In Atlanta, the transformation of dusty industrial spaces into boutiquey but large-scale shopping and dining hives is nothing new.

White Provisions District, after all, was heralded as a pioneer of the concept nearly 15 years ago, infusing life into a moribund meatpacking district. Krog Street Market, more famously Ponce City Market, and numerous food-centered ventures from East Atlanta to Marietta have been popping up since, edging the food-hall approach toward ubiquity—and some might say oversaturation, though investment capital is arguing otherwise.

The latest entrant to Atlanta’s pantheon of trendy warehouse flips is The Works. It’s a buzzy district across the street from Topgolf Atlanta, where Underwood Hills meets Blandtown, in a section of town developers and neighborhood groups have coined Upper Westside.

Like Lee + White and The Beacon before it, The Works is more spread out, which allows for a feeling of insularity, as if visitors are buffered away from city stresses and speeding vehicles, free to drop vast amounts of money at their leisure.  

With The Works’ “globally inspired” food hall—Chattahoochee Food Works—now in soft opening mode, it seemed an opportune time to hang out for a while on a recent Saturday evening. What’s open is merely the beginning of The Works, but it already offers surprises, like the fact that former no-man's-land warehouses can be beautified with the right ancillary touches, especially at night.

Head to the gallery for a quick look around.

• Fresh renderings, timeline emerge for Krog Street Market expansion (Urbanize Atlanta)