Warren Bruno
Our friend, Warren Bruno, was an icon among the Atlanta
restaurant community.
Personally, he served as an early mentor and advocate for my
career. He hired me to serve as his publicist some 14 years ago and from
time to time brought me back into the fold to serve on his various community
initiatives including helping change liquor legislation, raise awareness for
Leukemia & Lymphoma, promote too many events and festivals to name and
later, to help draft the mission and vision for Camden Commercial Real
Estate. He hired my friends to serve and manage in his restaurants, hired
my interns to supplement their stipend. While I was pregnant with Will,
and had gained 60 pounds, he would still start every meeting by telling me that
he thought I was beautiful. Most importantly, he never failed to bust my
chops when he felt I was making a misstep. When I got the call yesterday
from his old GM and my best friend, I was in Durham, NC and couldn't fully
process the news. He had been down so many times before and always
bounced back by riding some 100 miles seemingly the next day on his bike.
Warren Bruno created some of Atlanta’s favorite neighborhood
restaurants. In the past 30 years, Bruno owned and operated 13 restaurants in
the community, including Aunt Charley’s, Groundhog Tavern, Atkins Park Tavern,
Ormsby's, and Phoenix Brewing Company (now 5 Seasons Brewing). An
owner/operator himself, Bruno worked with many of our clients and friends over
the past decade to identify great restaurant space opportunities and served as
a mentor for their operations.
Bruno served on the Morningside Elementary Local School
Council, and the Inman Middle School Technology Foundation. Additionally, he
worked with committees for governmental issues such as the City of Atlanta
Commercial Areas and Public Safety Task Force, and was a member of the City of
Atlanta License Review Board. He co-founded and served as president of the
Virginia Highland Business Association, the Buckhead Village Merchants, and
co-founded the Alcohol License Beverage Council (ALBC). He was a member of the
Georgia Restaurant Association and the International Council of Shopping
Centers. Bruno was awarded the Aaron Gross Community Citizen Award by the
Virginia Highland Civic Association.
Bruno battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma for the last 10 years and
spent much of that time raising awareness for a cure through his rides with The
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's annual events.
We had the honor of working with Warren for many years on
various initiatives and on his restaurants. My last memory of Warren was
at our home two years ago. The cancer was in remission and he, Sandra,
his amazing wife, and longtime partner, Kevin Drawe, were in high spirits
celebrating their General Manager, Melissa Poss Wall's upcoming wedding.
Warren was full of life.
Our prayers go out to his loving wife, Sandra, and their
four beautiful children, Partner Kevin Drawe, Chef Andrew Smith, former partner
and Chef Rusty Hamlin, and the many staff who have passed through the doors.
- Elizabeth
