Atlanta restaurateur Khadijah Vickers knew that the restaurant business was where she wanted to be since way back. When she moved to Atlanta in 2012, she knew she had to make it happen.
“What inspired me to get into the restaurant industry was what I experienced back home in Valrico, Florida, near Tampa. When I was home our home was the party house,” Vickers told AtlantaFi.com in an exclusive interview.
On Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, Vickers is opening The Vick in downtown Atlanta. In a sense, The Vick is a party house, one part sports bar, one part community gathering place. The aim is to make it just like it was back home, right outside Tampa.
“My older cousins, they always know: Let’s go to Aunt Sylvie’s House!” she said. Vickers also owns The Vick on Canton, a coffee and cocktails spot in Roswell.
The name “The Vick” is not just a restaurant with a warm, intimate setting. It’s a nod to family, she said.
“The restaurant is called The Vick because my last name is Vickers and my grandfather had a restaurant called Vicks. It was a bar and grill in Plant City, Florida, where I’m from,” Vickers said.
One Chef’s Culinary Journey To Atlanta
In Vickers’ case, the path to the restaurant industry wasn’t a straight line. “I used to do real estate. I did mortgages.” She also had stints at AppleBee’s, Chilis and more. She also worked with Keller Williams and even opened a day care at one point. As a mother with two kids, Vickers said she did what she could to make a living.
Then she had an epiphany: “My mentor told me stop chasing the check and to do something that I loved. I said then that there was nothing more that I liked to do, other than hospitality.”
After a seven-month stint in Houston, Texas, Vickers put “Atlanta, Georgia” in her GPS and set out for Atlanta. She called an apartment finder and gave them her criteria. “When I arrived the lady had five apartments for me to look at. I checked into a hotel and visited them. I chose the last one.”
Once I got established and put my kids in school, I signed up for Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Atlanta.
In the beginning, she worked with several startups, gaining experience. She also worked as a chef at Suite Food Lounge, a popular downtown destination on Luckie Street. Soon enough, she learned all aspects of the food business.
“I was working in front of the house, in the back of the house, I was the ad man, the tax man. Soon enough, I said, “If I’m doing all of this for somebody else, why don’t I do it for myself?’ and that’s what I did.”
k is located at 57 Forsyth St. NW in the Fairlie–Poplar district, the 2,700 square-foot space seats up to 70 in a rustic yet refined setting. Here’s a map to help you find it.
The Future for The Vick Brand
She said The Vick brand won’t just stay in Georgia. “Our next location will be in Dallas, Texas,” she said.