ABOUT

Kara Hidinger and Chef Ryan Smith welcome you to Staplehouse, a relaxed counter-service restaurant and market shaped by their shared collaborative vision. Drawing on years of experience managing and helming acclaimed Atlanta landmarks like Abattoir, Bacchanalia, and Empire State South, they bring exceptional culinary rigor and unwavering hospitality to a casual, homegrown neighborhood space.

Guests order from a handwritten menu of seasonal plates, sandwiches and pizzas, choosing from a retail selection of chilled wines and craft beers before walking through the kitchen to the backyard garden, where large tables invite gathering, and chalk drawings cover the garden walls and driveway. Today, the kitchen is driven daily by Chef de Cuisine Ryan Westlake.

Our Story

When Staplehouse first opened on Edgewood Avenue back in 2015 in a 1906 brick building, it was a collective labor of love grown from a backyard supper club, a shared dream, and an incredible wave of community support. Founded by Jen Hidinger-Kendrick and her late husband, Chef Ryan Hidinger, the vision for the restaurant was built alongside Kara and Smith, who were an integral part of the DNA from the very first day. The opening created a space that simultaneously fueled the birth of Giving Kitchen to support the food service community.

In 2017, the Paper Crane Lounge opened upstairs, anchoring the historic space with a deep sense of purpose and resilience. Named in honor of the thousands of origami cranes folded by the community as a symbol of hope during Ryan Hidinger’s battle with cancer, that intimate space quickly became the soulful heartbeat of Staplehouse. Kara and Smith officially purchased Staplehouse from Giving Kitchen in 2020 to transition into sole independent owners, while pivoting the restaurant into a neighborhood market and takeaway model. When the fine-dining menu returned a few years later, that work culminated in Staplehouse earning a Michelin star.

Kara and Smith have expanded their collaborative partnership down to Gay, Georgia, to launch the hospitality experience at The World of Quercus—Georgia’s first and only Relais & Châteaux property. Serving as Director of Hospitality and Executive Chef respectively, they introduced luxury overnight stays and transitioned the multi-course tasting menu down to the destination restaurant, Uberto. There, Smith works alongside Chef de Cuisine Jake Pollitz, who has been a pillar of the Staplehouse culinary team since 2015. To experience the tasting menu again, please book through Resy.

Thank you for being a part of the story—past, present, and future.

— Staplehouse

a huge thanks to our founders
and all who made staplehouse possible

TOCK, Big Green Egg, Square Feet Studio, Choate Construction, Park Perks, Sally Parham, Fred Martin Welding, John Kessler, Southern Expeditors, David Brooker, Kate Kiefer Lee, Robert Sommers, Seed Factory, Danger Press, Finnegan, Gregory Miller Pictures, Keyston Bros., Letter B Creative, Retail Data Systems, Designer Transport Services, TriMark, Taylor English, Vantage Realty Partners, Steelite, Staplehouse Guarantors, Board, Family and Friends.

Photography by Andrew Thomas Lee, Website Design by Courtney Perets, Website Advisory by New Uniform Design, Staplehouse Collateral by Alvin Diec & Company, Dining Tables by Kendrick Anderson, Private Dining Tables by Skylar Morgan, John Candy Mural by William Mitchell, Dining Chairs by Colby Millen, Spoonfuls of Inspiration by Brent Herrig, Prints by Digital Picture, Frames by Myott Studio & Artifacts, Furniture by Bobo Intriguing Objects, Loving Friendship by CTCA