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Ria’s Bluebird Re-Opens to Honor Pell

November 27th, 2013

Renowned Atlanta chef Ria Pell passed away last weekend at the age of 44. Pell owned Ria’s Bluebird, a café in Grant Park. Pell was well-known in Atlanta’s restaurant scene and was heavily involved in the city’s gay and lesbian community.

Wednesday, the Bluebird re-opened and Pell’s friends and family came to remember her and get a hot meal.

Hear the audio version of this story.

Pell appeared on a 2011 episode of Get Delicious on PBA Channel 30 with host Jim Stacy. [Note: Pell first appears at about the 24:50 time mark.]

Wednesday morning, Ria’s Bluebird began to fill up around 9 a.m. Pell’s family filled a table in the corner of the restaurant. Pell’s mother, Vivica, said she was pleased to see the restaurant full of people who came to honor her daughter.

“It means an awful lot because this is what Ria would’ve wanted,” she said. “She had such a giving heart and gave to everybody that this is the thing to do.”

Aleck Schechter, a former Bluebird patron, was also glad the restaurant re-opened.

“I actually no longer live in Atlanta, but I’m just back for a couple of days,” he said. “This was always one of my favorite spots when I lived here and I was really, really sad to hear about Ria’s passing. She was always so welcoming whenever I came in and so I think it’s going to be a big loss to the Atlanta community.”

Pell’s friend Brian Poust said in addition to being an accomplished chef, she had a gift for bringing people together.

“She had such a large network of friends and she was really excellent about knowing what everybody’s strengths and weaknesses were and saying, ‘Oh, well gosh, if you do this well, you should really talk to this person,’” Poust said. “She was really good at putting people together.”

In addition to being a well-known Atlanta chef, Pell competed on the Food Network show Chopped last November and won the $10,000 grand prize.

According to the Bluebird’s Facebook page, Pell died of an undetected enlarged heart. Funeral services will be held Saturday at Westview Cemetery. Ria’s Bluebird will re-open for good December 3rd.