Greenville Avenue Soda Shop
Chef Danyele McPherson to preside over new fizzy sibling of HG Sply Co.
Chef Danyele McPherson has left The Grape to join the team behind HG Sply Co., where she'll head up an intriguing new concept called Remedy, to open later this year.
Owner Elias Pope says he doesn't have many details to share because the concept is still in development, but it will go into the old Public House space at 2010 Greenville Ave.
"There are three aspects I can share," Pope says. "We know the name, the spot and that Danyele is our executive chef. As far as the evolution of concept, I don't have anything yet I can comment on."
But it sounds like it will be some kind of old-school soda shop, based on the source of his inspiration.
"There is a book called Dispenser's Formulary that was published in 1915 on how to open your own soda fountain," Pope says." It was about why soda fountains are successful, and that's the inspiration behind Remedy.
"The book explains what it was all about, why soda fountains started in first place. They were made as remedies. If you go delving into the history of food in the early 1920s, the apothecary cocktail program is so important."
The book he's talking about, The Dispenser's Formulary: Or, Soda Water Guide, is described as "a practical handbook for soda fountain operators, consisting of over 2,000 tested formulas for soda fountain products, with complete information on fountain service, fountain standards, ice cream standards and formulas, and luncheonette service, including an appendix of manufacturers' formulas, together with descriptive information of their fountain apparatus, sundries and supplies."
"The future of this industry was never brighter," it reads. "Sodas and sundaes are as much a part of our American life as telephones and newspapers." And: "Success in the soda fountain business depends on three things - perfect sanitation, good service and effective publicity."
McPherson describes it as an "amazing opportunity to have a dream job."
"I'm excited that I'll be heading something up. I feel like it's about time," she says. "I'm also excited about the fact that it's in my neighborhood. I can walk to it. I'll get to support and live and work in this growing neighborhood that feels like a small town."
Pope and his partners also recently opened a health club called The Gym of Social Mechanics. And just as they transformed the space that is HG Sply Co., including construction of a large rooftop deck, so they will do for the Public House space.