The Vortex Bar & Grill, Atlanta, Ga.
Destinations
May/June 2007
By Landon Hall
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Bikes, bikes, bikes and The Vortex's 20-ft high "Laughing Skull."
Photo by Landon Hall
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Though bike night at the local bar is almost an institution for motorcyclists in cities across the U.S., some places do it better than others. Atlanta does it very, very well.
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The Vortex, located in the Little Five Points area just a few miles east of downtown Atlanta, is always home to a good time. But any Thursday night when the weather is good (and occasionally when it isn’t), The Vortex plays host to a couple hundred motorcycles and the great people who ride them. Though more newer sportbikes show up than anything else, there is a solid core of classic bike lovers who keep things interesting. Everything from a Ural sidecar rig to a few classic BMWs, a smattering of Harleys, new and old Ducati sportbikes, and a full showing of the latest and greatest from Japan fill the parking lot while riders mill about checking out each other’s cycles and generally having a good time.
Inside, it’s a completely different vibe. Although the constant sounds of motorcycles coming and going outside is anything but quiet, walking through the front door leads you to another world of sounds. Busy but not overwhelming, music and conversation fill the air in The Vortex. And while motorcyclists are everywhere, they’re not the only type of people you’ll find here, even on a busy Thursday bike night. As a USA Today review said, “The clientele here is part of the attraction. You’ve got your body piercers, your Tech types, the white-collar business crowd, middle-class bikers … ” Everyone’s welcome (except kids, it is a bar, after all), but political correctness has no place here. That said, try not to stare.
The atmosphere is fun and never quiet, and the decor is the strangest mix of garage-sale-art-fair-circus-tchotchke you’ve ever seen. Alternative weekly newspaper Creative Loafing called the place “ ... a kind of Mad Max’s lair for the politically incorrect.” That just cements it as our kind of place.