When Ford Fry, a veteran executive chef at Ritz Carlton and other high-end properties, decided to strike out on his own, he had a vision of bringing a European sensibility to his restaurant serving locally sourced food. Recruited to Atlanta to work as a corporate chef, he fell in love with the city, and it inspired him to open JCT Kitchen & Bar in Atlanta’s West Midtown neighborhood. Since then, Fry’s concept has grown into a restaurant empire called Rocket Farm Restaurants, with 14 brands spanning 26 locations in markets like Atlanta; Houston; Nashville, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Winter Park, Florida.

In 2007, when Fry opened JCT Kitchen & Bar, farm-to-table was the hot trend. “We wanted to use a European technique, but southern inspired, like a chicken leg cooked in duck fat. It was more elevated, everyday southern cooking,” Fry recalls. In 2023, the restaurant morphed into Little Sparrow, a French inspired venue offering items like duck liver terrine and Pastis liqueur. “JCT was going along fine but it had plateaued. The neighborhood was ready for something fresh,” he adds.

Fry, who serves as founder and partner of Rocket Farm Restaurants, attributes “a creative itch” to wanting to get out of the kitchen and try his hand at entrepreneurship. “It wasn’t about the money,” he says. “It was about the experience of restaurants and being able to create.”

Rocket Farm’s Atlanta headquarters now has a core group of executives managing its diverse brands. Eduardo Porto Carreiro, a veteran sommelier at Bar Boulud and former beverage director at a Danny Meyer property, is vice president of beverage. His second in command is beverage director Clarke Anderson, a certified Level 2 sommelier and former Fogo de Chão sommelier who joined Rocket Farm in 2011.

Vice president of operations Mac Angulo joined Rocket Farm in 2013, and is a key player in its ambitious expansion. “We look to see what’s missing from a neighborhood, from that restaurant scene,” Angulo says. Atlanta is the locale for nine of its brands. Marcel, the French-inspired, Michelin recommended steak house; Little Sparrow; Bar Blanc, a 30-seat steak frites venue; The Optimist; and Superica anchor the company’s midtown Atlanta business, while other Atlanta properties include Beetlecat, Little Rey, No. 246, and St. Cecilia.

Marcel, a celebrity guest favorite featuring classics like tableside Caesar salad service and Dover sole, sells wines from $59-$5,000 a 750-ml. The sweet spot is $100-$200 a bottle. “Our guests really enjoy everything from Champagne to Châteauneuf-du-Pape to Grand Cru Burgundy to cult Napa wines,” says Anderson. Its 200-plus selection wine list includes the 2012 Château Cos d’Estournel Saint-Estèph 2ème Cru Classé ($464 a 750-ml.) and a 2019 Domaine Simon Bize Latricières-Chambertin Grand Cru ($733). Domestic favorites include the 2019 Domaine Eden Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon ($29 a glass; $116 a 750-ml.) and the 2018 Napa Valley Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon ($188 a 750-ml.).

Super Impact

Rocket Farm’s flagship brand and its growth machine is Superica, the Tex-Mex brand at a dozen locations in Atlanta; Houston; Nashville, Tennesee; Charlotte and Cary, North Carolina; and the newest opening in Winter Park, Florida. “I grew up in Houston. Tex-Mex was something we ate weekly but we called it Mexican food,” Fry recalls. “When I got to Atlanta, I missed the Mexican food I grew up on.” Seeing that Atlanta lacked authentic Tex-Mex restaurants, Fry and Angulo brought the vision to life, in a high-end casual style inspired by Houston and Austin, Texas. The first Superica opened in Atlanta in 2015.

“Superica is not Disney-esque. There are no piñatas hanging from the ceiling,” Fry says. “It’s straight-up Tex-Mex.” The attention is on fine detail, from the made-to-order tortillas, a customer favorite, to the tamales and chili gravy. American cheese, a classic Tex-Mex ingredient, is a kitchen staple. “It’s straightforward but very well executed,” says Angulo. “As much as possible we run a scratch kitchen.”

Dining rooms are getting full again, Angulo notes. “People are looking more for that complete dining experience with the server,” he says. “We’re invested in our staff and executives engaging with the customers. Every element speaks to the Superica experience.” Formal staff training and coaching are part of the operation, and about 10% of the business continues to be to-go orders.

Each Superica has an average 24-seat full-service bar. Restaurant seating varies, with the largest unit holding just under 300 seats. Beverages contribute 30% to 35% of overall dollar volume at Superica. Within that breakout, spirits represent 25%, followed by beer, then wine, and then non-alcohol drinks. Margaritas are the flagship cocktails. Reflecting Superica’s belief in authenticity, the craft cocktails have fresh-squeezed lime, lemon, or grapefruit juice. “There are no sweet and sour mixes in our restaurant,” Angulo says.

Superica has responded to the ‘Dry January’ trend, offering nine no-alcohol options that got strong customer response, Angulo says. The non-alcohol menu offered five zero-proof spirits cocktails, three zero-proof wine-based cocktails, and one alcohol-free beer, at price points close to alcohol options. They are considering adding some permanent non-alcohol selections.

Mixing It Up

Rocket Farm’s ten other restaurant concepts follow Fry’s lead of a chef-driven sensibility. The restaurants are, in part, the result of a cultivated network of chefs, some of them first working in the Rocket Farm venues and going on to open their own restaurants. “We structured our company so we could be educators more than dictators. The food may be different, but operations are completely standardized,” says Fry, explaining that one management team runs Superica and another runs the “one-offs.”

The mixture of creative license and standards applies to Rocket Farm’s beverage operations. “We don’t want it to feel cookie cutter, that this is a Rocket Farm restaurant beverage,” says Porto Carreiro. Superica has a 100-recipe cocktail playbook, but each restaurant has some leeway in choices, he explains.

The standalone restaurants have more autonomy in creating their cocktail lists. However, you won’t see brand names on the cocktail menu. “We tend to use affordable spirits in our house cocktails to maximize both profit and value. These are ‘call’ spirits in most other establishments but happen to be the ‘well’ spirits in our bars,” Anderson notes. “We’ve been doing this for many years, before inflation was a real concern.”

Customers are generally favoring Tequila, which Anderson notes is routinely overtaking vodka in their product mix. “Our most important piece of the beverage program is to ensure everyone has something in the glass that is delicious. Behind that is integrity,” says Porto Carreiro. “We look for the more honest, unique, and exciting producers in each market.”

In the wine program, sustainability is becoming an important influence in selection. In the most classic wine regions, Rocket Farm is buying almost exclusively from organic producers, Anderson explains. “Putting these wines in context for the guests who are familiar with the benchmark wines of these regions is a great challenge for us and proves to be very rewarding.”

All the labels on Little Sparrow’s wine list come from producers who use organic practices in their vineyards. Popular offerings include the 2022 Petit Canet Pays d’oc ($10 a glass; $50 a 750-ml.); 2022 Willamette Valley Crowley Chardonnay ($18 a glass); 2022 Division Pinot Noir from Oregon ($66 a 750-ml.); and 2022 Michel Richaud Côtes du Rhône ($62 a 750-ml.).

Across the company’s restaurant brands, Anderson says the buying preferences are French and Italian wines, with California and Oregon representing the majority of New World selections. The company also prefers southern France, the regions of Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon, and the Sud-Ouest, Anderson notes. “We have some Spanish, German, and Austrian, but tend to stay away from other New World selections like things from the southern hemisphere,” he explains. “Sauvignon Blanc is having a moment much like Pinot Noir had a few years back. Lighter refreshing wines, both white and red, and orange and rosé, are popular in the summer in the South and that does not seem to be slowing down. Younger people are really excited about organic wine and tend to be some of our most excited and loyal regulars.”

The Right Place

Looking ahead to expanding markets, Rocket Farm is well positioned at the right time in Nashville, Tennessee’s super-hot growth economy with three concepts: The Optimist, Le Loup, and Jacqueline in the city’s north downtown area. Rocket Farm’s venues are poised to serve the growing apartment housing and mixed-use developments in the Germantown District fronting the Cumberland River.

The Optimist, which does 400-plus covers an evening, is a special occasion restaurant focused on seafood “but more like a steak house experience,” Anderson says. It operates a patio, oyster bar, main bar, and dining room, housed with Le Loup in the historic Hammer Mill manufacturing plant. Seafood with a modern twist and cocktails dominate at The Optimist. Fresh fish cooked over a wood fire, shareable appetizers, and side dishes, all “designed to highlight the beauty of the fish,” is the signature style.

Cocktails are the beverage of choice at The Optimist, focusing on a beachfront vibe with light and often savory takes on traditional expressions. “Rather than switch from a pre-dinner drink, a lot of people continue to dinner with cocktails,” says Anderson. Wine is another popular option, including the Hirsch San Andreas Pinot Noir ($168 a 750-ml.).

Le Loup, on the second floor of the Hammer Mill, takes its cue from a French lounge. Miles Davis might be playing while guests sip Champagne or cocktails in the moody, 40-seat venue. A local favorite, the bar serves oysters on the half shell, raclette over tater tots—which is a nod to high-low culture—and made-to-order bananas foster.

The cocktail list at Le Loup offers 50 options, with a page of classic and forgotten classic drinks. “We make them in a modern, improved version,” says Anderson, “adjusting the liquor to bring more balance.” Drinks are $9-$10. Favorites of his are the Daiquiri and Gin Fix, “both somehow simple yet complex.”

In the warm weather months Rocket Farm also operates Jacqeline, a beachfront style bar serving frozen rum drinks and bubbly Tequila cocktails. A neighborhood favorite, customers often make Jaqueline a stop before heading across its courtyard to The Optimist or Le Loup or visiting later for an after-dinner drink.

With an eye toward the future, Ford Fry continues to work his network of chef contacts, looking for promising ideas, but he is firm in his approach. “I want to create restaurants that strike a timeless emotional chord, restaurants that don’t pander to trends, but draw generations of families together,” he says. “Tying into the neighborhood is a big part of what we’re about.”