Ask almost anyone who has spent time in downtown Atlanta to name the big building at the corner of Marietta Street and Centennial Olympic Park Drive, and you will hear the same two words: CNN Center. It is one of the most recognizable addresses in the city, and for decades it gave the city a voice the whole world recognized.
So when people search for CNN Center Atlanta today, they are usually asking a simple question. What is in there now?
Here is the short answer. The building is the reimagined former CNN Center, and its atrium is now home to CTR Food Works: a food hall with eleven chef-driven kitchens, the largest bar in Georgia, and 500 seats. Same address, 190 Marietta St NW. A very different reason to walk in.
A local landmark with a global voice
This atrium anchored broadcast journalism in downtown Atlanta for a generation. The former CNN Center hosted presidents, prime ministers, and decades of breaking news. For plenty of out-of-town visitors, it was the one building downtown they already knew by name before they ever arrived.
That kind of recognition does not fade quickly. People still give directions by it. The MARTA stop two blocks east still carries the name, CNN Center / GWCC, and the old name is still how a lot of Atlanta describes this corner of the Centennial Park District.
The newsroom era is part of the building's story. The next chapter is about what happens when you open that same atrium up to everyone.
What the atrium became
CTR Food Works opened in spring 2026 inside the reimagined building. The hall was developed in collaboration with CP Group and is led by the team behind Chattahoochee Food Works and its founder, Robert Montwaid. The wider redevelopment that houses the hall goes by The CTR.
Montwaid has described the goal as taking "a place that was once a symbol of Atlanta's global voice" and turning it into a platform for local talent, local flavor, and community connection. In practice, that means a room that used to be watched from around the world is now a room where you sit down, eat well, and stay a while.
The fuller version of that story lives on our About page.
What is inside now
The lineup is built so that no two counters compete for the same craving, which is exactly what a big, mixed downtown crowd needs.
Southern Belle Chicken Co. is the headline name: Michelin-recommended, James Beard-nominated Atlanta chef Joey Ward doing fried chicken through a well-traveled lens, with crispy sandwiches and hand-breaded strips that start in Southern tradition and pick up sauces from around the world. La Tropical is Chef Minelly Amador's celebration of Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Latin cooking, from pressed Cuban sandwiches to mofongo and slow-braised ropa vieja.
From there the room keeps going. The Sparrow brings Szechuan dumplings and wok-fired noodles. Mimi Taqueria serves Chef Mimi's modern Mexican street food with house-made sauces. Flora D'Italia handles handmade pastas and Neapolitan-style pizzas, Fuzzy's runs a dockside-style raw bar with fresh oysters and lobster rolls, and Eggflip × SushiFlip splits one counter between Korean-inspired egg sandwiches and fresh sushi and poke. Patty & Frank's covers smashed burgers and premium beef franks.
Dessert gets two stops of its own. Morelli's has been an Atlanta ice cream institution since 2009, and DessertBox fills its case with cakes, cupcakes, and fresh-baked pastry. Rivalry Beef, which puts Philly cheesesteaks up against Chicago Italian beef, is still to come.
Details for every kitchen are on the Food & Drinks page, and our Atlanta food hall guide walks through how to work the room on a first visit.
The bar at the center of it all
The CTR Bar is the heartbeat of the hall, and it holds the title outright: the largest bar in Georgia. It anchors the atrium at the center of the building, so the space that once framed the news now frames the easiest meeting point downtown.
That changes how the building gets used. You do not text a friend a complicated set of directions through a landmark this size. You say "meet me at the bar," and everyone finds it. Cocktails while the group trickles in, a real dinner at the counters around it, and a place to keep talking long after the plates are cleared.
Why this corner still matters
The building became famous for what happened inside it. It stays useful because of where it sits. Downtown Atlanta's biggest nights happen within a few minutes of the front door:
- State Farm Arena is about a five minute walk.
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium is about an eight minute walk.
- Centennial Olympic Park is about three minutes away.
The Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, and the convention halls are all part of the same walkable cluster. That makes the former CNN Center a natural first stop before a Hawks game, a concert, or a Falcons Sunday, and a natural lunch stop on a sightseeing day. Park once, eat properly, and walk to whatever comes next.
Visiting the former CNN Center today
The practical answers, in one place:
Where it is. 190 Marietta St NW, Atlanta, GA 30303, at the corner of Marietta Street and Centennial Olympic Park Drive.
When it is open.
- Sunday through Wednesday: 11 AM – 9 PM
- Thursday through Saturday: 11 AM – 10 PM
Parking. The Center Parking Garage is directly across the street, with the Omni and Centennial Olympic Park decks nearby as backups on busy nights.
Transit. The CNN Center / GWCC MARTA station is two blocks east, which makes this one of the easiest downtown stops to reach without a car. Uber and Lyft drop off at the Marietta entrance.
Reservations. Not needed for a regular visit. You order at the counters, and with 500 seats a group of ten or twelve can walk in and still sit together.
If you remember the old building
A lot of people searching for CNN Center have a specific memory attached to it: a school trip, an afternoon between downtown plans, a lunch break from an office nearby years ago. If that is you, the building is worth a second look. The recognizable address is the same. What happens inside is built around food, drinks, and people staying put instead of passing through.
It is also a good way to show the building to someone who only knows the name. Bring the out-of-town friend who asks where CNN Center went, buy them dinner in the atrium, and let the room answer the question.
Hosting an event in a landmark atrium
A landmark atrium makes a strong backdrop for a group. The hall hosts private events that scale from a reserved section up to a full buyout: every kitchen, the largest bar in Georgia, and the atrium under one roof. Client dinners, receptions, team outings, game day parties, and brand activations all fit. Details and the inquiry form are on the Private Events page.
For public happenings in the hall, check the calendar to see what is on this week.
Come see what it became
The former CNN Center spent decades bringing the world's news into downtown Atlanta. Now it brings downtown Atlanta together over eleven kitchens and one very large bar. Get hours, parking, and directions and come see the atrium for yourself.