-
WillaDean's Tavern location in Hartwell
A new southern-style kitchen is coming to Hartwell later this spring in the former location of Swamp Guinea and Rack’s.
Jackie Newman is leaving her corporate job in Atlanta to pursue her passion for cooking and opening WillaDean’s Tavern at 1615 Reed Creek Highway after falling in love with Hartwell. Newman is opening the restaurant with John Putnam, who has been in the food service industry for his whole career.
“We moved to Hartwell a little bit over a year ago and it was originally going to be our weekend getaway from the place we have in Atlanta. We just never wanted to leave here. We spent so little time at our house, that we sold it last month,” Newman said. “I left my corporate job and have decided to pursue my passion for food and live here in Hartwell full time.”
Newman was vice president of innovation at a large health-care organization, but decided to follow a passion of hers planted by the restaurant’s namesake, her grandmother.
“The restaurant is a tribute to her,” Newman said. “I cooked with her growing up. They had a huge garden and I would go out with them as a little girl, learn how to garden, pick the things from the garden and then bring them inside and cook them from scratch. WillaDean is who taught me how to cook.”
Newman thinks the name encapsulates the style of the restaurant.
“If you’re going to WillaDean’s, you know what kind of food you’re getting. You know you’re not getting Italian food,” Newman said. “I feel like it captured the essence of southern kitchen and certainly it’s a tribute to her.”
The center attraction at WillaDean’s Tavern will be its smoked foods.
“We’re going to do a southern-style from-scratch kitchen with smoked meat. We’re going to have a really large smoker and we’re going to smoke brisket, pork and chicken,” Newman said. “Even a lot of our vegetables and macaroni and cheese will be smoked.”
Newman said it will also serve smoked salmon, oyster and other seafoods as well as southern-style sides like cornbread, pinto beans and mashed potatoes.
“When we start we plan to just open for dinner, first just a few days a week,” Newman said. “Once we have our dinner service mastered, we plan to open for lunch for a meat-and-three that will be served quick so folks around town who are in a hurry and have a lunch break will be able to come in and quickly have a southern-cooked [meal].”
After WillaDean’s establishes its lunch menu, Newman plans to incorporate breakfast as well. She said some of the items will include fresh-baked biscuits and gravy, chicken and waffles and a smoked potato hash and brisket.
“We don’t really have a lot of that in Hartwell. You can get some pizza and chicken in various places, but certainly not a lot of meat-and-threes and not a lot of sit-down breakfast places,” Newman said.
Newman said WillaDean’s will have a full bar and occasionally live music but it won’t be a major aspect of their business.
“Definitely more of a family-style restaurant than a bar,” Newman said.
The plan is to open WillaDean’s in late April to early May.
“We are still working with the bank to close with our loan. That’s why it is taking us a little while to open. That process is on ‘bank time,’” Newman said. “We knew we were going to do this in December but we are not opening until later in that process.”
Newman said there will be a website where people can apply for jobs once that time comes.
“It will create quite a few jobs when we are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We feel like it will probably be somewhere about 50 people to service all those shifts, seven days a week,” Newman said.
Ownership is also working with the Army Corps of Engineers to expand the docks for more boat access and parking for the lake-front restaurant.
“It’s just a one slit dock, but there will be access for boaters,” Newman said.