Georgia-themed Southern food restaurant opens on Broad Street

Princess Atkins sought to check another thing off her bucket list.

House? Check.

Restaurant? Check.

Atkins, who owns a new Southern food restaurant Qwistedd Vibez at 855 Broad St. in downtown Augusta, is happy to make her dream a reality.

She named the restaurant in honor of her mother, Shea, who coined the term “Qwistedd” at family events.

“My mom used to remix every song. Every word, every quote, so she would always want an ice house and a bottle of wave and when she drank her ice house and wave she would say she’s ‘Qwistedd’ so it just always stuck with us that if you drink or you feel good, you’re qwistedd,” Atkins said.

The restaurant serves a variety of Southern comfort foods from chicken and waffles to pork platters. Red and black — synonymous with the University of Georgia Bulldogs — is featured around the dining area, a nod to her husband’s ties to the football program.

“We are in Georgia, there are Georgia fans, my husband’s an alumni of Georgia. My mom loved red and black and she always wore red and black so it was put together right there, my mom and Georgia red and black. She passed away two days before our wedding in 2019. So that is pretty much where the idea came from,” Atkins said.

Atkins said she’s enjoyed the learning curve that comes with owning a restaurant and getting to know the customers who come into the shop.

“I don’t mind anyone criticizing, I don’t mind anyone telling me how they feel because I want to be better each and every day because I don’t know or I didn’t know. I just knew that this is what I wanted but I didn’t know the extent of this is what you do in this order, this is what you get in this order, you’re learning and it’s a learning process for us all,” Atkins said.

She wants to make it a place where everyone can feel “qwistedd” and enjoy time together.

“I wanted to give a ‘Qwistedd’ vibe. Of course, we don’t sell alcohol now, but in the future, we will so I wanted to name it ‘Qwistedd’ vibes because I wanted you to come and know you can relax and know that you are in a safe environment and you can also get Qwistedd or you don’t have to and you will still catch a vibe,” Atkins said.

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Samantha Winn covers the cities of North Augusta and Augusta, with a focus on community-oriented business and events. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamwinn and on Instagram @swinnnews.