Kevin Clark and Lisa Spooner opened Home Grown, the homey, southern breakfast-and-lunch spot on Memorial Drive in 2010. As the area revitalized and modern buildings sprung up around it, the weathered one-story building has stayed the same. To Clark and Spooner, that’s intentional—they appreciate the consistency and nostalgia it provides. So, when they were given the opportunity to purchase the building last month, they jumped on it, ensuring the diner’s survival for the long term.
“We want it to stick out like a sore thumb on Memorial Drive,” Clark says. “We love that Home Grown doesn’t look like anything else around there.”
As such, no aesthetic changes are in store. However, Home Grown has since expanded its service to seven days a week, rather than the five it offered previously. Clark and Spooner also worked with Justin Brostek, founder of Storyteller Goods to launch a coffee shop in the back of Home Grown on Fridays and Saturdays. There, he sells creative coffee and tea drinks made with seasonal syrups such as cantaloupe. He also serves Home Grown pastries, like doughnuts and cinnamon rolls. Couches and banquettes offer soft seating for those who want to stay a while, and Home Grown’s full menu is available for takeout. Those dining at Home Grown can order Storyteller drinks from their table as well. (Purists can rest assured that “diner coffee” will still be available.)
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
“Coffee culture is huge. Justin did some pop-ups here and people love him,” Clark says. “His stuff is really great.”
In a couple months, Home Grown will begin offering a limited bar menu featuring a Bloody Mary, mimosa, signature cocktail, beer, and wine. “We’re not going to turn into a bar, but people like to drink,” Clark says. “We’ll continue to do what we do, adding bar options.” Home Grown’s popular Comfy Chicken Biscuit (biscuits and sausage gravy topped with crispy fried chicken) isn’t going anywhere.
Come November, Brad Syfan and Tony Seichrist of the Wyld Dock Bar in Savannah will launch Wyld Bird dinner service at Home Grown. Focused on “Miami-style” chicken, it will feature a concise menu of quarter-, half-, and whole-roasted, bone-in chicken cooked over charcoal on a grill outside the restaurant.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
“Tony grew up in Miami and has fond memories of Cuban-style chicken there. We want to put our own spin on it,” Syfan says.
Options may include rice and beans, plantains, a chicken sandwich, and a chicken taco with pineapple pico de gallo and a cheese-encrusted tortilla. Grilled Chihuahua cheese on tortilla chips will be offered as an appetizer. The lone non-chicken entree will be braised pork cheeks with garlic mojo and plantain chips. Made inhouse, sauces will include garlic-cilantro-lime aioli and passionfruit hot sauce.
Expect four or five “easy drinking” cocktails such as a spritz, margarita, and other fruit-forward drinks, one red and one white wine, and one local and one domestic beer, Syfan says.
Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee
Advertisement
