Chef John Stephenson Prepares to Open Hathorne on Charlotte

After almost two years out of the kitchen since departing from the gone-but-not-forgotten Family Wash, chef John Stephenson is about ready to return to the culinary scene with his own upscale casual dining project, Hathorne. Named after Stephenson’s grandmother (“Nathaniel Hawthorne added the ‘w’ to the family name,” explains the chef), the restaurant will hopefully open sometime in December at 4708 Charlotte Ave. in the former fellowship hall of the United Methodist Church. The church building itself dates back to 1889, with the Hathorne addition coming in 1947. The other half of the building is occupied by Clementine Hall, a rentable events venue owned by Dan Cook and his team, the folks behind Ruby near Hillsboro Village.

“I bought the hall from Dan the same day he closed on the property,” says Stephenson. “We shared the same architect and contractor, and we hope to be a great location for pre- and post-events at Clementine.”

Stephenson wanted to maintain the “churchy” vibe of the hall, with an emphasis on fellowship. Several design elements in the new space migrated over from the church next door, including a heavy prayer rail that serves as a room divider between the bar and primary dining space, plus original church pews reupholstered in gorgeous fabric that line the wall to provide flexible seating configurations for tables ranging from two to 10 patrons. “We wanted to make sure that someone could get on Resy and book a table for a larger group. That’s not common in town.”

Single diners will also be welcome, especially at the long bar that seats up to 16 — the total inside capacity is 84 diners. The bar features eight wines on tap, including the option to order carafes holding three glasses, plus a dozen craft beers on tap and a cocktail list designed by the consultants at Pour Taste. When the weather turns nice, a spacious patio facing Charlotte will add 40 more seats. Large windows allow plenty of natural light, a factor that immediately drew Stephenson to the property. Even under a buttress of the original steel beams and surrounded by cinder-block walls that could make the space feel cold, the dining room has a lovely, warm ambiance. Pendant lamps hang over the blond wooden bar, and high-tech speakers fill the space with whatever volume and vibe of music that the chef-restaurateur chooses on his smartphone app.

Fans of Stephenson’s clean brand of cuisine will find some familiar elements on his new menu. He’ll still be cooking (“and probably washing a lot of dishes,” he jokes), but as he transitions to restaurateur-owner, he has hired some talented local restaurant and bar pros to help execute his menu and manage the operation. Heading the kitchen will be executive chef Joey Molteni (formerly of Deacons New South and Little Octopus) and sous chef Trevor Miller (formerly of Otaku Ramen and Little Octopus), while Bob Harmon will serve as general manager (formerly of 51 North Taproom and Neighbors).

Since the restaurant took a lot longer to open than originally planned — just like every other project in town — Stephenson has had plenty of time to design his menu. Organized around sharable smaller plates and a few larger-format dishes that can be shared or serve as a meal for a single diner, the menu is described by Stephenson as “veggie-focused without being vegetarian.” While the chef is not obsessed with the concept of farm-to-table as a marketing hook to hang Hathorne’s hat on, there will certainly be plenty of local and seasonal vegetables on the menu.

“I like to order different dishes over the course of the meal," he says. "I want people to feel comfortable just ordering the whole menu by the time they’re done. So we’ve really concentrated on keeping the prices and plate sizes approachable.”

While the menu hasn’t officially been released yet, Stephenson did share that small plates would be in the $7-$12 range, with larger dishes clocking in at $18-$32. I had the opportunity to sample a few dishes that are still in development, and I can state that Stephenson has spent his time off well while he thoughtfully came up with dishes he calls “vegetables for meat-eaters.” (Maybe that’s why he invited me, a big fan of meat, specifically to come try them out.)

A starter of delicately fried goat cheese benefited from the kitchen’s ingenious addition of fermented honey, which contributed a little sweet funkiness to temper the acidity of the goat cheese. In the ongoing effort to convert beet-phobics, Hathorne offers a dish of roasted golden beets served with crispy beet chips atop a unique hummus-like dip made from grilled green onions and tahini. While the roasted beets still need a little more time in development (or maybe just in the oven), that dip was like the most refined French onion dip ever, and I could have enjoyed a whole bowl of it served with pita points.

A plate of roasted heirloom carrots was beautiful and also contained components that really raised the level of the plate past my expectations. Mayu yogurt is made with burnt garlic that is intentionally a little bitter, which plays nicely with the acidity of lemon juice, and a bed of wilted chard adds extra color to the dish. But the real standout was a sprinkling of puffed farro, which goes through several preparations of cooking, dehydrating and roasting to create an airy, crispy, nutty topping to the dish that I could eat for breakfast every morning.

Fans of Stephenson’s beloved Local Burger during his long tenure at Fido will be disappointed that there's no burger on the menu. (“If I had one, that’s all anybody would order,” says the chef.) But a large-format dish of beef, pork and lamb meatballs served with a mint pistou is at least reminiscent of the Fido favorite. In a fun little twist, each meatball contains a tiny piquin chili inside, meaning one bite will have a brief, bright flash of heat, but it’s nothing to really worry yourself about.

Initially, Hathorne will be open for a happy hour beginning at 4 p.m. during the week, and then for evening meals beginning at 5. Stephenson hopes to soon add weekend brunch featuring a pared-down version of the regular dinner menu plus a few weekly specials. He promises the return of the pancakes and steel-cut oatmeal dishes that were so popular at the Wash, and he also has plans to serve a proper French omelet, a dish so beautifully simple yet difficult to execute that some restaurants use it as the primary audition for new kitchen staff.

In a dining environment where it seems every new restaurant presents a gimmick like open-fire cooking, rooftop decks or "Nashville Hot" Everything, it is refreshing to see Stephenson preparing to open a comfortable neighborhood eatery with a laser focus on hospitality, simple food and clean flavors. Stephenson says the restaurant’s mantra is “Love the guest. Respect the food.” When Hathorne opens — hopefully sometime before the holidays — I really believe diners will benefit from that mission.