Setting a standard

Philosophy and hospitality meet at Atlanta’s Dailey’s and City Grill restaurants

BY EMILY L. FOLEY

For many, fine dining is reserved for special occasions. Celebrations necessitate an exceptional night, and those nights should create lasting memories.

Karen Bremer, owner and operator of Atlanta’s celebrated Dailey’s and City Grill restaurants, lives by that mantra and works to make each dining experience ideal for her patrons. Every day, she is responsible for bringing fine dining of the utmost quality to guests at her two award-winning eateries located in the heart of Atlanta.

A native of Canada, Bremer came to the United States during her high school years. She began her career in the restaurant industry at age 15, working at S&S Cafeteria in Tampa, Fla. By the time she was a senior in college studying public relations, she had worked through the ranks of the industry, from waiting tables to tending bar.

In 1978, Bremer accepted a position as marketing assistant for a California-based national restaurant chain. The company embarked on a massive growth venture and began opening restaurants at a rate of one every three weeks.

During this period, Bremer proved herself a valuable asset to the company, and also discovered she enjoyed the management and operations end of the business.

“I loved getting a whole team of people together to march in unison and create a guest experience, and create wonderful food and run a successful business,” she recalls.

Bremer never returned to college. For the next few years, she traveled, and ultimately ended up in the San Francisco Bay area as the general manager of a restaurant.

In 1984, Bremer joined up with the Peasant Restaurant Group, a company with both fine- and casual-dining restaurants around metro Atlanta with a stellar reputation in the industry. Bremer was hired as a restaurant manager and, over the years, held positions as chef, food developer, area manager regional manager and, vice president of operations.

In 1998, after 14 years with the company, she was named president of the prestigious restaurant chain, which, at the time, had more than 38 restaurants. In 2000, the company was divested and Bremer started her own company, purchasing two of Peasant’s most celebrated restaurants, Dailey’s and City Grill.

The choice to purchase Dailey’s and City Grill was a natural one, as Bremer had invested time in both restaurants during her tenure with Peasant. 

Bremer became responsible for the legacies that her restaurants represented: Dailey’s brought fine dining to Atlanta, and City Grill raised the bar of fine dining in the city. Many of the standards of quality at both restaurants were initiated by Bremer, so while her role changed, her ideals and methods stayed the same.

“I think what sets a great dining experience apart from good food and good service is the ability of the restaurant to understand what you’re there for, and then tailor a dining experience to that. That’s what I call hospitality,” says Bremer, who named her company, appropriately, Great Hospitality.

At the time of purchase, Bremer took 26-year-old Dailey’s back to its original concept of “comfortable” American cuisine. That meant guests would enjoy chalk menus, a dessert bar and many of the original menu items. She also refurbished the building and decor.

Not far from Centennial Olympic Park, the restaurant is housed in the upper level of a two-story warehouse building; its exposed brick walls, antique carousel horses and sophisticated comfort foods and now-famous dessert bar have made Dailey’s a downtown landmark. In the lower level of the building is Dailey’s Downstairs, a martini and cigar bar that comes to life each night with live jazz and blues music. The nightspot holds the distinction of being the only venue in Atlanta to offer live entertainment seven nights a week, and is the only jazz club in the city that does not charge a cover fee.

City Grill is located in the Hurt Building, built in 1912 and was the earliest home of Atlanta’s Federal Reserve Bank; the building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Diners enter through a stately rotunda and ascend a marble staircase into one of the most opulent spaces in the city. City Grill’s dramatic decor boasts marble columns, custom-made chandeliers and perhaps the most spectacular feature, a floor-to-ceiling, pastoral scene that’s hand-painted in rich hues. Bremer redefined this 19-year-old restaurant that now serves “modern American cuisine, straight up with a twist,” pairing seasonal, locally grown foods with top wines from across the globe.

Bremer correlates dining in her restaurants to entertaining guests in her own home, and believes that same hospitality, kindness and personalization should be given to each guest. Her staff also follows up with diners the morning after their visit, thanking them for choosing Dailey’s or City Grill.

Through the years, Atlanta’s diners have become more sophisticated. Yet through it all, Bremer’s Great Hospitality restaurants have continued to meet the needs of their guests and excel expectations.

But what’s the best thing about running two of the city’s best-known restaurants? “I get to throw this fabulous dinner party every night—and get paid for it,” she says.

Following are a few of Bremer’s recipes that you’ll find on the menus at Dailey’s and City Grill.

—Emily L. Foley is a freelance writer based in Atlanta. Her favorite part of researching this story was getting to taste almost the entire City Grill dessert menu.