Scene: The coffee landscape of Atlanta, Georgiaโa city of 5.5 million, with a small-pond feel. Some beautiful coffee foothills, but few notable mountains. Atlanta market leaders like Octane Coffee, Counter Culture Coffee, and Batdorf & Bronson have cruised through the last decade comfortably, with only a couple of standout cafes to pose as any sort of competition. One such noteworthy shopย was Decatur’s Steady Hand Pour House, which came on the scene in 2011, introduced Atlanta to Chemex and syphonย brewing, George Howell Coffee, somehow made a cursed 250-square-foot space work well for its near-cult following, then (due to a leasing snafu) abruptly disappeared in 2013.
There were promises of a resurgence.
Steady Hand devotees waited patiently, attending every pop-up, hounding owners Dale Donchey, Jordan Chambers, and Jamie Pair with โWhere?โ and โWhen?โ and โCan you please get me some George Howell coffee?!โ But the uprising never happened. At least not in the way anyone expected. The three owners went in different directions and their following eventually resigned to accept the death of Steady Hand Pour House. As years passed, Donchey took over the coffee program at Hugh Achesonโs comfy, yet chic, Atlanta restaurant Empire State South, and consulted on a number of projects for the beloved โcelebrityโ chef-darling.
In 2015, when word spread that Acheson would be standing behind Donchey to open Spiller Park Coffeeโthe only coffee establishment within the walls of the 2-million-square-foot Jamestown development, Ponce City Market, Atlanta was ready. It wouldnโt be another Steady Hand Pour House, but it would certainly carry the same hallmark and a lot of nostalgia. Spiller Park opened officially inย October.
Behind the helm, Donchey has placed former Steady Hand barista Thomas Busby in a General Manager position and his familiar face and demeanor has attracted โHey, arenโt you the Steady Hand guys?โ on a daily basis. Spiller Parkโs multi-roaster program is stocked like Steady Hand, with George Howell Coffee, Intelligentsia Coffee, and more northerly offerings from Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roastersย andย 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters. To acclimate to the extreme high volume and pace of Ponce City Market, Chemex and syphonย brewing were eschewed forย Kalita Wave as a pour-over option and FETCOย batch brew for speed. Spiller Park has two two-group La Marzocco Linea PB espresso machines, both put to use during the madness of weekend crowds in the thousands.
โSteady Hand Pour House had its mark in time,โ Donchey told me. โPeople still talk about it.โ But as he worked to plan for a new shop, Acheson encouraged him to focus forward on โwho you are and what you love,โ said the cafe operator. In his research of the behemoth building that would be his new digs, Doncheyย discovered another man who had taken a similar task upon his shoulders: R.J. Spiller. In the early 1900’s, Ponce de Leon Parkโa minor league baseball stadium, home to the Atlanta Crackersโsat in the north shadow of Ponce City Market (then Sears, Roebuck and Company). When the stadium burned down in 1923, club owner R.J. Spiller rebuilt the field and it became known as Spiller Park.
โI like the string of poetic-ness found in life symbols,โ Donchey grinned. โPonce de Leon Park burned down, and this local family rebuilt what burned down.โ He knew he had found his inspiration and his name, and he started developing his concept not around what Steady Hand was, but who he believes he is and what he loves. โCoffee is a vehicle for building community and fueling conversation.โ Donchey pointed to the pill-shaped wraparound bar, studded with stools on either end, which encases Spiller Parkโs island espresso station. โI didnโt want to be too clichรฉ, so I went with subtle: A classic, Southern diner-meets-baseball-park feel.โ Even as we talked, we watched Spillerโs baristas leaning into conversation with customers perched around the bar.
For Achesonโs contributionโoutside of his moral, financial, and advisory supportโhe brought in a toast program. Without a kitchen, Spiller Park had to block off a small area of counter space for food prep, and use a single-burner grill to prepare a rotating menu of made-to-order toasts. Acheson designed a simple but vibrant avocado-lime toast, which can be topped with a yolky fried egg. Also on the menu areย seasonal apple butter or marmalade toasts with ricotta. โWe also have Sublime Doughnuts.โ said Donchey, pointing to the โAโ [for Atlanta] shaped Boston Cream doughnutsโa pairing which began in the Steady Hand days. โBecause theyโre awesome. And delicious with coffee.โ
Elizabeth Chai (@chaiamericano) is a graphic designer and freelance writer based in Portland.ย Read more Elizabeth Chai on Sprudge.