April 28, 2013: A downtown institution known as the Sun Dial closes. 

August 13, 2013: A downtown institution known as the Sun Dial reopens after being completely gutted, menu and all.

Today: We break down the changes for you. And you like them.

Please, after you...

Then: Home to scenes from Burt Reynolds’s Sharky’s Machine circa 1981. Also, a Jimmy Carter wedding anniversary.
Now: They’ve traded out anything dated (gold chandeliers, wooden chairs, ’80s-style carpet) for long rectangular prism bulbs, carved wood on the banquettes and an extended bar. They’re not going to not extend the bar.

Then: Business-dinner-safe staples like shrimp and grits. As opposed to...
Now: ... a whole chicken for two that’s been stuffed with herbs, roasted in white wine and sliced/plated tableside. Out-of-view plating had its day.

Then: You could drink a Cloud Buster (vodka, coconut milk, pineapple juice) out of a glass shaped like the Westin Peachtree Plaza.
Now: You could drink a moonshine tea. Out of a glass shaped like a glass. Win some, lose some.

Then: Three levels, two of which slowly rotate for the entire duration of your meal.
Now: Three levels, two of which slowly rotate for the entire duration of your meal.

It’s kind of the whole point.