Looking for a bar that’s more like gently chilling at your Millennial bestie’s place while she gently mists her plants and calmly talks to you about proper soil mixing? Foxglove Plantbar is here for you, whether you know a lot about plants, or are ignorant but curious, or just want a well-lit, quiet place to enjoy a wine spritzer that is not your own home. Opened last year after a while as a pop-up shop, Foxglove is on Baxter Street, sharing a shopping center with Just Pho, Little Caesar’s and a beauty supply store, across the street from home.made. The street has made big strides over the past few years away from its older reputation as a locale replete with strip clubs and car wash sinkholes, and Foxglove is a lovely, chill hangout.
Owners Alex and Von Kidd are passionate about plants (duh), but they’re very smooth at making you feel like the questions you’re asking aren’t dumb. They’re subtle evangelists for the love of green stuff, primarily focused on indoor plants. The store is big but not cavernous, with nicely delineated areas for different things, including said bar. It is a real delight to discover that “plantbar” is not a metaphor and that Foxglove serves beer, wine, coffee and soft drinks. Whether you want a Yoohoo, a canned oatmilk latte, an Original Sin hard cider, a Wild Basin hard seltzer, a Fentiman’s rose lemonade, any number of adorable and hiply designed canned wine spritzers, a glass of wine or a local beer, it’ll be in your hand shortly, the better to loosen your hold on your wallet as you browse lush green things with all the hope in the world that they will stay alive in your house.
The folks in charge will bolster your confidence. There’s a soil bar next to the drinks bar, where you can mix your own combo of ingredients to keep your baby planties happy, and advice is free and plentiful. Do you have stupid cats who are likely to chomp on anything you bring home? I do! There is a whole section of pet-friendly plants. They’re not a deterrent to the chomp-and-barf routine, but they will at least help you avoid expensive trips to the vet. There are cactuses for the chronically forgetful, and a leave a cutting/take a cutting area for the more advanced. There’s even a tiny greenhouse inside the store that provides both an area for some particularly beautiful plants and an Instagram-friendly backdrop.
Big plants, small plants, ornate ones and simple ones—there is a lot of variety, and the prices seem reasonable. Foxglove’s owners source their plants from Florida and maintain a greenhouse in Athens for resupply. They’re happy to chat about plants for as long as you want or leave you alone to browse in wonder. And if you’re looking for fancy accessories or just candles to complete your ‘70s-style space, they have those, too.
But wait! There’s more. One of the most popular aspects of the store is its build-your-own terrarium area, a great alternative to a sip-and-paint if you’re looking for something new to do with a date, your family or your buddies. Pick a vessel (most are $35, but you can get larger ones for a bit more) and start filling it with colorful pebbles for a drainage layer. The price includes two cute little succulents and two “plant pals” (e.g., neon colored plastic dinosaurs), but you can add more. Terrarium classes start on the hour, every hour, and you can drop in unless you have a group of three or more, in which case you should call ahead.
Foxglove is conducive to social interaction, with a cozy seating area in the middle of the store and a selection of board games (mostly plant themed) and plant books. It also hosts a number of events, which it posts on Instagram at @foxgloveplantbar. These include free yoga a couple of times a month, bingo at which you can win rare plants ($25 a ticket), plant sales and swaps, silent book club and free classes about soil, propagation and the like. There are even food pop-ups from time to time from places like Doraville’s Snackboxe Bistro and Musubee ATL. Foxglove is open Wednesday through Sunday and offers a refreshing change of pace from loud bars focused on power hour and hooking up.
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