The EARL

History

The EARL, short for East Atlanta Restaurant and Lounge, is an alternative music club and restaurant at 488 Flat Shoals Avenue in East Atlanta Village. Wikipedia says John Searson, new to the club business, opened it in July 1999 in a building that had been used to store mattresses. He built much of the interior himself, including a bar made from a tree that fell on his property. The room has hosted touring and local rock, punk, and indie bills, among them early shows by Death Cab for Cutie, the National, and Mastodon, and it remains a 21-and-over club with a kitchen.