In-person at MODA
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Business x Design is MODA’s event series that explores how design fuels innovation, solves complex challenges, and shapes the world we live in.
Alisa Barry and Smith Hanes have each spent decades shaping how Atlanta eats and gathers: Alisa through the food she makes, Smith through the restaurants he designs.
Alisa opened Bella Cucina as a small Atlanta café in the early 1990s, after cooking under Alice Waters in Berkeley and spending long stretches in the hill towns of Italy. When customers kept asking to take her food home, she built a line of artisan pantry goods, from pestos and preserves to flatbreads, that now sells in specialty shops around the world. Every jar carries her belief that the way a meal is shared is part of the meal itself.
Smith founded Smith Hanes Studio in 2004 and has since shaped many of Atlanta’s most memorable dining rooms, including The Optimist, JCT Kitchen & Bar, Atrium at Ponce City Market, Carmel, and Brasserie Margot at the Four Seasons. He came to interiors from the display world and thinks of his work as closer to set design: rooms built around light, proportion, and the kind of ease that keeps people at the table a little longer.
In this final session of our 2026 Business X Design season, Alisa and Smith will talk about how food, space, ritual, and atmosphere work together to create hospitality, and how each of them turned a personal craft into a values-driven business. The conversation will be facilitated by Gene Kansas.
What to Expect & Learn:
Arrive early to experience SALT: A Design Story, MODA’s latest exhibition.
The talk will begin at 6:15 PM
How Alisa grew a neighborhood café into a nationally recognized artisan food brand while holding on to the handmade quality that started it
How Smith and his team design a restaurant, from the first conversation with a restaurateur to the local artisans and fabricators who build it
Where their work meets: how objects and environments together shape the experience of gathering
What it takes to turn a personal sensibility into a brand people recognize, trust, and rave about
Image courtesy of Smith Hanes.
Registration
$11.25 for MODA Members | $15.00 for future members
Because this event is a fundraiser supporting MODA’s exhibitions, programs, and operations, there is not a special member price.
About Alisa Barry
Alisa Barry is the founder, owner, and creative director of Bella Cucina Artful Food, an all-natural artisan line sold in specialty food and lifestyle stores. She apprenticed with Alice Waters at Chez Panisse and became head cook at Café Fanny before opening Bella Cucina in Atlanta. Oprah has twice named Bella Cucina one of her Favorite Things.
About Smith Hanes
Smith Hanes is the founder and principal of Smith Hanes Studio, a team of interior designers, architects, and industrial designers working across restaurants, hotels, retail, workspaces, and residences. Founded in Atlanta in 2004, the studio opened a second location in New York in 2020 and has completed projects nationwide.
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The Museum of Design Atlanta is conveniently located in the Midtown Arts District, right across the street from the Woodruff Arts Center at 1315 Peachtree St. NE Atlanta, GA 30309.
MODA is located on the ground floor of the 1315 Peachtree Building. The building is a mix use site and is shared by MODA, the Peachtree Public Library, and Perkins+Will.
MODA resides on the land of the Mvskoke (Muscogee / Creek) people.
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Parking
MODA does not offer designated parking. There are public parking lots located in the Midtown Arts district, as well as metered parking available along Peachtree St NE. The paid Lanier parking deck at 1337 Peachtree St NE is the closest deck within walking distance of the museum.
Bike Riders
For visitors traveling by bike, there are plenty of bike racks conveniently located around MODA! You can find them along Peachtree Street, including right outside of MODA, and at the Arts Center MARTA Station. Don’t forget to bring a lock!
MARTA
If visiting by train, take the North or South rail line to the Arts Center MARTA Station (N5), located directly behind the Woodruff Arts Center (accessible). Exit the Arts Center Station at the top level by the Peachtree Street exit. You will be behind the Woodruff Arts Center. MODA is located directly across the street from the Woodruff Arts Center. Use the cross-walk at the intersection of 16th and Peachtree to reach our building.
For more information on MARTA schedules, maps, and connections from other transit providers, please visit the MARTA website.
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Designers with different styles of learning or special needs are welcome in MODA public programs. We will be able to most effectively help everyone learn and enjoy this experience if we know about those needs in advance of the program. Please email miranda@museumofdesign.org with questions or information.
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MODA reserves the right to cancel a program if the minimum enrollment requirements are not met, but don’t worry: should MODA have to cancel, we will gladly issue a full refund to all registrants.
Because this is a fundraiser benefiting MODA’s exhibitions, programs, and operations, no refunds are offered if you choose to cancel your plans. -
Pictures and videos will be captured during MODA public programs and may be published on the official website, social media, and newsletters of the Museum of Design Atlanta. If you do not wish to appear on these platforms, please write to felicia@museumofdesign.org.
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Email Felicia at felicia@museumofdesign.org with any questions.