By Rachel Cohen Noebes

Atlanta, step through The Looking Glass next year when a hospitality veteran’s “magnum opus” opens in Downtown Atlanta at The Center.

The founder and chief vision officer of Amp Up1 Hospitality, Josh Rossmeisl is behind West Midtown’s Your 3rd Spot. He says The Looking Glass – a 38,000- square-foot social, dining and entertainment concept blending food, cocktails, games and group experiences in an immersive Alice in Wonderland-inspired setting – will be that “on steroids.”

Rossmeisl’s team has been in the entertainment industry for over 20 years. He said launching Your 3rd Spot in Atlanta in 2022 gave them the opportunity to understand the market, what the city is looking for and how they could develop something specifically with CP Group to activate space Downtown.

“It’s unbelievable what we’re going to do in [The Center]. We’re pumped to revealit to the world,” said Rossmeisl, adding that the plan is to open in the secondquarter of 2027.

Chris Eachus, founding partner of CP Group, told Atlanta Business Chronicle themassive two-story space will be “highly visible” from Centennial Olympic Parkthanks to an outdoor terrace, and will be accessible through an entrance near theOmni Hotel.

Rossmeisl said he imagines taking The Looking Glass “all over the world” butnoted they’re not in a rush to do so.

“When the time is right and when the brand is incubated properly, this is going tobe our baby,” he said. “We’re going to take our time and make sure that it’s perfectand really invest in making this one of the most unique experiential diningconcepts in the country.”

The chief vision officer credits the “resurgence of Downtown” as one of thebiggest factors in deciding to open Looking Glass here and now.

“Downtown Atlanta is the heartbeat of the city… with all of the developmentthat’s happening here, all the residential growth, the new hotels, I think the onething missing is a really great spot like this,” Rossmeisl said. He wants the space,which has a 1,200-person capacity, to be as much of an option for a uniqueactivity after the aquarium as a fun option for birthday celebrations, corporategatherings and date nights.

Amp Up1 will also work with Moment Factory on the project, an entertainmentstudio out of Montreal which specializes in immersive environments and“works with a couple of little companies like Disney and Universal,” accordingto Rossmeisl.

On the culinary side, there will two main options: an upscale but faster serviceexperience with small plates and cocktails, or a more formal tea party service.

The tea party can cater to groups of two to 20 or serve corporate events of up to500 in a private space.

While family-friendly during the day, the space is adult-forward. Anyone under 18years old must be accompanied by an adult, and the evenings are reserved for a21+ crowd.

The Looking Glass will offer a venue-wide scavenger hunt that “rewardsexploration and curiosity,” as well as European nine-pin bowling, carnival games,a hall of illusions, table games and more all built around a modern “nuanced” retelling of the Lewis Carroll novel “Through the Looking-Glass and What AliceFound There.”

“You find some games and some games find you,” explained Rossmeisl, whoemphasized that no two experiences at The Looking Glass will be the same. “Mygoal is not to design a place people only come to once.”