Jerry & Krista Slater: The Expat, The Lark Winespace, & Slater's Steakhouse (Athens, GA)

Hospitality can be a nebulous thing, and while you know it when you feel it, what are some of its concrete elements and how do you create it and maintain it in a restaurant? To explore that question, I turned to two of the most hospitable people I know, Jerry and Krista Slater. Based in Athens, GA, they currently own two restaurants: The Expat and Slater's Steakhouse, one wine shop and bar named The Lark, and are in process to open another restaurant and a cocktail bar very soon. So they think about hospitality a lot. They've made a career of it, with Jerry working at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, and being one of the consulting creators for One Flew South in Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. Krista, a painter and certified sommelier, worked for years in the wine and restaurant industry in the Bay Area before relocating to Georgia. You might even recognize their names from a beverage column in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, so to say busy is an understatement. But despite that, they are always intentional in creating their spaces and guest experiences, and they do it all with a dash of humor and goodwill for the larger community.