Ready to eat with gusto? Atlanta-based restaurant sets opening date for Athens location

Andrew Shearer, Athens Banner-Herald
·1 min read
The Athens gusto! restaurant location at 161 Alps Road is scheduled to open on April 28, 2022. The Atlanta-based chain was founded by former 1998 UGA football recruit Nate Hybl.
The Athens gusto! restaurant location at 161 Alps Road is scheduled to open on April 28, 2022. The Atlanta-based chain was founded by former 1998 UGA football recruit Nate Hybl.

Originally announced for a fall 2021 opening, the Athens location for Atlanta-based chain restaurant gusto! is set to open on April 28 at 161 Alps Road, the former site of long-running hibachi restaurant Inoko. The chain was founded by Nate Hybl, who was a University of Georgia football player in the 1990s.

More: Former football player turned restaurateur to open a new eatery in a familiar Athens spot

The Athens location will be the first outside the metro Atlanta area for gusto!, which currently operates nine restaurants that serve to-go rice bowls, salads and wraps as healthy alternatives to fast food. With CAVA Mediterranean restaurant also on Alps Road, those looking for a quick and easy spot for a lunch that's friendly to the body will definitely have options.

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This promotional photo from gusto! shows rice bowls and salads from the restaurant's menu. The chain's Athens location is scheduled to open on April 28, 2022.
This promotional photo from gusto! shows rice bowls and salads from the restaurant's menu. The chain's Athens location is scheduled to open on April 28, 2022.

Construction stalled in fall 2021 due to the impact of COVID-19 and subsequent effects on the price and availability of building materials. When the Inoko Japanese Steakhouse building was razed in late August and early September, Hybl told the Banner-Herald that the company had shifted to a March 2022 opening date.

Longtime Athens resident Andrew Skellie, formerly of McAlister's on Broad St., will serve as the local operating partner at the new gusto! location. Visit whatsyourgusto.com/menu for a look at the menu.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens gusto!, located on Alps Rd. in former Inoko, sets opening date