When Juan Calle of TQM Hospitality opened Chichería Mexican Kitchen at The Works on Atlanta’s Upper Westside, the goal was to introduce diners to a different side of Mexican cuisine, one inspired by the coastal flavors, vibrant ingredients, and relaxed energy of Baja California.
Now, Calle is taking that idea north to the suburbs of Alpharetta.
Amasa Mexican Kitchen, the newest concept from Calle and the TQM Hospitality team, is preparing to open at the Alpharetta City Center, bringing many of the culinary ideas that have helped define Chichería to a new community while expanding the experience with a seafood-forward menu, tequila program, live entertainment, and programming designed specifically for the Alpharetta guest.
“We’re building on what guests already love about Chichería while introducing new experiences, from our seafood-forward menu to our tequila program and live entertainment,” Calle says.”We are taking the culinary foundation and hospitality philosophy we have developed over the years and adapting it specifically for Alpharetta. The new restaurant is an opportunity to explore more of what Baja has to offer.”
“What we love about Baja is that Mexican food there feels incredibly fresh, colorful and alive,” he says. “You have the ocean, incredible seafood, farms, wine country, great produce and this interesting intersection of Mexican tradition and California influence.” shared Calle.
The restaurant will be seafood-forward, with oysters, ahi tuna tostadas, ceviches and other coastal dishes alongside tacos, grilled meats and Mexican street-food favorites.
The menu will also feature dishes such as the Baja fish taco, California burrito, and carne asada fries, with flavors that reflect the Mexican and Southern California influences found throughout Baja.
“It’s not just seafood,” Calle says. “There is also this really fun Mexican street food culture that has developed along the California border.”
One of the strongest connections between Chichería and Amasa is the tortilla.
Both concepts place an extraordinary amount of emphasis on masa, using heirloom, organic, non-GMO blue corn that is ground and pressed fresh in-house. At Amasa, that commitment is so central that it inspired the restaurant’s name. Amasa comes from the Spanish verb amasar, meaning to knead or work dough.
“That immediately connected with us because masa is at the heart of what we do,” Calle says. “Our tortillas are an important part of the restaurant and something we want guests to see as a craft rather than simply something that holds a taco together.”
Calle describes Amasa’s approach as Conscious Food, which is a commitment to fresh, never-frozen, fully gluten-free food and thoughtful ingredient sourcing.
“It is not health food, and it is not restrictive,” Calle says. “It simply means being thoughtful about the ingredients we use and the way we prepare them because we care about how our guests feel both now and tomorrow.”
Calle says one of the easiest ways to understand the Amasa philosophy is to look inside the restaurant’s cooler.
“You would see almost every color of the rainbow through fresh fruits, vegetables, and seafood,” he says.
That visual is intentional, but it is also a natural reflection of how the kitchen cooks. Amasa will emphasize citrus, fresh herbs, chiles, vegetables, seafood, grilling, and raw preparations.
Calle points to the restaurant’s sweet corn crema as an example of the attention to detail behind seemingly simple dishes. Fresh corn is grilled, while the cob itself is used to continue building flavor into the crema.
For Calle, opening Amasa in Alpharetta was about more than finding a restaurant space.
He and his team spent time getting to know the community before opening, meeting local businesses, organizations, residents, and community leaders.
“The more time we spent in Alpharetta, the more convinced we became that it was the right community for Amasa,” Calle says.
He was drawn to the concentration of families and professionals, but also to the community-oriented nature of downtown Alpharetta.
“People actually walk around, see their neighbors, attend events and spend time in the community,” he says.
“We did not want Amasa to simply be another place where people come in, eat and leave,” he says. “We want it to become part of people’s routines and part of the community.”
Food will be only part of the Amasa experience.
Calle plans to make programming a significant component of the restaurant, with live jazz, saxophone performances, Spanish-language singers and special brunch programming.
“That does not mean turning the restaurant into a nightclub,” he says. “It means creating moments.”
It would be difficult to create a Baja-inspired Mexican restaurant without tequila.
At Amasa, tequila and agave spirits will play a major role in the beverage program, with margaritas taking center stage.
But Calle says the goal is not to create a menu filled with overly sweet margaritas.
Instead, the bar will use fresh citrus, herbs, chiles and seasonal fruit to create balanced cocktails designed to complement the food.
The restaurant will also use its tequila program as an opportunity to introduce guests to the craftsmanship behind agave spirits through tastings, dinners, and classes.
Before Amasa officially opens its doors, Calle and his team are already introducing the restaurant to the community, including participating in Grand Tasting Alpharetta on Thursday, August 27, from 6:00 PM until 10:00 PM at The Hotel at Avalon, where Amasa will participate along with almost 30 other standout Alpharetta restaurants. Amasa and team will serve its award-winning sweet corn esquites, a dish that previously won Best Taste at Grand Tasting Midtown.
For Calle, events like Grand Tasting are valuable because they allow the restaurant to begin building relationships before opening.
“A traditional restaurant opening can sometimes feel like putting up a sign and saying, ‘We’re here, come visit us,’” he says, “and we want to do the opposite.”
That means getting out into the community, meeting people, and letting them experience the food before asking them to become regular guests.
It is the next chapter of the Baja-inspired restaurant concept Calle has been developing in Atlanta, with the opportunity to build something specifically for Alpharetta.
Calle wants Amasa to become the kind of restaurant that fits into different parts of people’s lives: a Friday night for tacos and margaritas, a Sunday brunch with the family, a birthday celebration, a tequila class with friends or an evening spent listening to live music.
And underneath all of it is what Calle calls the restaurant’s North Star which means continuously exceeding guest expectations.
Sponsored by Taste of Atlanta
