Popular Johns Creek breakfast and lunch restaurant Hen Mother Cookhouse is now open in Alpharetta.
Located at 50 S. Main St. in the Alpharetta City Square, owner Soraya Khoury’s second Hen Mother Cookhouse is double the size of the original Johns Creek outpost, she told The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. The space was previously home to Restaurant Holmes, which closed late last year. When Khoury learned the historic building, also known as the Jones House, was available, she jumped on it.
“I was really excited to put (the restaurant) into an actual home that has housed people, that has fed people before,” she said.
Khoury said she’ll keep the Johns Creek menu available in Alpharetta, but she also plans to add offerings like breakfast tacos, a few new salads and a fried chicken Caesar salad sandwich. She’ll also bring back the gluten-free oat pancakes that were popular on the Johns Creek menu.
Credit: Courtesy of Hen Mother Cookhouse
Credit: Courtesy of Hen Mother Cookhouse
The Alpharetta eatery has a full bar with cocktails like rum punch, a whiskey drink with a cardamom mint syrup, a French 75 that’s “French-ier than a 75” and a paloma, Khoury said. There are also espresso drinks using beans from Peach Coffee Roasters, matcha, a golden latte and chai.
“It’s a little bit of a sexier upgrade,” she said.
When Khoury took over the location, she had her architect open up the interior while ensuring it still felt cozy.
“When you go into each section of the restaurant, you do feel like you’re in part of the house,” she said.
She kept leather benches and a fireplace that were previously in the space and painted the walls green, added brass accents and brought in the same wood stain she uses at the Johns Creek location.
Credit: Courtesy of Hen Mother Cookhouse
Credit: Courtesy of Hen Mother Cookhouse
Along with indoor seating, there’s a spacious patio with a retracting roof and shades that pull down.
Khoury enlisted local artist Aliya Smith to paint a floral mural on the ceiling of one room and a botanical design to look like wallpaper in the front room.
Credit: Courtesy of Hen Mother Cookhouse
Credit: Courtesy of Hen Mother Cookhouse
Khoury first opened Hen Mother Cookhouse in Johns Creek in May 2018. Before that, she worked at Rumi’s Kticehn and at restaurants in California, where she met her husband, Jesus Loyola, who helps run Hen Mother. The eatery soon gained a consistent crowd of regulars who stopped by for favorites like bialys, market hash, pancakes and breakfast sandwiches.
While the Alpharetta location will come with a few new food and drink items, Khoury said the Hen Mother experience will remain the same, including the house rules, like limiting guests to no more than an hour of dine-in time.
Hen Mother Cookhouse in Alpharetta will be open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
50 S Main St., Alpharetta. 470-657-2276, henmothercookhouse.com
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