May 17, 2023, | A Stockbridge Story|: Economic Revitalization Meets Historic Preservation in Stockbridge| By: Lisa Fareed, Stockbridge Main Street Program Coordinator, and Kira Harris-Braggs, Stockbridge Main Street Program Manager |
Green Front Café owner, Diane Miller, is joined by members of the Stockbridge Main Street Advisory Board, the Stockbridge DDA, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, and the Georgia Municipal Association.The community hotline was the pay phone.
Recognized as the first restaurant in Stockbridge, the Green Front Café was a hometown gathering place famous for home cooking and community spirit. The most noted owner, Carrie Mae Hambrick, began operating the establishment as a home-based business in the 1940s. Under her management everyone was welcome. Blacks and Whites could dine safely under the same roof, despite the prevalent segregation practices of the time. It was the kind of place where the eatery’s payphone doubled as the neighborhood hotline, and everyone was regarded as family. Mrs. Hambrick’s eventual passing and the café’s closing in the early 2000s left a distressing void in the community.
Carrie Mae Hambrick, circa 1940. Photo courtesy of the Hambrick Family.Welcome Back.
Today, the mother-daughter team, Diane, and Malana Miller, has creatively restored the building, adding modern touches and a renewed spirit. On May 1, 2023, old-timers who frequented the establishment during Mrs. Hambrick’s time, curious newcomers, local officials, and news reporters gathered to cut the ribbon on the newly re-opened mainstay and community catalyst. Once again, the Green Front Café at 112 Second Street was alive with laughter, music, and of course, delicious food. Stockbridge Main Street would just like to say, welcome back.
Diane and Malana Miller at the real estate closing for the Green Front Café. Photo courtesy of the Miller Family.
