At a time when most restaurants occupy leased spaces in Atlanta, one of the city’s most cherished restaurants will remain in the building for as long as the owners want and continue to draw patrons to Memorial Drive in Reynoldstown.
Earlier this week, Chef Kevin Clark and Lisa Spooner added property owners to their resumes, purchasing the building in which their diner, Home Grown, has served its coveted comfy chicken biscuits, Southern fare, and “Blue Collar” lunch specials for 15 years.
The purchase of the Home Grown property for Clark and Spooner feels like the first real win they’ve had since 2020. Over the last five years, they’ve navigated Home Grown through the tumult of a global pandemic, wild fluctuations in the economy, threats of closure, and rising rents caused by booming development in the neighborhood.
There have been some good moments, too. Home Grown received recognition from Michelin in the 2023 and 2024 Atlanta dining guides.
The purchase of the building and surrounding property, however, might be the biggest reward to date for Clark and Spooner. It secures Home Grown’s place in Reynoldstown for years to come and marks the beginning of a new chapter for the restaurant.
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Clark and Spooner opened Home Grown in June 2010. Clark had spent most of his career working in fine dining restaurants around Atlanta, including for Chef Paul Albrecht of Pano’s and Paul’s. But Clark wanted to open a restaurant where all walks of life could eat, a democratized Southern diner driven by comfort food, affordability, and an inclusive atmosphere.
He and Spooner found a place that suited their needs in Reynoldtown near the intersection of Memorial and Bill Kennedy Way. The building at 968 Memorial Dr. has likely always been a restaurant.
According to Victoria Lemos, podcaster and founder of Archive Atlanta, the building has existed on Memorial Drive for more than 90 years, listed as a “restaurant” on the 1932 Sandborn Fire Map. The name of the restaurant isn’t listed. Dixie Doodle Grill opened there in 1948, followed by Mammy’s Kitchen in the mid-1960s. It closed in 2006. Clark and Spooner opened Home Grown four years later.
“When it was Mammy’s, it served so many workers at the dairies down the street and nearby warehouses. This is where they came for breakfast, fried chicken, and just Southern food,” Clark said. “We kind of picked up where they left off.”
“We feed everyone here under one roof, from every walk of life. There’s no tension. There’s no drama. You’re accepted. The fact that Home Grown is still going to be here and that we can continue, it’s overwhelming,” he added of how it feels to own the property.
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Clark gets emotional when he talks about what Home Grown means to people, including its regulars and employees, some of whom have been with the restaurant for years. They understand the little Southern diner is part of people’s lives. Clark and Spooner watched one young employee grow up eating at Home Grown with her family.
Yet the outpouring of support on social media after he and Spooner posted the video regarding the property purchase still surprised Clark. That reactions to the news were all positive took Clark’s breath away.
Much of the emotion was pure relief after months of back-and-forth with the landlord negotiating new lease terms. A substantial rent hike in April left Clark and Spooner paying rent month to month, while they kept up negotiations. One day, out of the blue, Clark said, he received an email that the Home Grown property was for sale. Negotiations with the landlord swiftly turned from discussing rental terms to purchase terms.
Property values in the area have skyrocketed over the last 15 years. According to Homes.com, the median price for a single-family home in the neighborhood today is just shy of $700,000. Those same homes went for around $150,000 in 2009.
Despite the characterful appearance of the building, especially surrounded by new developments, Clark and Spooner understood the Home Grown property was now prime real estate. A friend and nearby commercial property owner knowledgeable on the area’s price per acre helped broker the deal for Clark and Spooner.
Following weeks of negotiations and many sleepless nights, Clark said, they finally came to an agreed-upon number in mid-August.
“Nobody wanted to commit [to a number]. So much back-and-forth. Yes, we’re fortunate this is the outcome, but we kept thinking about our staff the entire time and what if we had to tell them we’re done at this location if this didn’t work out,” Clark said of the reason behind continuing the months-long negotiations. “That’s 20 people’s livelihoods, and this is a place they love, that we love.”
With the uncertainty behind them and the purchase complete, Clark and Spooner are looking to the future of Home Grown.
On Aug. 25, Home Grown will begin serving breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Not much will change on the menu, save for a few more weekly specials from Clark. The Comfy Chicken Biscuit (biscuits and sausage gravy topped with crispy fried chicken) will remain Home Grown’s calling card.
A small coffee shop with seating will open soon in the back of Home Grown, run by Storyteller Goods founder Justin Brostek. He’s been popping up on weekends, offering curated coffee drinks beyond what Clark calls the “diner coffee” served at Home Grown. Once up and running, people can order coffee directly from Storyteller or in the Home Grown dining room.
Dinner will launch in the coming weeks, along with a simple bar program with cocktails like Bloody Marys and mimosas, and at least one or two beers. As for what Clark and Spooner plan to serve for dinner, that’s still in the works.
“I remember day one here. We really had no idea what we were doing or what we were creating. I just love to cook. That’s what I do. Lisa keeps things running so I can do that,” Clark said. “That was our whole business plan. People told us not to open a restaurant. Even our parents thought we were crazy. We didn’t listen, thank God.”
Home Grown, 968 Memorial Dr., Reynoldstown. Open daily for breakfast and lunch, starting Aug. 25, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Coffee shop, dinner, and liquor license forthcoming. Check Instagram for updates.