Govantez Lowndes needed his space. He walked away from IBM to cook up a new career in the restaurant business.

Lowndes, IE 83, called Commune, which opened its doors in Midtown Atlanta in December, a "passion pursuit."

"There's nothing more frustrating to me than unrealized potential, whether it is in business opportunities or in individuals. There also is nothing more frustrating to me than passion unfulfilled or not pursued. People who know me think of this as a natural step," he said.

Lowndes grew up in St. Augustine, Fla., and first came to Georgia Tech the summer before his senior year of high school for an introduction to the engineering program for minority students.

"I absolutely fell in love with it — the people at Tech and the city of Atlanta. I saw there was a professional degree I could get through engineering that would really give me a chance to do what I wanted to do, which was to be a practical businessman," he said.

Atlanta also provided a cultural awakening for Lowndes, who described modern city dining as people coming together with food and great rooms as central elements. His cultural growth continued on the West Coast while pursuing a graduate degree at Stanford. After receiving his master's degree, he went to work for IBM, a job that would take him to cities and restaurants around the world.

He began frequenting two of chef and restaurateur Matthew Kenney's New York City restaurants — Matthew's and Monzu — about five years ago.

During one of his New York visits a year later, Lowndes asked a staff member for Kenney's e-mail address. "I wanted to say thanks for what he had created. In the note I asked, 'Would you ever consider doing something in Atlanta?' I was just trying to urge him to look south. The very next day I got an e-mail back from Matthew."

He and Kenney formed a development partnership and Lowndes began searching for an Atlanta space. He found it at a former meat packing plant a year after his first meeting with the chef. "When I walked into this space, there was red clay, no floors and broken bits of concrete slabs for walls. But I saw the rooms and flow immediately. It was a magical moment, really."

The design process took four months and construction a year. "There's something to be said about attention to detail. We wanted an inviting spot, a place you would respond to after entering from the industrial exterior," Lowndes said. "Voices in conversation, the smell of food in the air, the feel of supple leather and the warm glow of the lighting all make a room sensuous. The sound of wine pouring, a fork to a plate, music in the background are all nice sounds and make a room inviting to me."

Atlanta's Commune projects a warm and cozy feeling with its soft lighting, illuminated golden onyx, dark wood floors, wenge wood wall panels, red-resin tables and chocolate-brown leather seats.