ROSWELL, GA - Executive Chef Woolery “Woody” Back accepted the award on the restaurant’s behalf at Michelin’s gala event hosted Monday, November 03 in Greenville, SC. This is the first year Michelin awarded distinctions throughout the Southeast. Table & Main is the only restaurant in Roswell to receive this honor, and one of only a small handful of restaurants outside the ATL perimeter. There are just 50 Bib Gourmand restaurants in the Southeast. Ryan Pernice founded Table & Main in 2011 with a vision of becoming “the neighborhood clubhouse.” Since then the restaurant earned acclaim from critics and locals alike for its focus on hospitality and “Simple, Seasonal, Southern” cuisine. Table & Main has been featured in the AJC’s 2025 Top 50 Atlanta Restaurants, Condé Naste Traveler’s “21 Best Atlanta Restaurants,” and countless other “Best of” lists.
Chef Woody Back joined the restaurant as Chef de Cuisine in 2013, and quickly established a talent for bringing seasonal, farm fresh ingredients to the menu. Chef Back soon became the Executive Chef, a role he’s occupied since 2015. Chef Back enhances Table & Main’s culinary focus by drawing on personal relationships with local farmers and artisans, which he built over years leading Roswell’s farmer’s market. Table & Main is proud to highlight these partners and their products.
Famous for its award-winning Fried Chicken, Table & Main’s menu showcases upscale riffs on many Southern comfort food classics enhanced with a Chef’s eye for detail and deft hand for seasoning. The food remains approachable and soul-satisfying as it rotates around a core group of items amidst multiple seasonal changes that keep offerings fresh.
Chef Back and Pernice count themselves lucky to work with a strong leadership team at Table & Main that includes Sous Chef Zack Blankenbaker – a 6-year veteran of the company – and General Manager Matthew Forsee, who has championed the restaurant’s “warm & welcoming” hospitality for over 11 years. He is supported by dining room manager Macs Chiles who has worked in the company for over 4 years.
Restaurateur Ryan Pernice also owns Osteria Mattone, another local favorite opened in 2013 serving authentic Italian cuisine. He is business partners with his brother, Daniel, who is also the restaurants’ Beverage Director having earned multiple Wine Spectator Awards of Excellence for Osteria’s wine list. Ryan and Daniel are proud Roswell High School graduates, growing up just a couple miles from the restaurants.
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ABOUT THE MICHELIN GUIDE: The Michelin Guide is the world’s preeminent critic of quality cuisine and culinary excellence. The Guide began as a guidebook published by the French tire company Michelin in 1900 to promote road trips. In addition to offering one to three stars, the highest honor, inclusion in the guide conveys a stamp of prestige that denotes a restaurant of high standards of excellence and quality. The coveted Bib Gourmand distinction celebrates “a simpler style of cooking, that is recognizable and easy-to-eat. A Bib Gourmand restaurant will also leave you with a sense of satisfaction, at having eaten so well at such a reasonable price. It is named after Bibendum, the friendly Michelin Man and the official company mascot for the Michelin Group, and it’s a just-as-esteemed rating that recognizes friendly establishments that serve good food at moderate prices.” Lean more at their website: https://guide.michelin.com/th/en
Posted November 10