Janet’s Kitchen. Photo by Dan Whisenhunt

This story has been updated. 

A new restaurant is on its way to Clairmont Road and it will be serving up Filipino and Soul Food cuisine.

Janet’s Kitchen is opening up in the same shopping center that houses Community Q BBQ and Mason Tavern. The sign on the window says it’s “coming soon.”  On the restaurant’s Facebook page, there are photos of the ongoing construction.

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A spokesperson said the company plans a July 23 tasting event. The restaurant is owned by Nycole Sanders, whose mom was named Janet. Her mother was a caterer in the Atlanta area, the spokesperson said. She passed away last year. The event date is honor of her mother’s birthday, the restaurant’s spokesperson said.

The restaurant’s website says the menu features chicken adobo, a braised chicken dish that is considered a “national dish” in the Philippines.

Here’s the full description provided on the company’s website:

​Janet’s Kitchen offers chicken adobo, which is a braised chicken dish, that is full of flavor.  It is one of the national dishes in the Philippines. There’s also chicken fried Filipino style, that’s served with homemade southern style waffles. You will also find collard greens, mac ‘n cheese, black eyed peas, fried okra and other traditional foods cooked in Filipino or southern, soul food, style. The corn bread, bibingka, is a famous Filipino dessert that consists of rice cake and coconut milk. The authenticity of flavor and style from American Southern Soul Food and Philippines, Filipino Lutuing, is apparent at Janet’s Kitchen. The logo bears an original photo of Janet as a reminder of the great tradition of family recipe and love.

The spokesperson sent over the following press release on July 11.

Decatur, GA — Janet’s Kitchen, a new concept fusing Filipino and Soul Food, will open on Sunday, July 23rd from 3pm to 6pm for a special celebration of life. The restaurant’s tasting event will feature complimentary food, live jazz entertainment and specialty cookies to honor the owner’s mother.

“I wanted to have an opening party on my mother’s birthday to celebrate her life and vision, she would have been 65 years old,” explained owner Nycole Sanders, whose mother passed away in September, 2016.

For 40 years, Janet, Nycole’s mother, had a catering company in the Atlanta area featuring soul food and her famous desserts.  In fact, Janet was just finishing a batch of her famous lemon pound cakes shortly before becoming ill. Her recipes are the inspiration for the restaurant, along with Filipino specialty dishes from Nycole’s husband, Lester, who is from Manila, Philippines.

Nycole grew up in the Decatur area; went to college in New York and graduated in 1997 with a double degree in fashion design and marketing. In 2010, She opened ‘The BROOKIE COOKIE” bakery in Brooklyn, New York, which was also inspired by her mom’s desserts.  Nycole recently gained an Entrepreneur degree from The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and had briefly started teaching entrepreneurship there. But Nycole knew that she needed to be back in Atlanta especially after her mom’s passing.

“I created the idea for Soul Food with a Filipino Twist while cooking with my mom and husband during the holidays,” explained Nycole.  “They were sharing recipes and I thought this would be a great fusion.”

The authenticity of flavor and style from American Southern Soul Food and Philippines Filipino Lutuing, is apparent. Janet’s Kitchen offers chicken adobo, which is a flavorful braised chicken dish, one of the national dishes in the Philippines. The fried chicken is Filipino style, served with homemade southern style waffles. You will also find collard greens, mac ‘n cheese, black eyed peas, fried okra and other traditional foods cooked in Filipino or southern, soul food, style.  Janet’s Kitchen corn bread, bibingka, is a famous Filipino dessert that consists of rice cake and coconut milk almost as famous as the southern version.

The logo bears an original photo of Janet as a reminder of the great tradition of family recipe and love.

Highlights for Janet’s Kitchen Decatur

Event:                  Celebration of Life

Date:                    Sunday, July 23

Time:                   3pm to 6pm

Live Music:        Distilled Butter Band

Food:                   Complimentary Tasting