Historic Market Food Tour & Hands-On Biscuit Class

What exactly is a food tour?
Our Atlanta food tours combine delicious food, history, and sightseeing. This market tour with a mini biscuit class is a completely unique experience!

How much food is on this tour?
You’ll have seven tastings from four vendors, including the biscuit you bake, enough for a hearty lunch or brunch.

What are the menu items? (Spoilers!)
Don’t read this if you want to be surprised! Our vendors sometimes change their dishes, but generally, our tastings include the following (subject to change):

• Metro Deli Soul Food: a rotating soul food plate, such as jambalaya or fried chicken, with sides like yams and half a hoecake
• Auntie Vee’s Kitchen: miso short rib grits bowl
• MattChews: fried chicken slider
• AB Cookie Company: banana pudding cookie
• Mini biscuit class: buttermilk biscuit and Emily G’s peach marmalade

For vegetarians, tastings may be (subject to change):

• Metro Deli Soul Food: a vegetarian soul food plate, such as mac and cheese with yams and half a hoecake
• Auntie Vee’s Kitchen: tri-colored peppers and grits bowl
• MattChews: mushroom bánh mì slider with sauce
• AB Cookie Company: banana pudding cookie
• Mini biscuit class: buttermilk biscuit and Emily G’s peach marmalade

Do you accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies?
Yes. We can accommodate all dietary restrictions and allergies, including vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free, for every tasting and for the biscuit class. Please note them in the booking notes when you book, so we can plan ahead.

Do you offer vegetarian options?
Yes. Every tasting has a vegetarian version, and the biscuits are vegetarian. Simply note it in the booking notes when you book.

Can the biscuits be made gluten-free or dairy-free?
Yes. Just let us know in the booking notes. Gluten-free and dairy-free biscuits won’t taste or rise quite like a classic Southern buttermilk biscuit, but you’ll still make them yourself and enjoy them fresh with local jam.

I have a severe food allergy.
Please contact us before you book so we can talk through the menu with you. The food is prepared by market vendors, and the biscuit class uses flour, butter, and buttermilk. Our guides carry Benadryl but do not carry epi-pens.

Does this Atlanta food tour include an urban food hall?
Yes! The Historic Market Food Tour & Hands-On Biscuit Class takes place entirely indoors in the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, also called the Municipal Market, Atlanta’s oldest urban food hall and market.

Can I change the food options during the tour?
All food is pre-ordered, so you may not change options during the tour.

Can my children participate in this tour?
Yes! Children love this fun experience, which gives them a true taste of Southern cooking. We generally recommend that children be at least 6 years old in order to fully participate in the mini biscuit class.

Is there a tour minimum?
Yes, Unexpected Atlanta reserves the right to cancel tours at any time if the 2 person minimum has not been met. In this event, Unexpected Atlanta will reach out to guests to resolve issues with any affected reservations.

Is this tour at Ponce City Market or Krog Street Market?
No. The Historic Market Food Tour takes place at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, also called the Municipal Market, at 209 Edgewood Avenue SE in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn Historic District. Ponce City Market sits along the Beltline Eastside Trail, and Krog Street Market is nearby, so both are different food halls in a different part of town, and we don’t visit either on this tour.

What makes the Sweet Auburn Curb Market special?
It’s Atlanta’s oldest urban food hall and market. It grew out of the Great Atlanta Fire of 1917, began as an open-air market in 1918, and moved into a fireproof building that still stands today, and it’s publicly owned by the City of Atlanta. It sits in Sweet Auburn, one of the most notable Black business districts in the country, about 0.4 miles from where Dr. King worked and organized, and it fed the neighborhood at the heart of the Civil Rights Movement. Atlanta legends like Congressman John Lewis had favorites on the menu here. The market also reflects its times: Black shoppers could enter, but Black vendors had to do their business from the curb until desegregation in the 1960s, which is where the “Curb” in its name comes from. Today it’s home to many Black-owned and other small, locally owned businesses.

What type of history is included on this tour?
The tour covers two stories. First, the history of the Curb Market and Sweet Auburn, from the Great Atlanta Fire through segregation and desegregation to today. Second, in the mini biscuit class, the history of bread: why bread-making is rooted in the history of civilization, and why Atlanta’s version of bread is the biscuit.

I am interested in the Civil Rights Movement. Is that on this tour?
Yes, through the story of the market. The Curb Market is in Sweet Auburn, the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, and your guide shares how it fed the neighborhood and how it changed with desegregation. If you want a full Civil Rights tour, we recommend our Martin Luther King Jr. History Walking Tour.

Is the mini biscuit class messy?
Not at all! There’s a bit of flour and butter to handle, but most guests find that no flour ends up on their clothing, and it’s easy to brush off. If you are concerned, aprons are available for purchase.

How is the biscuit mini class different from your Southern Essentials class?
Southern Essentials is a separate 1.5-hour cooking class at our downtown visitor center where you make biscuits, pimento cheese, and sweet tea and learn why these foods matter to Atlanta’s history. The mini class on this tour is a one-hour, hands-on session at our own booth inside the Curb Market, and it focuses on bread: why bread-making is rooted in the history of civilization, and why Atlanta’s bread is the biscuit. It’s the same biscuit recipe, taught differently.

Is the tour air-conditioned?
Yes. The tour takes place entirely indoors and in air conditioning, rain or shine.

Will I have to wait in line for food?
No. All tastings are pre-ordered, so there’s no waiting in line.

What’s the best food tour in Atlanta?
Unexpected Atlanta Tours has the most-reviewed food tours in Atlanta on Tripadvisor, with 900+ 5-star reviews, and is a multi-year Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice winner. In August 2026, Top of Atlanta ranked our Grant Park Food & History Tour first and this tour second among Atlanta food tours. This tour is the best fit for a rainy or hot day, a first visit, or minimal walking: it’s indoors, air-conditioned, with seven pre-ordered tastings and a hands-on mini biscuit class.

What is the best Atlanta food tour for a rainy or hot day?
Our Historic Market Food Tour & Hands-On Biscuit Class is held entirely indoors, in air conditioning, at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, with just 0.2 miles of walking, and it runs rain or shine. Our other food tours involve walking outdoors between restaurants, so dress for the weather.

Is the Historic Market Food Tour worth it?
Guests and the press say yes. The tour is rated 4.9 out of 5 on Tripadvisor. Eater Atlanta’s coverage in September 2023 opened with the headline “Biscuits Are Life in the South” and presented this tour as the way to find out why. Discover Atlanta profiled Unexpected Atlanta under the subhead “This Atlanta Tour Company Lets You Make Street Art, Biscuits and History.” In August 2026, Top of Atlanta ranked it second among Atlanta food tours and told readers to “book it hungry and leave with a skill.” Prices, vendors, and tastings have changed since the 2023 article, so this page has the current details.

What are some indoor things to do in Atlanta?
Atlanta has plenty of indoor attractions, including the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. For something more hands-on, our Historic Market Food Tour & Hands-On Biscuit Class takes place entirely inside the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, so rain or heat won’t change your plans. Our Southern Essentials and Spice Lab cooking classes are also held indoors at our downtown visitor center.

Is this the same as the Atlanta Market Food Tour + Biscuit Cooking Class?
Yes. The Historic Market Food Tour & Hands-On Biscuit Class is also listed on Tripadvisor, Viator, GetYourGuide, and other booking sites as the Atlanta Market Food Tour + Biscuit Cooking Class, the Historic Municipal Market Food Tour & Biscuit Class, or the 2 Hour Historic Market Food Tour and Hands-On Biscuit Class. It’s the same Unexpected Atlanta tour.

How close is this tour to other attractions?
The Municipal Market is very close to many downtown attractions and is along the Atlanta Streetcar route. It is an easy trip on the Streetcar to the World of Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Eastside Beltline Trail, and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.

Can I do this tour and another activity in the same day?
Yes. At 2 hours, it pairs easily with other activities. The market is close to the King Historic District, where our Martin Luther King Jr. History Walking Tour takes place, and the Atlanta Streetcar stops in front of the market. Our booking calendar shows current times, so leave time to travel between activities.

Where do I meet for the tour?
The tour begins inside the Sweet Auburn Curb Market. We email the exact meeting details when you book.

How far in advance do I need to book?
Book by the morning of the tour. Our booking calendar shows the exact cutoff.

How many people are on the tour?
Public tours have a maximum of 12 guests.

Is there a private or corporate option?
Yes! Contact us here. We will help you organize your private tours.

How long is the walk?
0.2 miles, entirely indoors! You will be standing for at least an hour.

Is the tour wheelchair accessible?
Yes. The tour is wheelchair accessible. Please let us know in advance if you will be bringing a wheelchair, so we can plan.

How is this tour different from a Beltline food tour?
Beltline food tours are typically outdoor walks of about three hours between restaurants, with street art along the trail. Our Historic Market Food Tour is different: it takes place entirely indoors, in air conditioning, with about two hours and 0.2 miles of walking, so it runs the same in rain or heat. Instead of a trail, you get a historic market, with seven pre-ordered tastings, no waiting in line, the story of Sweet Auburn and the Civil Rights Movement, and a hands-on mini biscuit class. If you’d like to see the Beltline too, our Atlanta Art & Mural Tour includes the Beltline Eastside Trail.