Chef Leaves Lazy Betty

Aaron Phillips has stepped away from the executive chef role at Lazy Betty, the Michelin-starred Atlanta restaurant he co-founded, while keeping his ownership stake. (roughdraftatlanta.com) Phillips told Rough Draft Atlanta on Tuesday, April 21, that he is no longer involved in daily decisions at the Midtown restaurant and had been out of that role for “a few weeks.” The outlet reported the change surfaced after Atlanta Business Chronicle noted on April 20 that Phillips was no longer listed as executive chef on the restaurant’s site. (roughdraftatlanta.com, bizjournals.com) Lazy Betty’s website now lists Ron Hsu as “Culinary Director / Owner,” and the restaurant’s public pages still describe Lazy Betty as a project built by the Hsu family and Aaron Phillips. Rough Draft reported the site briefly showed chef de cuisine Austin Goetzman as executive chef before shifting again to Hsu. (lazybettyatl.com, roughdraftatlanta.com) The change lands less than two years after Lazy Betty moved from Candler Park to 999 Peachtree Street in Midtown, into the former Empire State South space. Atlanta Magazine reported in March 2024 that the larger restaurant would let Hsu and Phillips expand the bar program, private dining, and the restaurant’s à la carte offerings while keeping its seven-course tasting menu. (atlantamagazine.com) Lazy Betty has been one of Atlanta’s most decorated fine-dining rooms since opening in 2019. Michelin’s 2025 guide still lists the restaurant with one star at its Midtown address and names Hsu and Phillips as the chefs overseeing the contemporary tasting menu. (guide.michelin.com, atlantamagazine.com) The restaurant’s own materials continue to market Lazy Betty as “Atlanta’s one-MICHELIN-star restaurant from Chef-Partners Ron Hsu and Aaron Phillips.” That leaves the ownership structure intact even as the kitchen leadership shifts away from Phillips’ day-to-day oversight. (lazybettyatl.com, lazybettyatl.com) Hsu and Phillips built Lazy Betty after working together at Le Bernardin in New York, a background the restaurant and other profiles have highlighted for years. Recent Lazy Betty event pages and press materials had still referred to them jointly as chef-owners as recently as late 2025 and early 2026. (lazybettyatl.com, lazybettyatl.com) For diners, the immediate change is behind the pass, not in the reservation book: Lazy Betty is still taking bookings in Midtown and still presenting itself as a Michelin-starred tasting-menu destination. The next question is whether Hsu remains the public face of the kitchen or names a new executive chef after Phillips’ exit from the role. (lazybettyatl.com, roughdraftatlanta.com)