Mountain Soul Food Opens in Downtown Stone Mountain

There's a new eatery in town: Mountain Soul Cafe opened Friday at 5367 East Mountain, offering take-out, delivery and catering. By June, owners Mary and Joe Moore hope to open the dining rooms and banquet hall.

The Moores, who specialize in smoked grilled chicken and homemade cookies, have had a catering business, but this is their first venture in operating a restaurant.

They're starting out big: the banquet hall will seat 300, and the dining rooms will have about 150 seats. The dining rooms will include a wi-fi nook.

The couple started out cooking for their extended family on holidays and get-togethers, Joe Moore said.

"Next thing I knew, family members would be calling from work on Monday to see what we had for dinner Sunday," and then come over for leftovers for lunch. At one point, seven or eight people showed up at the same time, without planning it, Moore said. That's when they knew it was time to make it a profession.

"We just want to share our food with anyone who wants to share it," he said.

Mountain Soul offers grilled and fried chicken, hot dogs and wings, among other things. It's also open for breakfast, from 7 a.m. daily. Lunch and dinner are served from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Monday - Thursday, from 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday, and on Sundays from noon - 7 p.m. Phone: 770-879-7101.