Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Gustin.
Hi Nicole, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I love to travel and experience local cuisine wherever I go. I believe that you can learn a lot about people and their culture through food.
So I took a trip to Miami and booked a walking food tour. I had never heard of a food tour, but given my love of restaurants, was intrigued. We walked through the heart of South Beach, stopping at different restaurants to taste the food. We sampled Cuban dishes, Dulce de leche from an Argentinian bakery, a slice from a pizza place, gelato from a local ice cream shop….all while our tour guide gave us an overview and history of the many art deco buildings we passed by. I loved it, and knew that I wanted to start a similar tour in my hometown of Atlanta.
So back in Atlanta, I spent over a year building BiteLines, which offers walking food & art tours on the Atlanta BeltLine, and had just launched when COVID shut everything down. I didn’t feel safe offering tours during the pandemic. So I waited until I felt it was safe, and relaunched in June 2021.
We start at Krog Street Market, named “one of the world’s best food halls” by Travel & Leisure magazine, and walk down the BeltLine, stopping at restaurants to get a sampling of Atlanta’s cosmopolitan food scene, from pizza to guacamole to authentic Southern and more. Along the way, we explore Atlanta’s embrace of vibrant street art, discovering the art and artists behind them.
During the past year or so, even more has changed on the BeltLine. There are new restaurants and works of art that make our tours even more appealing. We now include two black-owned businesses and one LGBT-owned restaurant, which is important to me.
I also just added a walking tour only of the Atlanta BeltLine. I am excited to share the Atlanta BeltLine, and some of Atlanta’s best restaurants, with tourists and locals alike.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well, COVID has certainly made things challenging. After I spent all that time building a new business, it got shut down. The pandemic changed everything, though. I quit my full-time PR and marketing job last year to focus solely on my business.
I have also learned how wonderful people in the restaurant industry are, and how others want to help. People on Instagram, in particular, have really helped me spread the word about BiteLines by sharing my posts with their followers.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I decided to create a tour of the Atlanta BeltLine because I think of it as my backyard. I have lived along the BeltLine for the past 7 years. I have walked more than 1,000 miles on the trail, and watched it transform my neighborhood. I have seen an explosion of new restaurants, including the opening of two food halls (Ponce City Market and Krog Street Market), and have tried many of them.
The BeltLine is like nothing else in Atlanta. The bridge underpasses are covered with street art that changes overnight. You see sculptures, murals and photo banners that make up Art on the Atlanta BeltLine. And the trail draws lots of characters and performers, like a guy who wears a TV on his head, or a saxophonist one day, a drummer the next, or a cat in a backpack. Women dress up and walk down the trail like it’s a promenade from the 1800s. It is a place to see and be seen.
I am very passionate about the BeltLine, the restaurants and the art. I have watched all of these change and grow over the past 7 years, and am excited to share it with others.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Starting a business has taken far more time than I expected, especially promoting it. I have a PR/marketing background, so I knew what I needed to do for promotion. But social media, a blog, advertising, and handling logistics have taken much more time than I expected.
The best thing I did was talk to someone who runs a food tour in another state, to pick her brain about best practices, challenges, etc. I wish I had done that sooner. As much as you can, reach out to other people for ideas, for promotion and support. I feel supported and energized every time I do that.
Pricing:
- 75.00 ticket – Food & Art Tour
- 22.00 ticket – Walking Tour
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@bitelinesatl.com
- Website: bitelinesatl.com
- Instagram: bitelinesatl
- Facebook: bitelinesatl
- Twitter: bitelinesatl
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bitelines-atlanta?osq=bitelines
- Other: https://www.viator.com/tours/Atlanta/Food-and-Art-Tours-on-the-Atlanta-BeltLine/d784-199292P1
Image Credits:
Shawn Ventura, Nicole Gustin
