The owners of Supperland are looking to diversify revenue by selling the custom dinnerware of their upcoming restaurant. Photo courtesy

Jamie Brown, owner of Haberdish, Crêpe Cellar, Growler’s, and upcoming restaurant Supperland with her husband Jeff Tonidandel, had looked at plate after plate for the new restaurant. Supperland, opening soon in an old church in Plaza Midwood, draws inspiration from vintage church potlucks, and will feature proteins cooked on a wood-fired grill. Brown knew she wanted the restaurant’s table settings to reflect that Southern history, but couldn’t find the right plates.

The plates’ design was done by London-based designer Lou Rota, whose art also appears on plates sold by Anthropologie. Photo courtesy

“What if we just designed our own?” she wondered to Tonidandel one night at home, uncertain of the cost or feasibility of the idea. They looked into the process and decided it would be worth it. 

“I just really see the tabletop as a vehicle for enhancing the experience at a restaurant, and I think it’s underutilized,” Brown says. “A lot of it’s because it’s costly, it can be, and you have to be very thoughtful about the decor and how it plays in with the story. But it’s just a great way of setting yourself apart, making a difference in what you’re offering to the guest.”

Brown reached out to Lou Rota, a London-based artist that designs plates Brown admired from Anthropologie. Brown wanted plates featuring Southern birds, foliage, insects, and plants, and Rota’s designs are featured on dinner plates, serving pieces, and tea pots. The pieces, manufactured by Villeroy & Boch, are restaurant-quality, making them dishwasher safe and hardy. Dinner and bread plates come in sets of four each for $399, as either a mixed set or a single pattern. Tea sets are $250, and serving pieces will be available soon. Brown says the inspiration to sell the dishes to the public came from something David Chang said about diversifying revenue. 

“The idea is how do you increase your revenue outside of your four walls?” Brown says. “Part of that is having a great brand. But it’s also, how do you go about things in a unique way? For us, we really wanted to go into home goods. We see this as the first line, the first item in our line.”

The restaurant’s tables, handmade by Tonidandel and staff, will also be available for sale by inquiry only. 

Supperland is undergoing final preparation for opening, but will not open for service while the Covid-19 spread in Charlotte continues as is, Brown says.
“We will be ready sooner than we will be able to open, and that is a bummer,” she says. “But there is absolutely no reason to open right now with the climate being as it is and not knowing if we are going to have to all close down.”