Meet the Three New Concepts from Top Chef Katsuji Tanabe

Celebrity chef and television personality Katsuji Tanabe is bringing three distinct dining concepts to You42 Studios, the sprawling entertainment and creator complex transforming the former Andretti Indoor Karting & Games space in Roswell into one of metro Atlanta’s most unexpected new destinations.

Known for appearances on Top Chef, Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, Bobby’s Triple Threat, Tournament of Champions, and NBC’s Yes, Chef!, Tanabe is overseeing the entire food and beverage program at You42 Studios, introducing High Horse, Big Shots, and AJ’s Pizzeria as the culinary backbone of the massive multi-use destination officially opening Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

Set inside a sprawling indoor streetscape built for creators, events, nightlife, and production, You42 Studios combines restaurants, bars, podcast studios, immersive sets, private event spaces, and entertainment venues under one roof. Open to the public, the massive Roswell destination is designed to function as both an entertainment venue and social hub, where guests can grab dinner, book a studio session, catch live music, host events, or spend the night moving between experiences inside the cinematic, multi-concept environment.

At the center of the project is High Horse, Tanabe’s 2,586-square-foot flagship restaurant featuring seating for more than 150 guests and rooted in live-fire cooking and high-energy hospitality. Drawing from his Japanese and Mexican heritage, the menu plays with smoke, spice, comfort, and spectacle through dishes like fire-roasted seafood towers, charcoal-grilled steaks and seafood, warm spinach salad prepared tableside, foie gras crème brûlée, grilled oysters with Japanese butter, and “My Grandma’s Corn Bread Muffins” finished with truffle butter. The cocktail program is equally playful and theatrical with drinks like the “Boss Bitch Mood,” “Drama Starter,” and “Thirst Trap,” alongside spirit-forward classics and large-format cocktails built for groups.

The restaurant’s theatrical personality extends into the design itself. Created collaboratively in-house with You42 Studios President Ashley Johnson and the broader creative team, High Horse places the kitchen and bar at the center of the experience. Dark woods, glowing table lighting, green leather booths, brass shelving, and glimpses into the charcoal grill create a room where guests can watch chefs and bartenders work like performers on a stage.

“Food should be fun. It should have energy. It should make people want to come back with friends and stay all night,” said Tanabe. “That’s what we’re creating here.”

While High Horse anchors the experience, the larger food and beverage platform moves in several different directions. AJ’s Pizzeria brings Chicago-stye tavern pies, wings, chopped salads, and grab-and-go appeal to the property with a menu that ranges from pepperoni and hot honey pizzas to BBQ chicken pies and a “Kardashian Chopped Salad.” With a retro arcade-era pizza shop feel, complete with red and white checked tablecloths, and a playlist to match, the counter-service concept is intended to keep pace with the constant movement throughout the building while still serving food people genuinely crave. AJ’s is also available for pickup and delivery and has already become a go-to for those in the know.

Big Shots takes things in a louder direction. The 2,940-square-foot western-inspired bar pairs live music, line dancing, cold brews and a mechanical bull with an immersive environment wrapped in western town graphics that make guests feel dropped into the middle of a movie set. A dramatic horse mural by Atlanta artist Darina Paliakov leads visitors upstairs into the space, where a cowboy hat wall, oversized visuals, crispy crunchy chicken wings, tavern-style pizzas, spice bags loaded with fries, peppers, onions and chicken, whiskey-forward cocktails, and late-night energy push the concept firmly into entertainment territory.

“When we started thinking about the food and beverage program, we knew it needed someone who could match the scale, creativity, and energy of what we were building,” said Johnson. “Katsuji doesn’t think in terms of a single restaurant. He thinks about the entire experience. Whether it’s High Horse, Big Shots, AJ’s, or the larger events and entertainment spaces still to come, every piece has its own personality, but together they create something people won’t find anywhere else.”

Tanabe is joined by Atlanta-based Food & Beverage Director Travis Cintron, whose background includes leadership roles with Kimpton Shane Hotel, Loews Hotels, Lake Rabun Hotel & Restaurant, and Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco.

“You can come in for oysters and cocktails at High Horse and somehow end up staying all night,” adds Tanabe. “One minute you’re upstairs listening to live music or watching somebody ride a mechanical bull, the next you’re leaving with a pizza from AJ’s. Everything about the property was designed to encourage curiosity, interaction, and a little bit of surprise, including the restaurant concepts themselves.”

The June 3 opening marks the first official public unveiling of the You42 Studios hospitality program and introduces one of metro Atlanta’s more unconventional new dining and entertainment destinations.High Horse, Big Shots and AJ’s Pizzeria are located inside You42 Studios at 11000 Alpharetta Hwy Unit A, Roswell, GA 30076. For more information, visit www.you42studios.com/dining and stay connected on Instagram at @bigshotsroswell, @ajspizzeriaroswell and @highhorseroswell.