In 1874, the Western & Atlantic Railroad built an open-air pavilion in Vinings to get people out of a rebuilding Atlanta for the day. Atlantans rode the train out, walked a block, and spent the afternoon dining, dancing and playing games. The building still stands. It sits two blocks from where it started, and on Saturday, October 24, it hosts the Vinings Historic Preservation Society's Party for Preservation.
About a mile of village away, a dining room at Vinings Jubilee has just been rebuilt by the same couple who ran it for the past nine years. Two openings in the same season can look like coincidence. In Vinings, they fit a long pattern. The places people gather here tend to change jobs and stay where they are.
Same Room, New Menu at 2850 Paces Ferry
Scott and Alexis Kinsey ran Stockyard Burgers & Bones at Vinings Jubilee for nine years. In late September they opened Cotto Modern Italian in the same space. It serves dinner nightly and brunch on weekends. When What Now Atlanta reported the switch in March, the new restaurant was expected to open by the end of 2026. It opened with about a quarter of the year to spare.
This was more than new signage. According to Atlanta Magazine's report on the opening, the Kinseys renovated the whole space. They moved the bar and took out half walls to open up the dining room. They also added arches, niches, stucco wall coverings and olive-green accents against a neutral palette. The room seats 75 inside and 40 on the open-air patio, and it takes both reservations and walk-ins.
The concept has a track record. The Kinseys opened the first Cotto in Gainesville, Georgia, three years ago. Scott Kinsey, a former corporate chef for Macaroni Grill, runs the Vinings kitchen each night. The menu covers antipasti, pasta, mains and 10-inch wood-fired pizzas, and most dishes are meant for sharing. Early favorites include the gnocchi, the pollo saltimbocca and the cacio e pepe. The wine list has 85 Italian bottles. Behind the bar, limoncello and spritzes sit next to old fashioneds and espresso martinis, along with a seasonal drink called Fly Me to the Moon made with vodka, lemon, apricot, Italicus and amaro.
The bigger point is who made the change. The operator who knew the room best decided what it should become next, and the space never went dark long enough for a new tenant to take it. The village's oldest buildings have been through the same thing, more than once.
A Building That Has Changed Jobs Several Times
The Old Pavilion started out as a railroad attraction. In the 1940s, Earle Carter Smith, a great-great-granddaughter of early Vinings settler Hardy Pace, bought it, added walls and windows, and leased space to antiques dealers. By 1996 it was in danger of being torn down for new homes at Mountain Street and Ranch Road. Vinings civic groups raised the money to move it two blocks to the grounds of the Pace House. After the move it gained a deck, a catering kitchen and restrooms. It is now a Cobb County Historic Landmark.
The Yarbrough House has a similar history. Samuel Yarbrough built it in 1880 for Ella Pace Yarbrough, Hardy Pace's granddaughter. Over time it served as a stop for lunch and refreshments and later as the Old Vinings Inn. Piedmont Hospital donated it to the preservation society, which restored it as a welcome and history center.
| Place | First role | Later role | Role today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Pavilion, 1874 | Open-air railroad pavilion for dining, dancing and games | Enclosed space leased to antiques dealers, 1940s | Event venue on the Pace House grounds, moved in 1996 |
| Yarbrough House, 1880 | Pace family home | Lunch stop, then the Old Vinings Inn | Welcome and history center |
| 2850 Paces Ferry Road | Stockyard Burgers & Bones, nine years | Cotto Modern Italian, opened late September 2026 |
The Pace House anchors the group. Hardy Pace's son Solomon built the surviving house between 1865 and 1874, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The earlier Pace family house had a role in the Civil War. Hardy Pace left Vinings as Union forces advanced in 1864, and Gen. O.O. Howard used the house as his headquarters for 11 days.
Who Pays for the Next Chapter
None of these buildings looks after itself. The preservation society exists because Ruth Carter Vanneman, a Hardy Pace descendant, set it up through her will after her death in 1992 and left it the Pace House. The society took ownership in 1994. It then acquired and restored the Old Pavilion and the Yarbrough House with help from the community.
The Party for Preservation is the society's main annual fundraiser. Invitations come with membership, not separate tickets. This year's levels are listed on the society's attendance page:
- Pacesetter, $125: one year of membership and one invitation
- Cornerstone, $250: one year of membership and two invitations
- Pavilion, $500: one year of membership and four invitations
- Patron, $1,000: one year of membership and eight invitations
Local businesses can take part through the auction. A business that donates a product, service or gift card worth at least $250 gets a one-year business membership, party tickets and its logo in community emails and on the event-day banner. The society says party proceeds help maintain the three historic properties in its care. As of early October it had not posted food, music or entertainment details for this year's event.
The 1996 move shows how much this funding matters. The Pavilion stands where it does today because neighbors raised the money in time. The membership levels above are the current version of that effort.
The Weekend of October 23
The busiest stretch of the month starts the evening before the party, and the Vinings Jubilee calendar runs alongside it. The Jubilee's events page lists these dates:
- Thursdays, 2:30 to 6 p.m. The Vinings Jubilee Farmers Market continues weekly through the season, with seasonal produce, local baked goods, specialty foods and artisan vendors. No 2026 closing date has been posted.
- Through Tuesday, November 3. Bourbon & Bites is back at Hobnob Neighborhood Tavern.
- Friday, October 23, through Sunday, November 1. The Partners Card program offers savings at participating shops and restaurants, with proceeds supporting Camp Twin Lakes.
- Saturday, October 24, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The Party for Preservation takes place at the Pace House and Old Pavilion.
That puts two fundraisers on the same weekend. One supports Camp Twin Lakes through shopping and dining at the Jubilee. The other supports the buildings the railroad put up 152 years ago. Cotto, open about a month by then, is a short walk from both.
Still Rebuilding on Paces Mill Road
Not every remake in Vinings runs on schedule. On July 9, a Thursday-morning attic fire closed Orient Express on Paces Mill Road. Cobb Fire reported no injuries and said the cause was under investigation. According to Atlanta News First, the restaurant said the same day that it was "committed to rebuild and continue to serve." The AJC's August 3 roundup reported its plans to reopen. As of early October, no reopening date has been announced, and the restaurant's website does not yet show a status update. The commitment to rebuild stands, and the date is still to come.
Many older homes near the village have changed roles over the years too. If you're deciding what to keep and what to update in a Vinings house, Robert Peterson can talk it through with you calmly and in confidence. Let's Connect.
