Popular Johns Creek breakfast and lunch restaurant Hen Mother Cookhouse is set to expand in the coming months with a second location in Alpharetta.
Owner Soraya Khoury, who opened Hen Mother in 2018 on Jones Bridge Road, announced the new location on the restaurant’s Instagram account:
The new restaurant will be located at 50 S. Main St. on the Alpharetta City Square, in a historic building known as the Jones House. Restaurant Holmes, the former tenant of the building, has closed. It is unclear if Holmes Slice, Neary’s pizza stall at the Halcyon mixed-use development in Forsyth County.
The second Hen Mother location is slated to open in spring 2024, with many of the menu items from Johns Creek including French toast, pancakes, breakfast sandwich and market hash with roasted veggies making an appearance. Khoury also plans to add several dishes that were rotating specials at Johns Creek to the Alpharetta menu, including shakshuka.
And while the Johns Creek location has a beer and wine license and serves drinks including sake bloody marys and seasonal bellinis alongside a selection of wines and coffee drinks, the Alpharetta restaurant will have a liquor license and will add a full cocktail list.
“It’ll be Hen Mother-ish,” Khoury said of the new eatery. “You’ll feel like you’re eating at Hen Mother, but there will be some changes.”
She said she and her husband Jesus Loyola had been looking to expand for at least two years, but were waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. With its walkability and proximity to Khoury’s home, Alpharetta was always on the wish list, “but we thought it would be impossible,” she said. “We love how it brings a slice of city life to the suburbs.”
Khoury worked in restaurant kitchens in California and Atlanta — including at Rumi’s Kitchen — before launching Hen Mother. Her husband, Jesus Loyola, whom she met while working in California, also helps run the restaurant. He’ll likely manage the original location, while Khoury will move over to the new restaurant once it opens.
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Credit: CHRIS HUNT
Restaurant Holmes owner Taylor Neary did not immediately return the AJC’s request for more information on the closure. He opened Restaurant Holmes in 2018, with a menu of small plates and cocktails made with locally grown and produced ingredients.
Neary, a Roswell native, previously worked in the kitchens at Ford Fry restaurants St. Cecilia and Marcel, as well as Stoney River Grill, Buckhead Life Group’s Kyma, Roux on Canton, Little Alley Steak and Opulent.
The 60-seat Jones House, a former residence built in 1915 and preserved by Alpharetta City Center, also features a covered porch and patio. Khoury said she plans to keep the space largely intact, while working on converting the kitchen, set up for dinner service, to a more brunch-friendly layout. She’ll also make some aesthetic changes, including uncovering windows and brightening the interior.
Khoury said that while she hopes to expand Hen Mother again in the coming years and would like to open a dinner concept once her kids are older, for now she’s focusing on maintaining the culinary consistency that’s earned her a loyal following.
“It sounds cliche, but I still feel like an artist,” she said. “I still really care about the integrity of what we do, and we want to make Alpharetta proud.”
Hen Mother will join several other food and beverage concepts at Alpharetta City Center including Chiringa, Citizen Soul, Curry Up Now, Sammy’s Pizzeria on the Green and Lapeer.
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