A single man's influence on the restaurant 'family-tree' in Athens

By: Kathrin Merritt

Images of the 5&10, Dinner Party, Homemade, the National, Condor Chocolates and Automatic Pizza. Pictures taken by Kathrin Merritt

The 5&10, the National, Maepole, Dinner Party, Condor Chocolates, Buvez, Homemade, Normaltown Bar, Seabear and Automatic Pizza, one thing they all have in common: they have all been influenced by the same man. Hugh Acheson, owner of the 5&10 in Athens, is a self-taught chef who has gone on to inspire lasting change in the Classic City.

Map from Google Maps with edits by Kathrin Merritt. Red markers indicate restaurants started by Hugh Acheson, navy markers indicate restaurants started by Peter Dale, yellow markers indicate restaurants started by Ryan and Shae Sims, Green markers indicate restaurants started by Mimi Maumus, and light blue markers indicate restaurants started by Bain Mattox.

Before opening restaurants of their own, many of Athen’s most well-known chefs got their start working in Acheson’s kitchen at the 5&10.

It all started with the Last Resort. During Acheson’s first move to Athens, he became the general manager at the Last Resort before he moved away. When he came back to Athens, he opened the 5&10. That was 22 years ago. One of the current managers, Addison Mason, explained what it has been like working at such an established restaurant.

“The thing that really stuck out to me when I first got here is how long 5&10 has been opened. I think we’re at 22 years, which in the restaurant world is really uncommon,” says Mason. “Restaurants usually, even successful ones, have a lifespan, so it’s rare that something stays open this long. And we have regulars that have been coming the whole time.”

According to the Perry Group, “the average restaurant’s lifespan is five years,” with a 60% failure rate within the first 3 years.” Despite these odds, the 5&10 has beaten this statistic more than nine times over.

Acheson believes that attention to detail and a sense of pride are part of what helps set his restaurants up for success.

“[Designing a restaurant is] a matter of curating it pretty closely and making sure that you're doing something that makes you proud,” says Acheson. “I think that if you do that, as in any job, if you make yourself proud that you're probably going to make other people happy too.”

Employees tie into this equation, too. Acheson values authenticity and work ethic above all in the people he hires.

“Generally I want people to be themselves…” says Acheson. “The old adage, you know, about ‘happy waiters in LA are actors.' I don't need people to be acting while they're doing service. I want them to be real, enthusiastic and informed.”

One of Acheson’s former employees and business partners, Peter Dale, values the same level of realness and personal connection in the restaurants he has opened or helped open. Dale’s the National, that he co-founded with Acheson and Seabear, Maepole, that he opened with others at the National, and Condor, that he operates with his brother Nick, were all opened with originality in mind: something very important to Dale.

“[Each of my restaurant’s themes] were all things I wanted to eat and had seen in other cities,” says Dale. “Like we’ve never done a taco place because none of us are from Mexico and there’s a lot of other places. I love tacos, don't get me wrong, but I don’t feel like that’s something I need to contribute because other people know it better and can do it better. We tried to do something that wasn’t here already.”

‘Something different’ was also on Acheson’s mind when he opened the 5&10 at its first location in 2002. It was around this time that the farm-to-table movement really began to take off, and Acheson decided to make it the focus of his new restaurant.

“When it first opened up almost 22 years ago, the idea was to open up the back door to local products coming in,” says Acheson. “The lasting impact the 5&10 has seen is really making sure that we support our local farmers, our local gardeners and foragers, and they've always been there. I don't think they've been celebrated as much as they are now.”

Though the restaurant’s initial concept has witnessed lasting success, it is the teamwork seen behind the scenes that makes it flourish according to Mason.

“It’s a cultural thing, we’re more than capable of disagreeing with each other and disagreeing respectfully and we all care and have the same goal,” says Mason. “We genuinely want people who come and eat here to have a good time... I think it’s genuine and I think that’s a 5&10 ethos that helps us keep being successful.”

Peter Dale agrees.

“I’d never worked in a restaurant or anywhere with so much camaraderie that felt like a family…,” says Dale. “And the food was really different. Hugh was the first one in town to really buy local produce, so that was really cool to see… That was the whole local food scene.”

Even though his restaurant in Athens has left a lasting impact, Acheson is most proud of the people’s lives it has touched and the accomplishments they have gone on to achieve in town.

““To me, the proudest moment is when people work in the restaurant and learn a lot from us, and they move on and they do something different in the sphere and they're successful,” says Acheson. “We've seen that in umpteen places around Athens. There's usually two degrees separation from 5&10, and that makes me more proud than anything else. And you know it's not just me. It’s many, many people who've worked there and continue to work there and believe in it every day.”

Conversations to combat racism

By: Kathrin Merritt

Racism impacts our entire community, so it will take a community effort to put an end to it. That starts with conversation. This past Sunday, October 3, Rabbit Box theatre group and the Athens-Clarke County Library teamed up to host a ‘Walk and Talk’ with several local teen groups to help facilitate those discussions.

The impacts of racism are relevant today, and are socially, fiscally and medically detrimental. Despite progress toward equity, racism is still a problem.

Watch the video below to get a first-hand look at what it is like to take part in a ‘walk and talk’ with the event’s coordinator Pat Priest from Rabbit Box.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kpUcs_Axe9Y-8GFDdDtZJJm8yCgoqgDd/view?usp=sharing

Rabbit Box, the Athens-Clarke County Library, and local teen groups League of Step, Rites of Passage, Chess and Community, Youth is Life and the Teen Social Justice Club of the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement believe that this starts with conversation. Including Torrance Wilcher (Coach T) with the League of Step.

“If you want to change things, it starts with the conversation. As uncomfortable as it may be, the conversation is the foundation of progress,” says Wilcher.

The ‘Walk and Talk’ was an event that was created to coincide with a community-wide reading of the book “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You” by Ibram X. Kendi and adapted for young adults by Jason Reynolds. The book is focused on telling a more holistic history of the many forms of racist ideology in a way that is accessible to teenagers and adults alike.

Though the participants were welcome to talk about the book, conversations were also based on several prompts given for the visitors and teenagers to discuss as they walked together. Questions included “do you feel the color of your skin or other outward features are a big part of how other people see you,” “could you share… a memory when you realized the world was not fair,” and “what can we do to stamp out racism,” among others.

When asked what question she liked explaining the most, a teenager from the group League of Step said, “the one that’s like ‘how does [my skin color] make me see myself and how do other people see me based on other features?'... People see me as ‘loud’ and ‘ghetto’ because of the way I look and dress, but in reality I’m actually kind of quiet.”

Pat Priest explained how white people also experience race and that even children understand racial inequality.

“When I was probably about five, I saw the ‘colored’ water fountain, and I thought it would be like a rainbow. My mother just gripped my arm and said ‘this place is so backward!’ and… pulled me aside... to explain to me,” said Priest. “Kids get it.”

Though racism might not be found in water fountains today, the sentiments behind that segregation are still something that society is dealing with.

“If people aren’t careful, they can be tricked into believing a big deal is a done deal,” says Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi in “Stamped.”

* Kathrin Merritt is a journalism student at the University of Georgia and has previously worked for the Athens Clarke County Library from December 2019 to March of 2021 as the Digital Media and Public Information Intern.

** In order to report on this event involving teenagers, it was necessary to hear their voices. However, in the interest of their safety any questions about their input should be directed to their group’s coordinator.

The Hidden Hero at the Georgia Museum of Art

https://georgiamuseum.org/gmoa_blog/the-hidden-hero-at-the-georgia-museum-of-art/

By: Kathrin Merritt

Recently, Georgia Museum of Art employee, Wanda Moore, accepted a position as a security supervisor. Looking after a museum is no small task. From managing visitors, keeping the grounds polished to maintaining each gallery space, there is a lot that goes into Moore’s job. While much of what she does goes on behind the scenes, every person who has visited the Georgia Museum of Art has benefited from the work of Wanda Moore.

Moore was raised in Athens, Ga and has since moved to Comer, Ga in Madison County with her two teenage children. After being recommended by friends who worked at UGA, she decided to apply for a part-time position as a gallery guide at GMOA two years ago, which turned into a full-time position and led her to her current role.

“Moving into actually being a supervisor of security, I love the idea that every day is different,” says Moore. “There's not a day that's the same. Every day there is something for you to deal with and figure out how to deal with it. It's not routine; by no means.”

Being a part of a work environment that allows for learning and growth is something that is important to Moore, and life at the museum gives her just that. There are more challenges than meets the eye, and even though she has only been a security supervisor a short while, Moore has already used her position to help better the lives of those in and around the museum.

Just recently, Moore was checking the museum’s parking lot and found a man who was semi-conscious. Thanks to her attentiveness and quick timing, Moore was able to notify police and get this person the medical care they needed. After which, the Police Chief of the University of Georgia Police Department P. Daniel Silk sent out an email thanking Moore for her thorough job that “may have saved [the man’s] life.”

Moore is also to thank for the well-kept exterior of the building. In a much lighter event, toward the start of her position, Moore noticed that the grounds outside the museum were looking a little unruly, and she did a thorough job at following through with clean up plans.

“There was landscaping that needed to be done outside the front door. I noticed and I put it on the website. Then a guy came in and he came downstairs and he [said], ‘can I speak to Wanda.’ Okay… and he kinda made a joke. ‘Are you the person that's called 20 times about the landscaping?’ I said, 'yeah that might be me.'”

Moore carries this determination and dedication into all aspects of her life. Though she is a full time employee at the Georgia Museum of Art, she still works part time as a manager at McDonalds, takes classes through the Engage and Learn program at UGA about modern technology and stays busy raising her children.

“It is [busy]! Leaving one job and going to another and then my children...you know, coming in before daylight, opening up everything,” says Moore. “[But] I love my job. I actually love it. I never saw myself being a part of security but I absolutely love it.”