One Eared Stag’s Robert Phalen to open a restaurant in Atlanta’s East Lake neighborhood
One Eared Stag chef-owner Robert Phalen is opening another restaurant.
Yesterday, Oct. 5, Phalen signed the lease on a space at 2371 Hosea L. Williams Drive in the East Lake neighborhood. He plans to turn it into a restaurant called Mary Hoopa's House of Fried Chicken & Oysters, with plans to unlock doors in January 2017.
Mary Hoopa's will be a casual restaurant specializing in fried chicken as well as oysters every which way – from raw to grilled to baked Casino-style, topped with bacon. The concise menu will also be peppered with dishes such as fried smelt and hanger steak with tater tots that have made appearances at One Eared Stag.
Part of a new development in East Lake, the decor inside the 2,400-square foot space will evoke the feel of a Southern country grocery store of old.
The restaurant’s namesake, Mary Hoopa, was the nanny of Phalen’s mother-in-law, who grew up in rural Louisiana. Hoopa’s cooking, particularly her fried chicken, was a staple for several generations of Phalen’s wife’s family. Phalen’s own fried chicken recipe is based on Hoopa’s original prescription.
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About the Author
Ligaya Figueras is the AJC's senior editor for Food & Dining. Prior to joining the AJC in 2015, she was the executive editor for St. Louis-based culinary magazine Sauce. She has worked in the publishing industry since 1999 and holds degrees from St. Louis University and the University of Michigan.
