Atomic Kitchen offers classic food with side of nostalgia
Published 6:00 am Sunday, June 22, 2025
Nostalgia lovers can rejoice as a new retro-themed restaurant has opened up in Stadium Park Plaza in Bowling Green, with its theme centered around 1980s popular culture.
Atomic Kitchen is led by Eric Leach, the self-proclaimed “food nerd” who previously worked as president of the Bowling Green Hot Rods for 11 years and served a stint as commissioner of the Mid-South Conference.
Speaking to the Daily News, Leach said the idea for what eventually became Atomic Kitchen started during the COVID-19 pandemic, when that year’s baseball season was suspended during lockdown.
“I like to stay very, very busy,” Leach said. “I had been playing around with smash burgers for quite a while at home, and so I decided to start a pop-up restaurant called Atomic Biscuit and Burger Company.”
Leach said when the first pop-up came around, “I didn’t know what to expect.” The plan was to have a lunch shift and a dinner time later.
“We sold out at lunch, and I had to cancel dinner,” he said.
As the world started to reopen after the pandemic cooled down and baseball resumed, the idea was put on hold. Leach said around nine months ago, he approached his wife with the idea of revisiting the concept, but in a full-time manner.
“I had a full business plan and everything,” he said. “At that point, she was like, ‘let’s pursue it.’ “
Those who visit Atomic Kitchen are surrounded by callbacks to the 1980s. In the main dining area, Slimer from the “Ghostbusters” franchise stands in a corner. In another corner, recreations of props from the Indiana Jones movies sit on shelves, including the golden idol from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and the holy grail from “Last Crusade.”
Another movie prop currently on the way to the kitchen is the robotic arm from “Terminator.”
Vintage arcade games line the back wall of the bar section. Leach said the games, one of which is Pac-Man, are free to play.
Menu items feature regular fare such as burger and chicken dishes, but each menu item is named for an aspect of 1980s culture. A fried chicken sandwich offering is called “The Axel Fowley,” another sandwich is called “The Melty Crue” and an onion ring appetizer is dubbed “Romancing the Rings.”
The atmosphere is supported by a playlist of popular songs from the 80s, which Leach said stands at over 24 hours long.
Each menu item is made from scratch, Leach said. The only exceptions so far are the restaurant’s fried pickles, one dessert item and the pretzel, which is sourced from a “mom and pop” shop in Indiana.
“Every piece of chicken is hand-breaded, each onion ring is hand-breaded,” he said. “It’s not (opening) a bag and throw it in a fryer — there’s passion behind all the ingredients.”
As for the desert item, Leach said “It’s a honey bun — I’m not going to recreate the honey bun.” With the pretzel, it will be offered with beer cheese containing beer sourced from White Squirrel
Leach said Atomic Kitchen is still in its “soft-opening” period. Full grand-opening activities are planned for next weekend. Leach said for the Friday portion of the grand opening, a replica of Marty McFly’s black Toyota pickup truck will be on-site and on Saturday, a car show will take place from the Honda Del Sol Car Club.
Attendees will be treated to Hamm’s Beer and Pabst Blue Ribbon, which Leach said will stand at an 80s-appropriate $2 for a 16-ounce can. Atomic Kitchen has also joined the Fountain Row Entertainment Destination Center, allowing visitors to purchase alcoholic drinks to-go during business hours.
Speaking on the reception so far, Leach said it has been “overwhelming.”
“It’s just been tremendous,” he said. “ … We already have some customers that it’s their third, fourth time here in a week and a half.”
About Jack Dobbs
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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