Michelin brings a star to Gay, Georgia: How a tiny town landed a global dining honor

The Michelin Guide’s 2026 American South selection, unveiled Oct. 21 at a ceremony in Nashville, handed first-time stars to two Georgia restaurants: So. Fox in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland and Uberto Restaurant in Gay, a Meriwether County town of about 110 people.

Uberto became the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Georgia outside metro Atlanta. The two new stars bring the state’s total to 10.

Gay is a town of two-lane roads in northeastern Meriwether County, about 60 miles south of Atlanta and roughly 16 miles past Senoia, where State Routes 74 and 85 cross through it. Incorporated in 1907 and named for early postmaster William Franklin Gay, it grew on cotton and peach packing before farm work thinned in the 1970s.

The town behind the star

Gay already draws visitors. The Walking Dead and films such as Lawless, Queer Eye and Till have shot there; a twice-yearly Cotton Fair pulls in about 60,000 people a year; and Towerhouse Farm & Brewery anchors the center. In September 2026, much of that historic center — about 64 acres and 17 buildings, including storefronts, the fairgrounds, homes, farmland and the brewery — was listed for sale for roughly $13.5 million by the Summerour family.

Uberto sits inside the World of Quercus, a resort that includes guest cabins, a regenerative farm and a restored farmhouse, and the restaurant seats about 30 guests. Founded by Chiara Visconti di Modrone and her husband Angelos Pervanas, the resort opened in fall 2024. The restaurant runs a seasonal multi-course tasting menu built on the farm’s produce, fermentation and preservation, with more than 90% of its produce coming from an on-site solar-powered regenerative farm. It opens to the public on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Chef Ryan Smith, a co-founder of Atlanta’s Staplehouse, also received the guide’s new Mindful Voices distinction for sustainability and leadership. His wife and business partner Kara Hidinger, who co-owns Staplehouse, leads hospitality and operations at Uberto.

Inspectors singled out miso and Alabama blue crab chawanmushi, cold-smoked dry-aged Rohan duck grilled over binchotan coals with carrot purée, and fig ice cream with buckwheat sponge and crumble.

Smith said the recognition was "a great honor" and that he was "incredibly grateful for everyone on our team."

Around the state

Across the American South selection, Dakar NOLA was promoted to One Star, while So. Fox and Uberto were the only two restaurants to earn a first-time star this year.

So. Fox, in Atlanta’s Virginia-Highland, is run by chef Myles Moody and sommelier Rachael Pack, who also own the nearby Kinship Butcher & Sundry, and earned its star only months after opening. “We came in with zero expectations. For us, being so new, we were even surprised by the invite,” Moody said. “I’m overjoyed. I have tears in my eyes,” Pack said.

Elsewhere in Georgia, the 2026 guide added Bib Gourmand designations for Summerland in Atlanta and Tipsy Thaiger in Roswell — the first Bib Gourmand outside Atlanta — and new recommended listings for Pink Lotus in Atlanta and Spring 2nd Branch in Marietta; Table & Main in Roswell and Superica moved onto the recommended list. Georgia now has 13 Bib Gourmand restaurants and 42 recommended restaurants in metro Atlanta.

Every other new distinction clusters in Atlanta, Marietta or Roswell.

Point the car toward Gay

For a reader with a full tank and a free evening, the trip is real: about 60 miles south of Atlanta, 16 miles past Senoia on State Routes 74 and 85. The meal pairs with what Gay already offers — the Cotton Fair’s twice-yearly crowds, Towerhouse Farm & Brewery, and a historic center that doubles as a film backdrop — so an afternoon and evening trip works, not just a reservation.

What the drive delivers is the thing worth going for: the world’s most famous dining award, sitting down a two-lane road in a town of about 110 people.