Athens opened three steakhouses between mid-August and Sept. 16, 2026. All three are in buildings with a past. Ghavi's The Steak Place is in the savings and loan that opened on Prince Avenue in 1977. Oak Steakhouse is on the ground floor of the 1913 Holman building downtown. Ted's Montana Grill opened in the Beechwood Shopping Center space where Athens' first LongHorn Steakhouse opened in 1992.
It was a busy restaurant year overall. The Athens Banner-Herald's 2026 openings roundup reported that more new restaurants opened in Athens in 2026 than in 2024 or 2025, and Oak was the third steakhouse to open within a month. The three openings also changed where Athens can book a private holiday dinner. Two of the new private dining rooms are former bank vaults.
Prince and Hawthorne: A 1977 Savings and Loan Turned Dining Room
Ghavi's sits on the corner of Prince and Hawthorne avenues, in the building most recently known as Synovus Bank. Flagpole reported in August that it opened under owner Bahman "Dr. G" Ghavimi, with Mimi Maumus as senior executive chef, after a renovation and expansion that had been underway since 2023.
The building's history explains the floor plan. A 2024 Banner-Herald report said the bank first opened in 1977 as Athens Federal Savings & Loan. The drive-through lanes were torn down to make room for a 3,000-square-foot kitchen. Ghavimi also tracked down the person who built the original structure so he could get marble from the original supplier and make the addition match the rest of the building. The same report described Ghavimi as a 30-year Athens resident with a Ph.D. in food engineering. He started the seasoning company Dr. G's Creations in 2008 and sold it in 2021.
The vault appeared during opening week. The Banner-Herald's Aug. 11 photo tour shows Ghavimi standing in the doorway of a bank vault that has become a dining room, along with the main dining room, the lounge and the bar. The same gallery shows the downstairs Emrooz Cafe, described as a breakfast, lunch and dessert shop, and an event space.
The kitchen has a familiar name too. A 2017 Visit Athens profile describes Maumus as a New Orleans native and the chef-owner of home.made. Earlier she was executive sous chef at Five & Ten under Hugh Acheson. Flagpole lists two numbers for reservations, 762-246-3078 and 844-246-3078.
Clayton Street: A Hotel, Then Three Banks, Then Oak
One month later the same kind of conversion happened downtown, on a bigger historical scale. Oak's own account of the Athens building says William S. Holman built 110 E. Clayton St. as an office building in 1913. Seven years later it became the Holman Hotel, with 168 rooms, a coffee shop and a banquet facility. In the 1960s Citizens & Southern National Bank moved in, and the bank later became NationsBank and then Bank of America. The Banner-Herald adds that the building stands on the former site of Emmanuel Episcopal Church.
The bank fixtures stayed in the dining room. In the Banner-Herald's opening report, former teller stations now serve as dining spaces, the original chandeliers are still hanging, and a mural shows an early view of College Square. Oak says it was designed by David Thompson Studio and built around a marble-topped wraparound bar, and that the former vault is now an intimate private dining room.
Oak's private event pages list two more rooms besides the vault:
- The Mezzanine: 16 seated or 25 standing
- The Center "Bay" Room: semi-private, for 24
The operator is already in town. Charleston-based Indigo Road Hospitality Group runs Oak in nine cities, and Athens is its second Georgia location after Alpharetta. The group also runs Osteria Olio inside the Rivet House boutique hotel. Founder Steve Palmer told the Banner-Herald that Osteria Olio's reception shaped the decision to open a second concept here. "The response to Osteria Olio blew us away, and the enthusiasm from local diners has exceeded anything we could have possibly dreamed," he said.
Oak is now one of two steakhouses operating downtown, alongside Porterhouse Grill, which opened in 2000.
Alps Road: The 1992 Space Comes Back Around
The third opening is a reuse of a different kind. Ted's Montana Grill opened Aug. 24 at 196 Alps Rd. in Beechwood. The Banner-Herald calls it a homecoming for CEO George McKerrow, who opened Athens' first LongHorn Steakhouse in the same space in 1992. McKerrow and Ted Turner founded Ted's in 2002. The Athens restaurant is the company's 12th in Georgia, with proprietor Terence Holton in charge.
"Athens is a special place that reflects everything Ted's represents," McKerrow told The Red & Black, describing a town that cares about "tradition, great food and hospitality." The room is 4,242 square feet with a bar and an outdoor patio, according to the opening announcement in FSR. The Red & Black's look inside describes mahogany, hickory floors, an island bar and reproductions of Western art.
Ted's is the one built for daytime visits. Its Athens location page lists 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, plus a reservation link. Oak serves dinner only, from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The Filet Shows the Spread
An 8-ounce filet is on both of the menus that print prices, which makes for an easy comparison. The figures below come from each restaurant's current Athens menu as of fall 2026.
| Ted's Montana Grill, Alps Rd. | Oak Steakhouse, E. Clayton St. | |
|---|---|---|
| 8-oz filet | $43 Certified Angus Beef; $47 Ted's filet | $63 |
| Also on the menu | Bison burgers from $18.50 | 20-oz dry-aged ribeye, $125 |
| Starter | Bison nachos, $16.50 | Raw bar, steak tartare, grilled quail |
| Hours | Lunch and dinner daily; Sunday from 10:30 a.m. | Dinner only, from 5 p.m. |
The $20 difference on the same cut matches the setting. Oak's sides alone, including macaroni and cheese, mushrooms, potato puree and green corn polenta, run $10 to $16 each. For Ghavi's, the Red & Black's fall/winter 2026 visitors guide lists it as "$$$," with premium steaks, seafood and a full-service bar.
Booking the Vault Before the Holidays Do
The vaults are the scarce seats in all of this, and holiday dinners are the bookings they suit best. Oak has published its plans for the first big date. Its Athens menu page lists a Thanksgiving Day prix fixe dinner at $125 per person, and Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26. For a downtown group of up to 24, the Mezzanine and the Center "Bay" Room are the two rooms with posted capacities.
On Prince Avenue, the vault room at Ghavi's is the one shown in the Banner-Herald's opening-week photos. The phone numbers Flagpole lists are the way to book it. On Alps Road, Ted's takes reservations, and its 10:30 a.m. Sunday opening fits an early gathering after church or before a trip. Holiday hours can change from the regular schedule at all three, so check directly with each restaurant before setting a date with family.
Our team spends a lot of time with clients who are hosting visitors and want somewhere that makes an impression. If you have a holiday dinner, a closing celebration or out-of-town guests coming to Athens this season, Alliance Home & Land Group is glad to share what we know about these rooms and the rest of the local dining scene.
