A local restaurant owner opened a new eating establishment in Athens.
Why It’s Newsworthy: The owners and two employees of The National, a well-known Mediterranean-inspired restaurant in Athens, Georgia, have brought their love for food to Athens in a more affordable way. Their new restaurant, Maepole, opened in July.
Peter Dale, Michael Clancy, and Nathan Goodman of The National, opened Maepole on North Chase Street. At The National, a dinner plate ranges from $24-$29. The cost of a meal at Maepole ranges from about $9.95-$11.95. Goodman said that one of the main reasons that he, along with Dale and Clancy, decided to open Maepole was to provide food that is more affordable and accessible than The National.
“Maepole was I guess born out of a vision to do food well, but also serve affordable food. And food that’s a bit more approachable at times. The National tends to be more of a special occasion place, or not a place where people think to go just as a quick, easy place to get good food,” said Goodman.
Maepole advertises that its ingredients are free of high fructose corn syrup, and the meat is hormone and antibiotic free. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting the number of calories from add sugars to no more than 10 percent per day. However, the US Food and Drug Administration has cited that there is no difference in safety between foods containing high fructose corn syrup and similar amounts of other added sugars, despite some studies showing that there are some differences between how we metabolize fructose and other simple sugars.
The US FDA has approved the responsible use of antibiotics in food animals. Although, the use of antibiotics for growth promotion can lead to the development of resistant bacteria, according to the Center for Disease Control.
Goodman said that although protein is important to Maepole, the true stars of the plate are the vegetables.
“I think Maepole is unique to Athens because we really serve a lot of high quality vegetable-focused dishes…. I think there’s not as many restaurants in Athens that do that sort of thing and especially ones that do it from a really easy, counter-service sort of environment,” said Goodman.
Melanie Fincher is a fourth year majoring in journalism and international affairs in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
