Atlanta’s Giving Kitchen Has Officially Sold Staplehouse

Giving Kitchen selling Atlanta hotspot Staplehouse marks a massive change to the local restaurant scene. In fact, the award-winning Staplehouse, located at 541 Edgewood Ave. in the Old Fourth Ward, is evolving from the restaurant scene entirely. Currently, the Staplehouse website lists only one message: that they are closed as they adapt to their new function, a neighborhood market.

Jen and Ryan Hidinger founded Giving Kitchen following Ryan’s diagnosis stage-4 cancer in 2012 and, since then, their dream restaurant Staplehouse was born. Ryan sadly passed away in 2014, but the Giving Kitchen and Staplehouse both grew beyond their expectations.

The restaurant has transformed since its conception, especially in 2020 when discussions about selling between Giving Kitchen and Staplehouse first began. Staplehouse has finally been sold to Kara Hidinger and Ryan Smith, Jen and Ryan’s in-laws who have been there from the very beginning, giving them full ownership.

The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported on this update Wednesday, explaining discussions began in the Summer of 2019, a conversation involving Giving Kitchen Restaurant Board, Inc., Giving Kitchen Board of Directors, Giving Kitchen leadership, and Steel Horse LLC. The Giving Kitchen website specifies that the decision to sell was not influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Kara and Ryan have not yet responded to a request for comment.

In fact, the deal was originally supposed to go through in March, but things got tricky when COVID-19 hit. At this point, all hands were on deck with Staplehouse providing food for the unemployed who were hit hard by the pandemic. Debuting soon, Staplehouse will be expanding on its take-go formula, serving brisket and other cuts, functioning as a neighborhood market.

[Editor’s note: this article was updated with clearer information regarding Ryan Hidinger, who passed away in 2014.]