New cafe keeps food high-quality and local in a community setting

In just a few weeks, Heirloom Café and Fresh Market will open on the corner of Boulevard and Chase Street, transforming a former gas station into a neighborhood spot for breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunches, with an emphasis on high-quality, locally-sourced food.

On a recent morning, various crew bustled in and out, sometimes consulting the building plans created by D.O.C. Unlimited. Carpenters from Oneta Woodworks worked near the curvy bar, which is sided with reclaimed shingles from an old house in New Town.

Co-owner Jessica Rothacker gave a tour, talking paint and tile colors, pointing out the location of the future bocce court, discussing the landscaping she plans to install around the pergola and outside seating. The Heirloom Cafe and Fresh Market is the culmination of lifelong interests for Rothacker, previously the pastry chef at Ike & Jane’s and sous chef at Farm 255. She has had those interests for a long time—even though her career path took a few twists and turns.

Rothacker, 29, grew up with an appreciation for food. Her mother Susie Burch, a master gardener, taught her daughter the importance of homegrown produce.

In fact, “My love for food started with my mom’s garden, and being able to eat straight out our backyard in the summer,” said Rothacker.

Meanwhile, her father—and co-owner—Travis Burch, who ran a family construction equipment supply business in Atlanta for many years, instilled in her a love for good food and wine.

Rothacker’s parents encouraged their only child to pursue her interests, and by high school she was a proficient cook.  In college, she loved cooking for her roommates, but she majored in English at the University of Georgia, graduating in 2003.

At first, the plan was to be a writer, then maybe a bookstore owner. While working at Barnes and Noble in Athens, she found herself constantly gravitating to the cookbooks. She had a new career plan: a food writer, traveling the world and immersing herself in different cuisines. But first, she realized, she really had to know what she was writing about, so she enrolled in culinary school at The Art Institute of Atlanta.

While still in culinary school, she took a job at Muss & Turner’s in Smyrna. She was supposed to take sandwich orders, but “I weaseled my way back to the line and became a line cook instead,” she said.

In Athens, she is active in the local food scene as a board member of PLACE, a non-profit that promotes accessible local food culture in Athens. She also documents visits to area farmers on her blog.

Heirloom Café and Fresh Market combines the qualities Rothacker liked best from her different work experiences—using high quality farm-to-table ingredients in a friendly, community environment.

The menu will feature old family recipes suitable for omnivores and vegans alike, using local vegetables, meat, dairy and seafood. Menus will change often, reflecting the season and availability of produce, and will be posted regularly. Beverages will include tea, juice, locally roasted coffee, beer and wine. Hours will be 7:30 a.m.- 9 p.m. ,Monday-Thursday, 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m. ,Friday & Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Sunday.

The market area, which will face Boulevard, will serve as a takeout area including ready-made dishes, local artisanal cheeses, breads and dry goods. Grab-and-go pastries and lunches will be geared to commuters, while kid-friendly afternoon snacks will await families walking home after school from nearby Chase Street Elementary.

The timing for such a business venture is right, said Rothacker, with the rising popularity of farmer’s markets and various Community Supported Agriculture models, in which consumers order directly from growers.

“I think there is a heightened awareness (of locally grown food), and I hope it will continue,” she said. “People call it a trend, but I think it’s more of a movement to get back to the way food used to be…people feel nostalgic about it, and understand the environmental impacts of eating that way.”