Eating Naked

The restaurant is the brain-child of Brad and Havird Usry, the father and son of a family long known for community involvement, and of late for the delicious Southern-style dishes of Fat Man’s Mill Café. Also on deck is Chef Jeremy Miller, a professional chef with hands-on experience at New York’s prestigious Jean-Georges Restaurant and California’s renowned French Laundry. Their venture has put “clean eating” into the minds and onto the plates of Augusta diners since its late summer opening.

The seeds of their idea for the business model began germinating in the minds of the Usrys over a year ago, but the concept began to literally take root when they purchased a hydroponic greenhouse in Bartow, GA, and partnered with Hancock Farms to produce their very own hydroponic lettuces for a new kind of farm-to-table restaurant. Hydroponic farming is a technique used for growing plants without soil, using a water and nutrition system delivered in a sterile growing environment. Certified hydroponic organic, and environmentally friendly, the practice offers clean, fast, and efficient year-round agricultural production, and maximizes growing space for the Tuscan Kale, Buttercrunch, and Red Leaf lettuces the pair envisioned at the center of their restaurant’s dishes.

The addition of Chef Miller to the team was the final, flavorful ingredient needed for the culinary magic to begin. Miller, who has long favored a plant-based diet, drew on his experience in the Napa area, where his time in the kitchen of The French Laundry offered daily access to a plethora of fresh, seasonal, ingredients. He brings to the endeavor a passion for creating flavors that are guaranteed to entice even those with deep-fried Southern culinary roots to explore healthier food choices.