Quick Bites: Highland Bakery Decatur, Insomnia Cookies coming to ATL, and more

• Mia Yakel/CL File
• FRESH MEAT: Buckhead Atlanta's Gypsy Kitchen (above) and the Southern Gentlemen have a new chef

Insomnia Cookies, a New York-based late night bakery concept that specializes in delivering warm cookies, brownies, and cookie cakes to doors of their clients, will open an Atlanta store inside University House Commons, a high rise apartment building at 930 Spring Street, soon.

Highland Bakery Decatur is slated to open mid-summer on the first floor of the Place on Ponce building at 315 West Ponce de Leon Avenue. Their sixth location will boast 3000 square feet of main level seating as well as a 500-square-foot mezzanine. The new space will also include a full service bakery offering the whole grain, all-natural, freshly baked breads and delectable pastries that have made Highland Bakery an Atlanta favorite.

A tip of the toque to Atlanta magazine’s Evan Mah for his bang-up story and interview, One Last Bite, with the AJC's venerable food critic, John Kessler, who is departing from our fair city after 18 years of award-winning journalism.

Word on the street is that another James Beard award winning chef will join the ranks of the region's JBF award winners (Sean Brock, Linton Hopkins, Anne Quatrano) in the highly anticipated food hall at Ponce City Market. Sources say New Orleans-based [http://www.donaldlink.com/|Donald Link of NOLA's Herbsaint, Cochon, Butcher, and Pêche Seafood Grill is a front-runner for a coveted spot at the mammoth mixed-use development with an Atlanta outpost of his popular charcuterie and sandwich shop Butcher. Details as they arise.
Matthew Ridgway is in as executive chef of Buckhead Atlanta restos Gypsy Kitchen and the Southern Gentleman. Ridgway‘s CV includes stints as chef de partie under Joel Antunes at Joel, sous chef at Pricci and Veni Vidi Vici, and most recently, Porcsalt, an artisanal charcuterie company in New Jersey

CamiCakes Creamery, a new concept that will offer both ice cream and cupcakes, is slated to open "no later than July 1st" on Camp Creek Parkway in East Point.

The high flying Krog Street Market is being cited as the South’s prime example of the national trend toward “bustling high-end food halls thata re making it easy for foodies to both dine in and shop for unique retail and specialty foods all in one place”. The Huffington Post says that KSM “opened in November to wild fanfare, thanks to its mixed-use space of 15 food and market stalls, five anchor restaurants and the Living Room, a communal dining area.”

Oswald Morgan has started a Kickstarter campaign to build a 1,000 square foot speakeasy, Next@Kozmo that will seat 48 and offer live entertainment, a grazing menu and craft cocktails. The new spot will be adjacent to and accessible through his John’s Creek hotspot, Kozmo’s Gastro Pub.]