Photograph courtesy of Mary Moore
The Cook’s Warehouse began as a way for owner Mary Moore to bring the joy of home cooking to more people. She launched it in 1995 on Amsterdam Avenue after successful stints at some of Atlanta’s most well-respected restaurants such as Indigo Coastal Grill and Partners Morningside Cafe. It was an interesting time to launch such a store; The Food Network launched in 1993, supercharging non-professional interest in cooking, and Atlanta was blowing up as a culinary city. “It was when Pano [Karatassos, of Kyma] brought Kevin [Rathbun] from Dallas to open Nava. Things were happening,” she says.
While the timing might have been fortuitous, it’s Moore’s leadership and steadfastness that has made The Cook’s Warehouse into the destination it is today—an Atlanta institution defying the retail odds to make it to 30 years. “I had that determination and perseverance,” she says. There were plenty of sleepless nights and lots of blood, sweat, and tears. But also sheer grit and determination.
Photograph courtesy of Mary Moore
Photograph courtesy of Mary Moore
It also might be thanks to her savvy marketing skills. Only two weeks into opening, Moore decided to start a cooking school. “If I hadn’t started the cooking school, I would have never made it,” she says, explaining that some days the only revenue she had would be from cooking classes.
Even today, The Cook’s Warehouse puts on a dizzying amount of cooking demonstrations at its current home in Ansley Mall. “We do 350 demonstrations a year in one location,” she says. There are 5,600 individual products in the store, plus exponentially more online. (Moore had the foresight to get into e-commerce in 2006.) She estimates that she’s had over 150 employees over the years, plus 125 chefs. Some of them have been with her for as long as 22 years.
Photograph courtesy of Mary Moore
Moore has no plans of retiring, but she is pleased she’s been able to hand over the day-to-day reins to her team, focusing on consulting and things that bring her joy. “That helps me extend my brain and do good things for the world,” she says, referring to the community and charity work she does through the Atlanta Community Food Bank Board, the Metro Atlanta Chamber Board of Directors, and Les Dames d’Escoffier International, of which she is a past president.
Photograph courtesy of Mary Moore
One thing has always stayed the same for her throughout the last three decades, and it is what she attributes to her longevity and success. “I’ve been willing to change,” she says. “One of my favorite quotes is ‘Never waste a good crisis.’ You have to be willing to change and learn from your mistakes. We haven’t done everything right, but I feel I’ve built a joyful brand that people love and we carry out our mission every single time someone walks through the door.”
