Since they opened their first concept, South City Kitchen, in 1993, Fifth Group Restaurants has put many beloved and respected restaurants on Atlanta’s culinary map and launched numerous chefs and front-of-house employees on a successful career path of their own.
For co-founder Robby Kukler, creating and operating Fifth Group has fulfilled a lifelong dream.
“Since I was 12 or 13 years old I have wanted to be in the restaurant business,” he says. By the time he was working in an actual restaurant at age 15, he knew it was the life for him.
For the next 15 years, he worked all kinds of roles in the industry, from dishwasher and line cook to GM. Soon after arriving in Atlanta from Michigan, he co-founded Fifth Group Restaurants in 1993. Today, the company is comprised of five restaurants and a catering arm, Bold Catering & Design, and employs nearly 1,000 team members.
The restaurant company supports groups like Giving Kitchen, Camp Twin Lakes, the Food Well Alliance and the Atlanta Community Food Bank, for which, over the past 20 years, it has raised more than $1 million to provide millions of meals to food insecure people throughout the community.
Its restaurants have been the scene of countless anniversaries, birthdays and other special occasions, as well as welcoming spot to dine for locals and visitors alike.
“That our restaurant group has touched so many people in so many ways continues to be a great source of pride,” he says.
Kukler has had numerous mentors over the years, and he’s been a leader and mentor to so many others. After retiring in 2023 from Fifth Group, he’s launched his own consulting firm with the intent to continue supporting those in the restaurant community. He is also one of Restaurant INFORMER‘s contributing writers, having authored informative pieces like Feeback That Inspires Growth and To Grow or Not to Grow: How to Grow Your Concept.
“Our industry is wide and deep with limitless opportunity to learn,” he says. “I want my years ahead to be focused on paying forward the benefits and support my mentors provided me by helping others in our industry accomplish their own goals and dreams.”
Read about the other winners and honorees from the 2023 GRACE Awards here.
