Gocha Hawkins spent nearly three decades building a career behind the chair before she ever cracked an egg for a living, and now she's the name behind a popular Atlanta brunch spot. Her restaurant, Gocha's Breakfast Bar, has grown from a single Cascade Road storefront into a small hospitality empire built on fluffy pancakes, shrimp and grits, and French toast piled high with Bananas Foster.
A Hairstylist's Second Act
Before she was flipping pancakes, Hawkins was styling some of the biggest names to come through Atlanta. As reported by Eater Atlanta, she spent nearly 30 years in the beauty industry, owns Gocha Salon in Midtown, and built her reputation as the go-to hairstylist for reality star Kandi Burruss and tennis legend Serena Williams. That client list gave her a foothold in Atlanta long before she ever opened a restaurant, and it's part of the story CBS News Atlanta highlighted in featuring her transformation from stylist to restaurateur.
An opening date reported by Eater Atlanta says that Hawkins first opened Gocha's Breakfast Bar on Cascade Road in 2019, serving an all-day brunch menu. The Cascade Road location became the foundation for everything that followed.
From One Location to a Growing Group
Hawkins opened a second Gocha's Breakfast Bar location a year after the first, landing in Fayetteville at the Summit Point shopping complex, per Eater Atlanta's reporting. The brand's expansion also includes a food truck, though the current count as of this fall was not independently verified.
That food truck marked a deliberate expansion of her original concept. Gocha Hawkins expanded service at her Atlanta Breakfast Bar by opening an adjacent food truck, according to a press release posted on gochasbreakfastbar.com. The same press materials note she has also been reported to be launching Gocha's All Day in Atlantic Station, a sign of how far the brand has stretched beyond its brunch-only roots.
Bigger Digs on Cascade Road
The flagship location recently got dramatically bigger. Hawkins reopened the Cascade Road Gocha's Breakfast Bar after an expansion that added an extra 80 seats, effectively doubling its capacity, according to Atlanta Magazine. The move suggests demand has outpaced the original footprint, something Eater Atlanta's earlier reporting also picked up on, noting that despite offering reservations, both restaurant locations often see lines forming on the weekends.
Hawkins hasn't stopped at breakfast. She has also opened Gocha's Tapas Bar, nestled in the Sandtown Crossing community and located next to The Standard Kitchen by GH, which opened in April, according to the tapas bar's own site. Hawkins is also developing a shared kitchen space, though details of the project were not independently verified. She now holds the title of CEO of Gocha's Restaurant Group and founder and owner of Gocha's Breakfast Bar, per Cuisine Noir's reporting.
What's on the Plate
The menu that built her following is still the draw. Gocha's Breakfast Bar's own food menu lists pancakes. The same menu features crunchy battered French toast topped with Bananas Foster, powdered sugar, and whipped cream, plus a half order of shrimp and grits served with a honey-buttered biscuit.
Vegan diners aren't left out either. According to the restaurant's food menu, Gocha's Breakfast Bar also serves vegan pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, powdered sugar, and a choice of protein. Between the pancakes, the French toast, and the shrimp and grits, it's easy to see why weekend lines have become part of the Gocha's Breakfast Bar experience, even for a business that started as a single storefront on Cascade Road.
