08/24/2026
Join us THIS FRIDAY to kick off the NEW Fire Maker: Brewery, Bar, and Chicken experience! Read below for more details ⬇️
Griffin, you talked. We listened.
Over the past year, you’ve told us what you loved about Southern Social — and you’ve also been pretty clear about what wasn’t working.
So we’re going to be pretty clear, too.
Our food has not been consistently good enough.
Quality was inconsistent. Ticket times were too long. Food didn’t always make it out hot. We changed the menu too often. And while we made changes along the way — to processes, personnel and the menu itself — those changes weren’t solving the bigger problem.
We heard the complaints. We read the reviews. And we own it.
Eventually, we realized we had a choice: keep trying to make small fixes to Southern Social, or make a much bigger change.
We chose the bigger change.
Southern Social is officially closing its chapter in Griffin.
Beginning Friday, August 28, we reopen as:
🔥 FIRE MAKER BREWERY, BAR & CHICKEN 🐔
And this is a lot more than putting a new name on the building.
We closed our kitchen for two weeks so we could make real changes. We have new kitchen management, a redesigned kitchen layout and flow, and an entirely new, chicken-forward menu built around doing fewer things and doing them well.
Chicken. Wings. Tenders. Sandwiches. Great sides. Cold beer you know and love.
A menu we can execute consistently and a kitchen designed to get it to you hot and faster.
We’re also changing the way service works.
Interestingly enough, the restaurant was originally designed for quick service. Before opening Southern Social, we changed direction and decided to operate as a full-service restaurant.
We tried it. Now, we’re going back to what this space was built to do.
It’s simple:
🐔 Order food + non-alcoholic drinks at the window.
🍺 Order alcohol at the bar.
🪑 Find your seat.
🔥 Pick up your food when it’s ready and enjoy.
That’s it.
And while the way you order is changing, the people who have made this place special aren’t disappearing.
No front-of-house employees lost their jobs because of this transition. You’re still going to see a lot of the familiar faces you already know, along with some new ones.
We want the Fire Maker name on this building because it’s a name we believe in, a brand we know, and a standard we’re ready to hold this location to.
And if you came to Southern Social before and left disappointed because of the food, we’re not asking you to forget that experience.
We’re asking you to come back and judge us by what we do next.
On Friday, August 28, Fire Maker Brewery, Bar & Chicken officially opens.
And we’re kicking it off the right way — live music, specials and celebrations all weekend long. 🍺🐔🎶
Come see what’s changed. Come see some familiar faces. Come try the chicken. Come have a beer.
Southern Social is gone.
Fire Maker is here. 🔥
