A stretch of Roswell Road in Buckhead that's already seen a beloved Thai restaurant come and go, followed by a short-lived West African lounge, is getting a third act: Illusion Sports Bar is set to open at 3195 Roswell Rd NW this fall, bringing burgers, wings and a patio jumbotron to the 3,100-square-foot space.
The venue is expected to open in November, or about three months from now, according to What Now Atlanta. Co-owner Nahom Mekonnen said he had wanted to open a sports bar for a very long time, and the Buckhead building will undergo only minor renovations before opening its doors under the new concept. The space most recently housed Bloom Bar, which shuttered at the address earlier this year.
From Thai Landmark to Ghanaian Lounge to Sports Bar
The building itself, constructed in 1950 on a 0.23-acre parcel along Roswell Road, has a layered commercial history. It sits between a Sherwin-Williams paint store and an Atlanta Fire Rescue station, directly across from The Gentry Apartments, per real estate details reported by What Now Atlanta. For nearly 29 years, the site was home to Annie's Thai Castle, a neighborhood dining fixture that opened in 1993 and quietly closed at the end of 2021, as documented by Tomorrow's News Today.
After Annie's closed, the property sold for $2.95 million in early 2022 through brokerage firm Bull Realty, the same outlet reported. It then became Bloom Bar, which opened in late 2023 as the first U.S. location of Ghana-based Blue-Chip Hospitality Group, serving West African fusion cuisine alongside mixology and Afrobeats entertainment, according to Atlanta Magazine. That conversion included $80,000 in renovations covering updated restrooms, new flooring, relocated lighting and a 24-seat outdoor patio, a buildout Illusion Sports Bar is expected to adapt for its own jumbotron setup.
A Valet-Turned-Owner With Franchise Ambitions
Mekonnen will run the new Buckhead venue alongside Yonathen and Amanuel Kassaye, and he envisions franchising the Illusion Sports Bar concept to roughly seven locations over the next two years. Before entering restaurant ownership, Mekonnen spent about a decade working as a hotel and restaurant valet in Atlanta, an experience the entrepreneur credits with shaping his understanding of local hospitality operations.
The Buckhead location will be Illusion's second, following the flagship Illusion Sports Lounge at 4955 Sugarloaf Pkwy in Lawrenceville. That suburban venue operates as a sports and hookah lounge with more than 20 TVs, weekly karaoke nights and full food service, according to details shared on Eventbrite. The Buckhead spot is expected to carry over that same seating-and-TV format alongside classic sports bar fare like burgers and wings.
Expansion Extends Beyond Sports Bars
Mekonnen's ambitions aren't confined to sports viewing. He's also launching a separate breakfast and brunch concept called Eggscape at 2829 Buford Hwy NE in Brookhaven, scheduled to open in late September, putting him in the position of opening two very different concepts within weeks of each other this fall.
Illusion Sports Bar will enter a crowded Buckhead nightlife scene that already includes established names like Buckhead Saloon, Fadó Irish Pub and P Sports Bar & Lounge, according to Atlanta Magazine's coverage of the area's competitive sports viewing market. One operational wrinkle facing any Buckhead nightlife venue is Atlanta's alcohol permitting structure: standard restaurant liquor permits run about $5,000 annually, while venues classified as nightclubs face licensing fees of $100,000 a year under city ordinances regulating late-night establishments, as reported by WSB-TV. Staying classified as a restaurant rather than a nightclub is likely to be a key consideration as Illusion builds out its food-and-sports-viewing format on Roswell Road.
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