As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right now?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp and SafeGraph, a data set of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to uncover which restaurants have been in the spotlight this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at Atlanta businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are riding a trend, right now.
One Love Cafe ATL
Open this year, this Southern and Caribbean spot, which offers soul food and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Southern" on Yelp.
Citywide, Southern spots saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month. One Love Cafe ATL only recently appeared on Yelp, but while many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, it has seen strong initial popularity.
Curious about this business? We found this in its Yelp history section: "One Love Cafe ATL is a quaint little cafe offering home-style fare from the U.S. and the Caribbean. We serve the best jerk chicken in town!"
It's not the only trending outlier in the Southern category: Chef’d Up has seen a 300% increase in reviews, and South City Kitchen Buckhead has seen a 2.3% bump.
With four stars on Yelp and located at 2102 Hollywood Road NW, Suite B, One Love Cafe ATL offers jerk chicken and more.
Gypsy Kitchen
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Buckhead Village's Gypsy Kitchen, the popular bar and Spanish spot, which offers tapas and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, Gypsy Kitchen bagged a 3% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, Gypsy Kitchen saw visits more than triple in the past month.
There's more that's trending on Atlanta's bar scene: Le Colonial has seen an 18.6% increase in reviews, and The Red Snapper Seafood Restaurant and Chai Yo Modern Thai have seen 4.1% and 5.3% increases, respectively.
Open at 3035 Peachtree Road NE, Suite A209, Gypsy Kitchen offers garlic shrimp, mussels and more on the menu.
Farm Burger
Farm Burger is also making waves. Open at 3365 Piedmont Road NE, the well-established gluten-free and traditional American spot, which offers burgers and more, has seen a 1.2% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.5% for all businesses tagged "American (Traditional)" on Yelp. As for foot traffic, Farm Burger saw visits more than triple over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Atlanta's traditional American category: Vortex Bar & Grill has seen a 0.5% increase in reviews, and Tom, Dick & Hank has seen a 1.5% bump.
Farm Burger offers pork and catfish burgers in addition to beef burgers. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
