Krystal x Butter: Our Reimagined, ATLed-Out Location of the OG Burger Chain, Opens August 20 on Atlanta’s Westside

It’s time to let the burger out of the sack, folks. Your cousins at Butter.ATL have jumped into the restaurant game. Introducing Krystal x Butter.

Opening Friday, August 20, at the Krystal Northside Drive location in Atlanta’s West Midtown area, Krystal x Butter is much more than a simple restaurant renovation. This dual-branded Krystal location — the first of its kind, ever — is the result of a partnership that matches Butter’s deep-rooted connection to Atlanta culture with fans of the OG American fast-foot restaurant chain. 

TL;DR: Those little square burgers have always hit. Now with Butter involved, they’ll hit different.

The Krystal Northside Drive location, down the street from Georgia Tech and just a couple miles from other institutions including Georgia State University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University and the rest of the Atlanta University Center, has long been surrounded by Atlanta culture (especially the late night crowd). Before a variety of options appeared between 10th and 14th Streets, there were Krystal burgers, Krystal Chiks and more for anyone aiming to knock back hunger with one or several of those iconic little square burgers. 

This time though, you’ll come to Krystal for more than just food. There’ll be all sorts of immersive experiences and touchpoints that capture the spirit, history and vibe of Atlanta, all on display inside and outside the culture-packed space, which was brought to life with help from The Spice Group. If you’ve visited cultural experiential landmarks of Atlanta like T.I.’s Trap Music Museum and 21 Savage’s Motel 21, you already know what it is.

Here’s some of what you can expect when Krystal x Butter opens to the public:

• A newly painted black and red exterior
• ATL-specific murals on all sides of the building
• Drive-thru lanes painted to resemble Atlanta’s infamously traffic-laden highways
• A quick timeline of ATL history, highlighting key moments in the city
• A speaker-inspired installation showing love to ATL’s often-imitated, never duplicated music scene
• A jukebox loaded with hit-afta-hit from some of ATL’s most popular homegrown recording artists
• Neon! 
• Walls wrapped from floor to ceiling of Atlanta skylines and offerings from Krystal’s menu 
• And wait ‘til you see what’s in the bathroom… ? 

Brandon Butler, our executive director, is pretty hyped, as are the rest of us. Calling it “a physical manifestation of the Butter vibe everyone knows and loves,” he says Krystal x Butter is going to show and prove what Butter can do.

“We’re a media company, and people see us as a social channel, but we’re so much more than that,” he says. And what makes him especially proud is the intentionality of the space. 

“Butter has its pulse on Atlanta and the design is reflective of what makes us and the city so awesome.“

Krystal president thomas stager

“We did a lot on the creative side to be really intentional about the culture, including with the teams we brought in. We were very intentional about working with partners like The Spice Group — a Black-owned and woman-led production company — to amplify Black voices in creativity. We wanted the right partners so not just the end result but the process itself would be Black. AF.”

And Krystal Restaurants LLC’s president, Thomas Stager, says he’s all for it. 

“We are so proud to be a part of so many great communities in the southeast, and especially proud of the way Atlanta has embraced who we are and how we operate.  This project is in essence our love letter to one of the places we call home, and we hope all our neighbors join us in celebration of this great city,” said Stager. “Butter has its pulse on Atlanta and the design is reflective of what makes us and the city so awesome. We look forward to having this restaurant be an exciting destination for locals and visitors to enjoy for its aesthetic, and of course, our delicious food.”  

All that’s left for you to do is pull up in Atlanta at 626 14th St NW, on Friday, August 20. We’ll be at Krystal x Butter. You’ll wanna be there with us. You already know.