Mellow Mushroom Opens Vibrant Prototype

Mellow Mushroom, an Atlanta-based restaurant brand serving stone-baked pizzas, has released a prototype to help support its future growth.

The brand worked with The Culinary Edge, a food and beverage consultancy, to create the prototype, which opened Dec. 2 in Atlanta’s Grant Park. The design blends operational innovation with the brand’s unique flare.

“We worked with the Mellow Mushroom team to update the kitchen design and flow, keeping the stone-based conveyor pizza oven, a cornerstone of Mellow Mushroom’s product quality and operational success, as the heart of the space, but leaning into an assembly-line style pizza setup to allow for higher throughputs and efficiencies,” Eric Fernandez, associate director, culinary of TCE, told FER.

Fernandez says the team also simplified dine-in and takeout order management to stay focused on speed and efficiency. “Ordering kiosks and heated pizza lockers in the front-of-house as well as KDS systems in the back-of-house were placed to create a higher quality experience for both dine-in and off-premise guests,” Fernandez says. “All in all, the goal was to create a seamless journey for both the guest and the Mellow Mushroom team.”

Ordering kiosks streamline the guest experience.

The Grant Park location’s menu includes Mellow Mushroom’s classic stone-baked pizzas, along with new items such as “panizzis,” which are hand-held pizza sandwiches filled with fresh ingredients and made with the brand’s pizza dough. Other highlights include two expansive patios for alfresco dining and murals created by local artists. Mellow Mushroom operates 160-plus locations across 16 states.

The brand touts its vibrant culture.