Stop by Home Grown on any given weekend, and chances are you'll find dozens of people waiting for a table.
One of the many reasons locals flock to the popular Reynoldstown restaurant and endure that wait: pimento cheese.
The breakfast and lunch spot — which has been considered Atlanta's favorite place to get biscuits — has gained a loyal base since opening in June 2010. Celebrities such as John Hamm and Bill Clinton have dined there, and Jerry Seinfeld stopped by last week before his show at the Fox Theatre.
And now chef Kevin Clark’s pimento cheese is developing some standalone recognition as a retail product, recently expanding into Georgia. It became available for purchase at many metro Atlanta Krogers in late March.
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“We were so excited the first time we saw it in Kroger,” Lisa Spooner, who co-owns the restaurant along with Clark, said in an email.
Atlanta-based Gourmet Foods International began rolling out the retail launch in November, according to a spokeswoman. Its first big account, with Albertsons and Safeway, put it in states such as Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.
The product then made it onto the shelves of other chains, such as Dierberg's in Missouri. The eventual Kroger addition added another 60-75 locations, putting it in about 300 stores across the nation total.
Two varieties — original and jalapeno — are on the market now, with a bacon and onion option hopefully to come. A 12-ounce package costs about $7.
The pimento cheese is also available for purchase on Amazon Fresh and, of course, in the restaurant.
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