Gerry Klaskala, chef and owner of Aria, part of Eater Atlanta’s Best 38 Restaurants, is retiring after 25 years of running the staple Buckhead restaurant. He is handing over the reins to longtime general manager Andrés Loaiza, who will become the new owner.
“It’s time,” says Klaskala in a statement. “I have head-over-heels loved what I’ve been doing … It’s been a great, great ride. I’m satisfied.”
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Klaskala opened Aria on March 19, 2000. This after he joined restaurateur Pano Karatassos as the opening chef and managing partner at Buckhead Diner, where he cooked for celebrities like Sir Elton John, Elizabeth Taylor, and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. He then opened Canoe with George McKerrow and Ron San Martin before the trio opened Aria.
The James Beard Award semifinalist restaurant for Outstanding Hospitality this year is known for modern American cuisine (think mountain trout with spinach and grapes, butter braised lobster, and lump crab cakes) and a glorious wine list. It is also Eater Atlanta’s pick for one of the best restaurants for date night. Loaiza hopes to continue its legacy and is searching for the restaurant’s new chef.
“I love this place Gerry created, and I love what we do here. Aria will continue to live and breathe by the standards Gerry set,” says Loaiza in a statement. “Aria has succeeded over the years by evolving. This transition allows us to get a fresh set of eyes on the experience we present and make that experience even better as we introduce Aria to the next generation of Atlantans.”
As for Klaskala, after more than 50 years in restaurants, he is looking forward to some free time — he wants to focus on drawing and painting. He says he abandoned his art studies as a teen to enroll in The Culinary Institute of America instead.
“My plans aren’t grandiose,” says Klaskala in a statement. “For me, art is a way to get lost in my thoughts and ideas … For so long, I felt like I couldn’t step away without compromising the restaurant — I even felt guilty just sitting down to read a book. Now, I finally have that freedom.”
