Mama’s Boy, a local brunch spot that has served the Athens community for over 15 years, will open a third location later this year in Watkinsville.
When owners Cooper Hudson and Alicia Segars first opened Mama’s Boy, they never imagined the business would grow into what it is today, Hudson said. Praise from major publications such as OPRAH and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have established the restaurant as a culinary favorite in the college town.
The new location will be in Wire Park, a mixed-use development in Oconee County. The development is walkable from downtown Watkinsville and will offer housing options, retail stores, office space, the new Oconee County Library and more.
“I think [Wire Park] is neat,” Hudson said. “They’re going to have a brewery and a lot of family-oriented activities, but also some things that students I think would really enjoy.”
The new location, which is the second in Oconee County, will be a part of Wire Park’s upcoming food court called “The Grid.” As one of ten tenants in the food court, Mama’s Boy will offer a limited selection with a mix of old and new items.
The menu will feature specialty biscuit sandwiches — with a few options specific to the Wire Park location — and sweet items such as cinnamon rolls, banana bread and granola parfait. For drinks, the restaurant will offer strawberry lemonade, coffee from Jittery Joes and “a few surprises,” Hudson said in an email.
Jordan Price, the director of operations at Gibbs Capital, looks over Wire Park as one of the development’s projects. When trying to choose tenants for the upcoming food hall, Price saw Mama’s Boy as an obvious addition.
“Mama’s boy is so iconic,” Price said. “My wife and I went to school at the University of Georgia, and we loved Mama’s Boy. It was kind of a staple of our college experience, and so we knew that we wanted to get some local brands with some horsepower. Mama’s Boy is like the epitome of that.”
Wire Park hopes to open the new Mama’s Boy location towards the end of summer 2022, aiming for sometime in August, Price said.