Two Birds, one family
and 32 beers on tap
Written by Jon Styf
Inside Two Birds Taphouse o the Marietta Square,
patrons will find quite a selection of craft beer.
The bar has plenty of creative and seasonal
custom cocktails and a delightful food menu, from
cheesy popcorn to wood-fired pizza. But for co-owner
Je Byrd, the beer list is his baby and it shows: Two
Birds won the Best of Cobb’s Best Craft Beer Selection in
this year’s contest.
Of the 32 beers on tap, most are Georgia beers and
only one is a mainstay since the bar opened in July 2016:
Creature Comfort’s Tropicalia IPA.
Besides that, patrons get a wide array of Georgia
brews, from the seven to eight IPAs on the list, a few
stouts and sours, pale ales, wheat beers, a seltzer and a
handful of “outstanding examples of American craft
beer” as Byrd puts it.
“We meet a lot of people in the beer business and we
taste a lot of beer, and we try to have a nice cross-section
of styles for people,” Byrd said.
Having a higher-end craft beer bar with elevated
tavern food was the goal from the start, said co-owner
Rachel Byrd, as they started the business with their son,
Dan, and his then- fiancé, Lauren.
Dirty bird chicken sandwich
from Two Birds Taphouse.
None of the Byrds had restaurant
experience when they opened in 2016,
but Lauren Byrd had 15 years of
experience in restaurant management in
Los Angeles. The Byrds also happened to
meet Jen Anderson, who has been the
house manager since the restaurant
opened, as her now-husband built the
tables for the bar.
Together, they have built a family
atmosphere that has kept customers
coming back and led those customers to
vote Two Birds Taphouse as one of the
Best of Cobb in nine dierent categories.
Anderson, who makes her own
syrups for Two Birds’ signature drinks,
won Best Bartender/Mixologist/
Sommelier. Two Birds also won Best
Happy Hour, Best Overall Bar and Best
Wine List along with finishing second for
Best Cocktail Menu and third for Best
Event Venue and Best Appetizers/Light
Fare.
“We really didn’t know when we
unlocked the doors that Tuesday
whether anybody would come,” Rachel Byrd said about
when the bar first opened its doors. “We had people at
the door who were kind of jostling to be the first ones in
so that they could say they were the first ones. It has
just been going well ever since.”
Je and Dan are the two Byrds referenced in the
Two Birds name. But the family says that it is the sta
that makes the Two Birds experience so memorable.
The bar has special event nights for regulars, like
trivia hosted by Josh Waters – who was named the Best
of Cobb’s Best Trivia Host - on Tuesday nights and wine
on Wednesdays. And, as Je Byrd put it, they have the
“highest performing and achieving” sta they have ever
had at the bar that has come together to make the
experience enjoyable on a daily basis.
Their collaborative and friendly atmosphere has
helped the business evolve through all of the changes
that have occurred in the industry over the past two
years through COVID-19.
The restaurant initially closed for two months when
the pandemic began, then reopened for to-go orders. The
sta have been able to adjust together throughout the
14 COBB LIFE | MARCH 2022