Smith, Nirvana and Sonic Youth] is still its wonderful, iconic self."

A big reason for Athens's emergence from UGA's shadow in recent years is because this 130,000-person Southern college town (which includes 40,000 students) has blossomed into a true gourmet destination.

Five & Ten was among the first to change the culinary landscape here when it opened almost 25 years ago, in the Five Points neighbourhood. "Modern Southern" dishes like Frogmore stew (shrimp, andouille sausage and grilled pork tenderloin served with a grit cake and Georgia peach butter) have become Athens standards. "Over the years, people left, came back and opened places that added new flavours," says Peter Dale, the restaurant's owner and chef and an Athens native. "Somewhere along the way, Athens grew up."

Five & Ten has since inspired a growing and eclectic smattering of new and nationally touted restaurants. Puma Yu's, which opened in 2022, serves Asian-inspired plates in a one-time denim factory in the repurposed Mill District. Seabear Oyster Bar, in the old Coca-Cola bottling plant on Prince Avenue, is where to go for just-shucked oysters, shrimp, crab and Tiki-inspired cocktails like the Snowbird: dark rum, amaretto, coconut, lime, pineapple and turbinado sugar. A few blocks away, Birdies sandwich shop and market (which opened in 2023) offers delectable high-end cheeses, olive oils and jams. And just this month, Top Chef contestant Kenny Nguyen opened Pretty Boy, where he serves the Vietnamese flavours of his childhood.

"Athens has a history of attracting really talented people," says Erin Wilson, an owner at The National restaurant, a downtown cornerstone featuring seasonal dishes like cucumber gazpacho, pan-roasted swordfish and Portuguese-style custard tarts. "And people here support local businesses."

Though Athens has topped college-party-town lists for decades with around 80 spots to imbibe stuffed into the compact downtown area, the question was always: where does one carouse after college? Not to be outdone by the city's culinary success, the lounge-and-bar circuit has now found its adult stride.

There are still downtown favourites like Manhattan Cafe and The World Famous serving honest mixed drinks in the historically Black business district known as Hot Corner – which is anchored by the Morton Theatre, where Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington once played. Around the corner, Creature Comforts Brewery, opened in a former tyre store, attracts a growing number of craft connoisseurs.

In the last few years, the scene has also gone uptown, literally and figuratively. The Hidden Gem, which opened in December 2023 near the Boulevard neighbourhood, became an immediate favourite among townies. It did so with a vibe that screams today's Athens: excellent cocktails meet mismatched, estate-sale décor. And wine lovers inevitably find the Lark, a retail shop and bar established during the pandemic, where Athenians can now learn about, try and buy hundreds of curated, international labels.

"The National and Five & Ten were proof to us that we could open this place," says the Lark's owner Krista Slater. "There's a concentration of culture here … and the community – not just the university – is ardently supportive of perpetuating that."

It's midsummer in Athens and school's out. The Deep South is slow and sticky. A train chugging along the tracks north of downtown blows its horn; the sound suspended in the heavy night air. This is a peaceful time when year-round Athenians take back their town before students return for football games and changing leaves.

On this Friday night, however, The National has set up a DJ stand and opened its doors for a makeshift party. A packed house spills between the dining room-turned-dance floor and the sidewalk patio along Hancock Avenue. These aren't just the townie bartenders, artists, waiters and musicians from the Athens summers of my youth. Among the sweaty dancers is a new breed of year-rounders: middle-aged lawyers, moms and dads, local business owners, doctors and professors.

"For people like me, the town and school have reached a nice equilibrium," says Jessica Parrillo, another returnee, who opened a psychology practice here after spending years in Philadelphia and Washington DC. We're standing in front of Ciné, a community-based movie theatre next to The National. "The town's patron is and has been UGA. But more people are coming to eat, see music, visit museums, cycle the city's Greenway and Firefly Trails and simply hang out."

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At the Athens Farmers' Market in Bishop Park the next morning, I recognise a few groggy faces from The National's dance party. Instead of cutting the rug, they're now pulling children in red wagons and toting produce, flowers and bread from local vendors. As with any Athens gathering, someone is playing a guitar and singing original songs, trying to crack the scene. My own purchases in hand (spring onions, summer squash and a candle in a recycled jar), I head out to play tourist in my readopted town.

"For residents from any background, and no matter a person's time in life, there is more to enjoy in Athens than there ever has been," Mayor Kelly Girtz told me in his City Hall office. "And there's still a funkiness here people don't want to lose. To borrow that '60s-era phrase, people are appreciative of being able to let your freak flag fly in Athens." 

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