Owning a neighborhood market is in Chef Hudson Rouse’s blood. His mother’s family ran a small grocery store and hardware store in Man, West Virginia, for nearly six decades. While the grocery store sold produce and pantry provisions, the hardware store sold a bit of everything. That included Vans sneakers in the 1980s because his grandfather knew Rouse and his brother loved them.
Now it’s Rouse’s turn to carry on the family legacy in Atlanta. The Rising Son and Whoopsie’s chef will open Pure Quill Superette next month, taking over butcher shop and market Chop Shop on Memorial Drive in Edgewood. The building next door to Pure Quill will become a bar later this summer.
“One of my favorite songs is ‘Pure Quill’ by this old Idaho cowboy guy,” Rouse says. “It came on the radio one day while I was driving to the shop, and I knew that’s what I was going to call it. The song always makes me feel good.”
The term “pure quill” is an old phrase used in rancher and cowboy circles out West meaning “authentic” or the “real deal”.
Rouse took over Chop Shop’s LLC from Wes and Charlotte Swancy and Rusty Bowers late last year. He first met the Swancys and Bowers while working the farmers market circuit years ago. The Swancys own Riverview Farms in Ranger, Georgia. Bowers owns and operates Pine Street Market butcher shop in Avondale Estates. The trio partnered to open Chop Shop in 2019.
Despite support from the surrounding communities, Charlotte Swancy says running Chop Shop and their other businesses became overwhelming.
“The build-out on this cool old building took forever. We slogged through Covid and changes in general managers over the years. Then the power meter exploded,” Swancy says. “We realized this wasn’t working for us. Hudson had all of these great ideas to grow the business and continue our vision for Chop Shop. He’s going to take it to the next level.”
If you’re not familiar with the term “superette,” think of it as a petite supermarket. In other parts of the country, it might be referred to as a bodega, mini-mart, corner shop, or even a country store. Pure Quill will keep selling meats from Riverview Farms and Pine Street Market products, along with local produce and cheeses, pantry provisions, and even sodas and candy Rouse’s son may have a hand in choosing for the shop. The superette will sell beer and wine for retail purchases.
“Pure Quill allows me to keep supporting my friends and local farmers. I want it to be the best of a bodega, the best of an Italian deli, and the best of a country store that also sells barbecue,” Rouse says of his plans. “Everything that Charlotte, Wes, and Rusty built will remain. It will be the same products and vendors.”
Look for a lunch counter component at the superette serving soups, sandwiches, and a daily steak frites plate using a different cut of meat each day. Dishes are meant to showcase the products sold at Pure Quill and offer customers try-before-you-buy transparency. In the morning, Pure Quill will open for coffee and fresh juices as well as some breakfast items. The shop will include seating inside and carry prepared foods, too, and continue as a pick-up location for the Riverview Farms CSA.
Weekends will see pitmaster Bryan Furman slinging barbecue plates and sandwiches on the patio next door to the superette. Rouse and Furman have been testing the market with a few barbecue pop-ups there over the last couple of months. Starting Feb. 3, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., Furman will pop up every weekend through November serving his signature-style Southern barbecue. Look for brisket plates from Furman with sides from Rouse this weekend.
During the summer Rouse will transform the little building beside the superette into a bar with outdoor seating. He’s still working out the food concept. Rouse is leaning toward weekend brunch and dishes easily assembled without much equipment needed, given the tight space inside the building.
“I feel the rush to get open because the neighborhood wants it to be open,” Rouse says. “But Charlotte, Wes, and Rusty trusted me with this business and wanted someone local. I have to do it right because we’ve always had a great friendship and partnership and supported each other over the years.”
