For decades, Carlyle’s restaurants were reliable places for busy office workers to get fresh-made meals. Founded in 1976 by Roy Torbert and his brother-in-law Billy Boyd, Carlyle’s began as a single restaurant at Colony Square, serving soups, sandwiches, and ice cream. Roy’s mother served as executive chef, and within a few years, family members Charlie Boyd and Helton Jolly had joined as owners. By the mid–1990s, the restaurant group had almost 20 locations across Atlanta. 

“My earliest memories are my dad bringing treats home from the restaurants for us, like Andes mints and shortbread cookies,” says now president Walt Torbert. “We had birthday parties there and took our friends after school.” 

 “I started working there in high school, bussing tables, doing dishes, and working for the store managers,” laughs his first cousin and the company’s current sales director, William Boyd. “We were free labor.”

Torbert and Boyd are not the only ones with fond memories of Carlyle’s, but they certainly have a unique point of view from growing up in the business. The two are first cousins and part of the second generation stewarding the family business; alongside them are more family members: Mary Atkinson, Sarah Merrill, Caroline Holliday and Ben Torbert. The group of cousins leads everything from corporate catering to social events to wholesale orders to marketing.

While some might lament the loss of a physical lunch spot, Carlyle’s has evolved into so much more in the last five decades, serving Atlantans in myriad ways. “As corporate Atlanta grew, [our parents] realized that operating restaurants wasn’t as in demand as catering could be for the building. Everyone loved Carlyle’s food, but wanted it in their offices.” 

In the last 15 years or so, the company has expanded into new areas little by little: a wholesale grab-and-go product line called Carlyle’s Market; an event venue, The Carlyle, for corporate events, social events, and weddings; several locations of Closer’s Coffee, a full-service coffee shop; and the company’s bread and butter, corporate catering for companies across Metro Atlanta like Honeywell, Roam, and Georgia Tech.

Each one of the segments interprets Carlyle’s foundational food and service principles in slightly different ways. By offering a wide range of foods, ranging from nutritionally paneled deli wraps to chef-attended stations, the company serves a huge range of food in many unique settings around the city. 

“Our goal is to provide clients with solutions that meet their specific needs,” says Torbert. 

The innovative approach is combined with tried-and-true recipes from grandmother’s original menu, such as Carlyle’s chicken salad, resulting in an irresistible combination for Atlantans looking for delicious, inspired, and comforting food. 

Part of the reason Carlyle’s has such longevity, says Boyd, is that they support each other. “We all take accountability and cover for each other. It’s a perfect setup,” he says. “We get to work with people we really care about.”

Torbert and Boyd, along with their family members, are taking Carlyle’s into the next 50 years with the ethos that has made the company what it is today, plus a forward-looking vision. 

The second generation is expanding Carlyle’s in meaningful ways. One is through helping companies build consistent lunch programs in offices. “We love that some companies see food as an amenity to foster a better workplace culture,” says Torbert. The second is through expanded wholesale offerings run through a new wholesale and food manufacturing kitchen in Midtown that will open in October. This will allow them to bring the charm and comfort of Carlyle’s into the region at scale.

What differentiates Carlyle’s today from others is the approach—one that has not changed much over the decades, whether in a restaurant setting, in an office conference room, or at The Carlyle. “We combine homemade foods and a simple, friendly level of service. We care about our clients; it’s really the most important asset we have as caterers,” says Torbert. 

Boyd says the company’s core value will always remain the same: “We make our clients successful.” 

Plan your next event with Carlyle’s or schedule a tour of The Carlyle.

The Atlanta Braves should be put up for sale because Major League Baseball teams are fetching record prices and a looming work stoppage clouds the future, an investor in the publicly traded club said Monday.

Breach Inlet Capital Management of South Carolina, an investment firm that reported it owned about $40 million worth of Braves stock at the end of June and said it is among the club’s 20 largest shareholders, put out a news release on Monday pushing for the team to court bids or to be taken private.

The San Diego Padres were valued at a record $3.9 billion when they were sold earlier this year, a mark that the Los Angeles Angels just surpassed this month when they were sold with a $4 billion valuation.

The Braves should now “capitalize on the current backdrop and not assume valuations for sports teams will keep climbing at these rapid rates into perpetuity,” wrote Chris Colvin, Breach’s founder, who said by phone he is a lifelong Braves fan.

The Braves declined comment. Major League Baseball did not immediately return a request for comment.

Colvin cited motivations for a sale beyond the high tide for baseball franchise values, including the lockout that MLB owners are expected to start in December in a fight with players over a salary cap, as well as a tax law that will soon restrict the Braves’ ability to deduct player salaries from their income.

The tax code, which applies to public companies, could cost the Braves more than $20 million starting next year, Colvin wrote, giving them “less cash to spend on improving their roster” and putting the team “at a competitive disadvantage.” Only two MLB teams, the Braves and the Toronto Blue Jays, are publicly traded.

Breach’s public nudge reveals the politics that could await MLB’s owners during the lockout they are expected to start in December.

Just as the players are made up of different groups with varying interests — veteran free agents have different concerns than players making the minimum salary — many teams have minority owners who will have varying perspectives.

“If it’s a fairly short lockout, then I think the stock goes down, but that’s probably a buying opportunity,” Colvin said in an interview with The Athletic on Monday. “The risk is if this turns into an extended lockout, I do fear what damage that could do to baseball’s brand.

“Investors may not appreciate that baseball’s doing as well as it’s done in a long, long time. It’s not my base case that we’re going to have an extended lockout, and then it damages the brand of baseball and therefore the Braves. But I think it’s above a zero percent probability.

“The closer we get to a lockout, or if we get in a lockout, then I think that will start to impact the potential values that a buyer would be willing to pay.”

Breach said it holds one of the top-20 largest stakes in the team among institutional investors, but the 778,518 shares of the Braves the firm reported it owned at the end of June do not come with voting privileges over company decisions. John Malone, former chairman of Liberty Media, retains “effective voting control” over the club, Colvin wrote.

Colvin said that he’s spoken to members of Braves management in the last couple years about the possibility of a sale, including chairman Terry McGuirk and president Derek Schiller. Colvin said he was told a sale is up to the company’s board of directors, and that the Braves believe the league’s new national media contracts, which are expected to begin in 2029, leave “a lot of value to realize.”

“That’s all fair,” Colvin said. “My point is, why not at least explore and test the market to see what the value is? Because at the end of the day, the board of a public company’s job is to effectively maximize shareholder value, right?”

Colvin wrote that the Angels and Padres sales show buyers “are already paying a premium for that future potential upside.”

The Angels’ 2025 revenue was estimated by Forbes to be $377 million. That suggests the team sold for about 10 times its revenue, a record revenue multiple for MLB.

The Braves, who reported $732 million in revenue in 2025, should trade for an even higher revenue multiple than the Angels because the Braves have a thriving real-estate development around their stadium, Colvin argued.

How well MLB teams are faring financially is a hot-button topic as labor negotiations proceed. MLB teams typically sell for lower prices and revenue multiples than their counterparts in other leagues, such as the National Basketball Association and National Football League.

“I’m a value investor. It’s kind of become the value league,” Colvin said of MLB.

But whether MLB teams are doing as well as they could is a discussion that can be conflated with a different one: whether they’re simply good or bad businesses to own.

When Breach, which also owns a share in Manchester United, bought into the Braves about a decade ago, Colvin expected he would have sold off the firm’s slice of the team by now.

“I didn’t think I’d still own the shares at this point,” Colvin said. “They’ve also outperformed what I would have expected back then, and it’s generated, I would say, a good return for us. I wouldn’t say great.”

Overall, “it has been a good investment,” Colvin said.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A $68 million deal to sell Atlanta’s city jail to Fulton County is on hold after city council members raised objections during a Public Safety and Legal Administration Committee meeting Monday.

The committee voted to hold Resolution 26-R-4001, which would authorize Mayor Andre Dickens to execute a purchase and sale agreement conveying the Atlanta City Detention Center at 254 Peachtree St. SW to Fulton County for a sales price not to exceed $68,000,000.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Dickens: City accepts county offer to purchase Atlanta City Detention Center

Multiple council members had questions including how the county planned to use the jail, the implications to current city employees working at the facility, and how the city planned to use the $68 million.

“You know, crime is down in the city of Atlanta; crime is down in other cities of the county,” said Councilmember Byron Amos. “If crime keeps going down, why is there ever-increasing need to increase the space to place lawbreakers? So if it’s not the box that’s the issue, as my colleague referred to, maybe it’s the system that’s the issue. And adding more beds doesn’t fix the issue.”

What the resolution proposes

The resolution states the county and the sheriff have determined the purchase is in the best interest of public safety in Fulton County, including Atlanta, for housing inmates and detainees in the custody of or under the jurisdiction of the county.

The resolution also states that the city and county desire to minimize the impact of a transition on current City of Atlanta Department of Corrections employees who may be separated from city employment, and that the purchase agreement would include provisions for the county to work with the sheriff to match affected city employees to open county positions for which they are qualified.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Fulton leaders agree to $68M purchase of Atlanta City Detention Center, nix hospital commitment

Under a new lease agreement stipulated in the deal, inmates and detainees in the custody of the City of Atlanta and/or under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court of Atlanta would continue to be housed at the detention center. The city would pay the county’s per-detainee costs for housing, food, custody staffing and medical care.

The county would continue to reserve space and abide by the terms of previously executed intergovernmental agreements regarding the joint operation of the Center for Diversion & Services.

The resolution notes a 2022 intergovernmental agreement, approved by the council on Aug. 15, 2022, and signed by the mayor on Aug. 17, 2022, authorized the temporary housing of up to 700 adult Fulton County detainees at the detention center for a term not to exceed four years. That agreement is scheduled to expire in December 2026. Under the new resolution, the 2022 agreement would be replaced and superseded.

Council raises questions

Councilmember Eshé Collins raised financial questions, asking Atlanta’s Chief Operating Officer LaChandra Burks how Atlanta would use the $68 million from the sale.

Burks said it’s not standard to include that plan at this juncture.

Multiple council members asked whether the sale would help or worsen overcrowding and understaffing at the Fulton County Jail on Rice Street.

“We’re basically selling a house and then trying to bargain to rent a room out of that same house that we’re selling,” said Councilmember Michael Julian Bond. “A good rule of thumb is that the best way to make public policy is, if this is not something you would do in your personal life, then you certainly shouldn’t do it with other people’s money and other people’s public property.”

The mayor’s administration could not answer several of these questions, saying they were best directed to Fulton County.

Work session planned

The committee set Sept. 23 and 24 as tentative dates for a work session. Council members said they want city, county and criminal justice partners in the same room to work through the issues before moving forward with the sale.

The resolution, if approved, would also be forwarded to the Finance/Executive Committee as a dual-referred item before the full council votes.

MORE COVERAGE:

Atlanta mayor’s office promises response to Fulton County’s $56.5M offer for city jail

Atlanta City Council urges Fulton County to commit $200M for new hospital