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Guthrie’s Returns to Athens, Jeni’s Ice Cream Opens and More Food News

Photo via Guthrie's.

Back in the olden days, when Athens was so much better—a phrasing that could describe just about any time in our fair town’s history, but in this case means a pre-Zaxby’s era—there were no lines of cars waiting at Cane’s and screwing up traffic for everyone else who might have business in that area. If you had a hangover or just wanted some chicken fingers and not much else, you headed for Guthrie’s, the chain that served as the model for both Zaxby’s (which vastly expanded its menu) and Raisin’ Cane’s (which moved into its space).

Based in Auburn, Guthrie’s is the original restaurant to focus solely on chicken fingers, with sides of fries and Texas toast, plus sauce for dunking, and it gets some credit for that, at least out of nostalgia. The Athens Guthrie’s closed at least a decade ago, and if you wanted its product, you had to go to Hartwell.

Now it’s coming back, as confirmed by Guthrie’s corporate office, moving into the space that was the Dairy Queen by the Marathon gas station on Jefferson Road. Some folks are going to be real happy about it.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is open in Five Points in the former itty-bitty bank building, without a lot of hoo-ha, and with operating hours until 11 p.m. A grand opening date with free ice cream will be announced soon.

Local boy made good Ted Lahey, who grew up in Cedar Creek and attended Cedar Shoals High School before joining the jam band Day by the River and then becoming a chef, is working on starting a restaurant in his hometown. Lahey worked for chef and restaurateur Michael White in New York, then came back to Athens to work at Five & Ten and East West Bistro before opening two restaurants in the Atlanta area (Table & Main and Osteria Mattone). He said, “I’ve been wanting to come home for a while and after a 2 year search for the right location, I finally am.” He is waiting on a permit to come through to renovate the Pizza Hut space in the Green Acres Shopping Center (on the right, if you’re facing the strip of businesses) into a chef-driven meat and three called Preacher Green’s.

Lahey describes Preacher Green’s as “a counter-service restaurant serving Southern meat-and-three classics like fried chicken and meatloaf with a rotating seasonal menu of freshly prepared a la carte seasonal vegetables. Think hand-breaded fresh okra spears, collard greens, or an heirloom tomato and cucumber salad. My goal is to deliver the kind of fine-dining quality food I became known for in Roswell, but in a more casual quick-service setting. I’m really looking forward to returning to my hometown with this new concept.” Preacher Green’s will open sometime in 2024.

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