Story and photos by Jennifer Kornegay
Jessica Hanners laughs a little when she talks about “farm to table.” Not because the owner and executive chef of Guntersville’s Homecoming & Company is mocking the concept. Just the opposite. It underpins her
eatery’s mission.
Yet while some people see it as a more recent trend, she points to its circular history. “In most areas of the South, just decades ago, everything was farm to table!” she says. This fact brings out her laugh.
Hanners admits that changed somewhere along the way though, and stresses that’s why she opened her restaurant in 2018. “I want to bring awareness of traditional foodways and local farmers back to my community,” she says. “And I want to offer dishes made from scratch with clean, local ingredients.” Her unfussy yet uncompromising approach puts twists and tweaks on familiar favorites, with an emphasis on homemade, a style she dubs
“eclectic Southern.”
The vision for Homecoming & Company grew during her years in the restaurant world. The Guntersville-area native started cooking in restaurants at a young age. Her parents owned a restaurant in the South Sauty community about 20 minutes from Guntersville, and she studied hospitality management in college before honing her skills at Johnson & Wales University culinary school. After her studies, Hanners ended up on the West Coast, cooking in Portland, Oregon, before coming back South and helming Atlanta’s Souper Jenny restaurant group (five restaurants, an urban farm and a food-focused nonprofit) as its executive chef.
The restaurant’s name references her return home and its original location in the spot once occupied by her parents’ restaurant. She then relocated the restaurant to Guntersville, and last summer, Homecoming & Company moved again, this time to the historic Glover Building downtown. “It’s a special building and has held several different restaurants through the years. One of them was one of my favorites, so it felt like a natural fit,” Hanners says. The bright interior retains the same homey, quirky charm of her previous locations, with vintage plate collages and other colorful art adorning walls.
Hanners’ food philosophy remains unchanged too, with many popular menu items remaining, all reflecting seasonal items at their peak (approximately 90 percent of the produce used is local) and resonating with diners — and their taste buds. When people ask why Homecoming & Company’s smashed potatoes are so good, she tells them it starts with the ingredients. “The potatoes come from Whirlwind Farm just a few miles away in Geraldine, where they’ve been organic since the 1970s and grow more than 40 potato varieties,” she says.
The same goes for other dishes. Local pork and non-GMO corn stoneground at an area mill elevate standards like bacon and grits. And creative fare, like a Warm Hug (a fluffy daily-baked biscuit enrobed in chocolate gravy) and Green Eggs and Ham (layers of grits, silky collards, country ham and scrambled eggs crowned with an onion ring) show off her culinary chops. These breakfast delights and others are served all day.
Come lunchtime, folks file in for weekly specials like smoked-brisket-stuffed sweet potatoes and Hanners’ take on hush puppies made with summer squash as well as regular menu items including thick-cut fried pickles, buffalo-style fried cauliflower with creamy, cooling ranch and the goddess sandwich, savory roasted turkey slathered with house-made, herb-packed goddess dressing on organic sprouted-wheat bread. The veggie plate bears Hanners’ name. “I love getting the dill-pickle slaw and pinto beans on mine. Take a bite of those together and wow,” she says. She also enjoys her buckwheat pancakes sweetened with mashed banana, and they earn rave reviews from the gluten-free crowd, too. “I love that because we make things in-house, I am able to offer multiple gluten-free options that go beyond a grilled chicken salad, like our fried pickles, fried okra and fried green tomatoes,” she says.
But making everything adds to the challenges of running a restaurant. “It’s really harder than ever to be in this business right now; prices on everything are still high,” Hanners says. Yet Homecoming & Company continues to face and overcome hurdles, now going on its eighth year and adding dinner on Thursday through Saturday to its options.
“What keeps me going is I want people like me, those who care about the food they eat, who care about foodways and farmers, who care about supporting local establishments that treat their employees well, to have this place,” she says. And she points back to the significance of her restaurant’s name. “Bringing our mindful sourcing and commitment to not cutting corners and cooking from scratch to my home means a lot to me,” she says.
Homecoming & Company
524 Gunter Ave, Guntersville, AL 35976
256-202-1880 | homecomingandco.com
Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday
7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday & Wednesday
7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday – Saturday
