I arrived at 1655 McLendon Ave NE, Atlanta, Ga 30307 Thursday night around 7. As I was walking toward the cafe, I noticed a Flying Biscuit Bakery attached to it; it was closed. I walked over to the entrance of the cafe where there was an interestingly big sign that read ‘The Flying Biscuit Cafe.’ As soon as I stepped in the restaurant I noted the smell of warm biscuits and fried food. Something that also stood out was the array of colors, patterns, and unique designs in the cafe. Since there were so many artistic elements, I observed the interior design as much as I could while focusing on the restaurant itself.
The art that the cafe includes doesn’t go unnoticed. I observed the huge windows that looked over McLendon Street. They had what looked like hand painted gold stars and crescent moons all over it. Interestingly, all 30 some tables were taped with scotch tape with flower designs that had vibrant colors and different patterns. Each table was also equipped with black wooden chairs and came with condiments like Heinz ketchup, Tabasco hot sauce, Sriracha hot sauce, salt and pepper. The silverware was wrapped around purple napkins and were set on each table, some with two and some with four. Though the place looked a bit old and out dated, it had a very peculiar touch to it. The wooden ceiling fans and the big silver ventilators helped give of this mode. The restaurant in its entirety, I believe, arranged and placed their furniture and rooms a certain way to grab customers’ attention.
As soon as you walk in to the cafe, people can see the kitchen and island. The bar-like island is wooden with 7 chairs surrounding it. Inside of the island there’s a coffee machine and soda machine. Next to that is the kitchen, where customer can see the chefs cooking. To the left of the entrance there is a huge room where there are more places to dine in. I sat next to the entrance of the kitchen, where there is a narrow walk way that leads to you the restrooms. Everything in the The Flying Biscuits Cafe had a distinct southern design, like I stated before there were bright color and patterns. This illuminated the entire environment. Everything seemed to be covered in color or design.
Almost everything was eye-capturing, especially the walls. I took note that everything was hand painted. The wall to the right was covered in abstract art with shades of blue and green. There was a variety of animals painted on top of the art and even some white dots covering the different blocks of color. The walls were so detailed with painted images, that it was nearly impossible to find an inch of anything simple just white or black. The closest thing described as the word simple was the plates. The plates were plain and basic but has a spectrum of different colors. I found the ceiling to be painted in a deep purple, and the floor to be a dark brown color. The walls were also consumed with over 25 plaques and accomplishments that the cafe earned. They were scattered all along the wall. I also observed the lighting in the cafe, it seemed to me to be very dim. The lights hung against the wall looked as if they were antic. The restaurant had 4 upside down lamps that were near the front entrance windows. The customers all looked intrigued by what they saw, from the detailed menus, to the walls inflamed with art.
The demographics of the restaurant weren’t really diverse. The were no Hispanics or Asians, there maybe 8 black people including a friend and I. Most of the customers there were white and female. The five servers were also white females, while the two chefs were black males. Also, most of the people in the cafe didn’t seem bothered by the loud music playing or temperature of the restaurant. The tracks playing consisted mainly of jazz and country music, while the temperature inside seemed to reflect the temperature outside. Overall my experience at The Flying Biscuit was very captivating and pleasant. Observing everything in the environment has lead me to conclude this.
