A few years ago, Sylvan Hills resident Joseph Watkins woke up in bed next to a plate of discarded chicken wings. His right arm pinched and his chest pounded. He decided to give up eating meat — forever.
“I felt like an old man,” recalled the father of five and part-time landscaper who, until that point, had regularly consumed chicken wings, pepperoni pizza, and other fast foods.
“I knew I needed to start eating well because I didn’t want to feel weak and not be able to play with my children,” Watkins added.
Watkins celebrated four years as a vegan at Life Bistro, which opened in Sylvan Hills in 2020. His childhood friend, Chef Issa Prescott, also happens to be the owner of the neighborhood restaurant.
Watkins stops into Life Bistro six days a week to order his usual: seafood rasta pasta. The spicy alfredo-like pasta dish comes tossed with mango salsa, chimichurri, and “shrimp” made from konjac, an Asian root vegetable with a meat-like texture.
“The seasoning tastes good, and the texture really tastes the same as shrimp,” said Watkins. For lunch, he’ll typically order a takeout plate of pasta, often with a bottle of sorrel herbal tea made by local Black-owned brand Majestea. For dinner, he’ll add a side salad, mashed potatoes, or quinoa.
“This is the closest restaurant to my house, so I have to pass it to go anywhere,” he said of why it’s his go-to restaurant. Watkins appreciates the reasonable price point and value for money at Life Bistro—$17 for a hefty portion allows for leftovers or to share with his kids when they return home from school.
For Prescott, opening an affordable, plant-based restaurant with approachable dishes such as po’boys and pastas in the neighborhood where he grew up was intentional.
“I come from a family of people who are all about community development,” he said. “My mom could have sent me to private school, but she sent me to the local public school and volunteered as a parent to improve the community, rather than run away from it; so I take the same mentality as a business owner.”
Life Bistro has become a gathering place for the broader Sylvan Hills neighborhood. The restaurant regularly hosts local groups such as the Ubuntu Climate Initiative and the Boys and Girls Club, and annual events like Umoja Night during Kwanza. The December holiday event showcases local vendors and artists ranging from African drummers to face painters.
“But regular and repeat customers like Joe are essential to our business survival and our overall business model,” explained Prescott of the intrinsic value of a restaurant regular. “The restaurant industry has really thin margins, so they are the customers that essentially keep Life Bistro open.”
Watkins values that Life Bistro helps him continue following a vegan lifestyle, especially since most of his friends still eat meat.
“People are always bringing around wings or fried chicken, but I don’t like the way meat makes me feel,” he said. “When I eat [food] like this, I feel strong and have a lot more energy.”
With Life Bistro closed on Mondays, Watkins will sometimes drive to the restaurant’s Buckhead ghost kitchen for takeout or stop by Junior’s Pizza in Summerhill for a vegan pizza. He’s also a big fan of Sevanda Natural Foods Market in Little Five Points, where he stocks up on vitamins and vegan staples like ramen noodles and to hit up its hot bar for a breakfast of grits, sweet potatoes, a biscuit, and vegan sausage.
But Watkins always returns to his neighborhood favorite, Life Bistro, for the sustenance and community.
“Knowing that I know the person who is picking the foods I eat and that he is getting the best quality food, that’s the reason I continue to eat there.”
Life Bistro, 2036 Sylvan Road, Atlanta. Tuesday – Thursday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 12 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
