Today, food trucks are omnipresent and almost taken for granted. But back in 2010, Atlanta had none. Buckhead native Carson Young, a Woodward Academy and Atlanta Speech School graduate, was inspired after a trip to Los Angeles. “I was working as an intern in Midtown during the Great Recession, and good, quick food options were limited,” he remembers. He was floored by the scene in California, where trucks used social media to promote their offerings, causing them to go gangbusters at office buildings during the week. “There were lines out of the truck and huge consumer support. It clicked that I had to do this in Atlanta, because it is a very spread-out city,” he says.
However, laws and permitting issues prevented him from setting up a food truck centered around Asian-Mexican fusion in Atlanta the way he wanted to. That didn’t deter Young. “I set out to help change the laws,” he says. (In 2011, Carson and others helped get legislation revised in the City of Atlanta to help with permitting via the Atlanta Street Food Coalition and other efforts.)
That determination is par for the course for anyone who knows Young, who is deaf and who has no formal culinary training. He knew what he wanted to do and figured out a way to do it, to the tune of much success. He’s now joined by his wife, Katy, who handles the behind-the-scenes aspects while Carson is “the visionary of the brand,” she says.
Yumbii currently has three Atlanta brick-and-mortar locations serving up Korean-Mexican fusion items like burritos, tacos, and of course, its famous sesame fries, plus its fleet of food trucks. Two stand-alone locations have closed, but Carson has seen the change as a positive. “We’ve used the struggles of closing two locations as lessons in learning and getting better,” he says. “We had to remind ourselves that getting back into basics is the best way to grow and run a business, and it’s been a triumph to be in business for 15 years,” he says.
The duo recently celebrated that milestone with an appearance on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” Guy Fieri’s long-running Food Network show. Katy says being on the show was an interesting reversal. “Our food trucks have done movies and TV sets for years, and being on set is familiar to us, but being on camera was a whole different thing,” she says. “It was a great experience, and we love how the show is committed to propping up smaller, family-owned and operated brands.”
The Youngs adored their time with the iconic chef and restaurateur. “It was cool to meet and get to know Guy and for him to recognize the brand,” says Carson. “He gave us a couple of pointers on the kitchen and front-of-house sides, which he didn’t have to do,” says Katy. Fieri sampled Yumbii’s street-style tacos, bulgogi cheesesteak, and loaded sesame fries, which are similar to nachos but with a potato base. (Fieri repeatedly described the food in the episode as “flavor bombs.”)
Building on the success of the episode, the Youngs are growing the business in new ways. “We’ve expanded the business into doing more catering and events, not just with our food truck,” Katy says. While the food trucks have always been booked out for movie sets and big corporate events, the brand has expanded into more large-format catering. For example, Yumbii did 20,000 orders of sesame fries for Delta at a corporate event in a single day.
The menu is also expanding to satisfy shifting palates. “We’re also adding more health-forward options and getting away from having so much fried food, even though that’s what everyone loves,” she says. That includes recent additions such as a chili lime shrimp taco, a Mexican chopped salad with an avocado lime crema, and a Korean cauliflower taco, among others. “We’re staying true to our flavor profile but expanding into more varied and creative options,” she says.
There’s even a new concept. The duo noticed that the wings were “slowly creeping into a top-selling item, specifically our honey Sriracha,” says Katy. “Carson found a fryer oil that is completely seed-free, is derived from the sugar cane plant, and fries at a higher temperature. We’ve been perfecting a healthier version of the chicken wing.” Katy says that Yumbii is the first fast-casual brand in Atlanta to bring in this particular oil.
Despite being a successful restaurateur for the last decade and a half, Carson isn’t slowing down. He’s ready for the next chapter. “I want to find a partner or two to help me run the business,” he says. “We are ready to grow organically to the next level.”
An indoor farmer’s market spanning nearly 10,000 square feet is set to open next year just outside of Buckhead. The Upper West Market will provide intown residents a nearby selection of locally produced produce, meats and other foods. The new facility is located at 1385 Collier Road just southwest of Buckhead in the former Cagle’s chicken processing plant.
Ben Hautt of Robles Partners, which is spearheading the development, said there are a bevy of food halls in Atlanta, but “no real farmers markets.”
“Atlanta doesn’t have anything like this,” Hautt said. “We have a ton of food halls but no true markets. If you look at most major cities around the world, they have an indoor facility where local producers can sell produce. The best example is Pike’s Place Market in Seattle.”
Pike’s Place Market and London’s Borough Market served as inspiration for Upper West Market, Hautt said, which will make it a “first-of-its-kind” destination in Atlanta highlighting the area’s culinary and agricultural heritage and diversity. Several vendors have already committed to occupying space in Upper West. They include pasture-raised meat producers White Oak Pastures of Bluffton, Georgia, Honeysuckle Gelato, Dips Kitchen, and Summerland Farms.
“I think a lot of us that live in the area, if we are having people over for dinner and we want to cook a really nice meal, where do you go?” Hautt said. “A lot of people would say Whole Foods, and some people may even drive 40 minutes to Dekalb Farmers Market. But with Upper West, they can go to a local market and get grass-fed beef from White Oak Pastures or pick produce to make a salad with ingredients all from a Georgia-grown facility. That fills a need people have to get great local produce while also supporting local farmers and helping to prop them up. Most farmers will attest now it’s difficult with rising costs, inflation, and downward pressure to produce groceries as inexpensive as possible.”
The farmers market will be a component of a culinary hub in the 80,000-square-foot mixed-use development. Summerland Café by Michelin-star chef Anne Quatrano and Hop City Wine Bar are slated to open in spaces adjacent to the farmers market. Novare Events is leasing a 26,000-square-foot event space that includes an outdoor garden. The two-story development will also feature office space and indoor/outdoor seating and an indoor bistro.
Robles Partners said the market will host special events, cooking classes, and seasonal celebrations.
Upper West Market is scheduled to open in summer 2025.
Buckhead’s Atlanta Police Department precinct is seeing a changing of the guard as its current commander has received a promotion to deputy chief.
Andrew Senzer, who has led the Zone 2 precinct since November 2019 with the rank of major, will head APD’s Strategy and Special Projects Division, he announced at an April 7 meeting of the Buckhead Public Safety Task Force.
Major Ailen Mitchell, who has served as Senzer’s assistant since 2020, will be the new Zone 2 commander, Deputy Chief Timothy Peek said in the meeting.
The transition will happen on April 14, according to APD. The current head of the Strategy and Special Projects Division, Deputy Chief Darin Schierbaum, is being promoted to the vacant position of assistant chief of police.
Senzer was Buckhead’s police commander through the historic COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying crime spike, including the May 2020 rioting and looting in local business areas that spun out of Black Lives Matter protests about the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd.
He also led through the beginning of the Buckhead cityhood movement that based itself on crime concerns. While crime spiked, Senzer took a zero-tolerance approach and Buckhead continues to have the city’s lowest crime rate.
“It really has been an honor to serve as the commander of Zone 2,” Senzer said in the task force meeting. “In my 26 years [in policing], this has probably been the most challenging assignment I’ve had.”
He said his new role will be “a little behind the scenes” but that he will “not be a stranger” in Buckhead.
Peek said APD is “ecstatic” about Senzer taking on the deputy chief role.
Mitchell, according to his APD biography, has been with the department since 2006. He previously commanded the SWAT team and, like Senzer, once served on the Red Dog unit, an anti-drug squad disbanded in 2011 after controversial incidents like an illegal raid on the Atlanta Eagle gay bar. Among his other work was the Gang Unit and the Auto Theft Task Force.
Mitchell became Zone 2’s Criminal Investigations Unit commander in 2018 and its assistant commander in 2020.
Zone 2 is headquartered at 3120 Maple Drive in Buckhead Village.
Update: This story has been updated with information from APD about the transition.