“We are so happy to be here,” Dan said in a recent interview. “Being in a small supportive community and being able to hire more than 20 local folks to help us has been just great.”
Pearl’s will have a reopening ceremony at 4 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 9, at the restaurant on Highway 41A about midway between Sewanee and Monteagle. Th e Rev. Bude Van Dyke will bless the building, and there will be other activities to mark the big day.
“We wanted to keep the best parts of the old Pearl’s,” Joy said, “but add some new things to it, too.” The Hickeys moved the entrance to the rear of the building, where patrons now enter
through a full bar decorated with art by Ed Carlos. Th ere is more seating in the restaurant now. And often on weekends, there is live music.
Joy is a 1976 alumnus of St. Andrew’s School; her father attended seminary in Sewanee in the 1960s, so she has fond early memories of attending Sewanee Elementary School. She has long yearned to come back to the Mountain.
Her background is in the culinary arts, working as executive chef at a variety of restaurants and private clubs, so developing the menu and wine list for Pearl’s came naturally to her.
Dan brought his background as an industrial contractor to help with the renovation of the building, all of which was done by local workers and contractors. He wrote the business plan and handles much of the paperwork of the business.
Together, they make a great team, according to Joy.
George Stevenson (C’90) is the chef d’cuisine for the Hickeys. He has deep ties to the Mountain as well, having worked at Shenanigans in the 1980s and early 1990s. After he left
Sewanee, he att ended culinary school and has been a chef in places including Seattle and the Washington wine country. Stevenson and Joy work together to incorporate local, fresh items when they can and are looking for ways to expand in this area.
“And the very best thing about having Pearl’s,” Dan said, “is that we get to spend all our time together.”
—Reported by Laura L. Willis
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