Poor Hendrix owners opening outdoor sandwich shop the Velvet Hippo in Avondale Estates

Aaron Russell said he and Jamie hadn’t been looking to open a second restaurant, preferring to focus on Poor Hendrix, which opened in the Hosea + 2nd development in East Lake in 2016.

But when the Avondale Estates property, which previously belonged to the family that owns the Waffle House restaurant chain, became available, the couple decided to take the plunge.

“When our realtor approached us with other properties, we always said they were too big,” he said. “With this one, he said ‘You’re not going to be able to tell me it’s too big this time.’”

Though Poor Hendrix and Velvet Hippo (each named after the Russells’ dogs) will be completely separate concepts with no menu overlap, Russell said both will highlight “food that we like to eat.”

Velvet Hippo’s design from Atlanta-based Family Bros. will invoke “hanging out in a really cool backyard,” Russell said.

Once open, Velvet Hippo’s hours will be 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Before opening Poor Hendrix, the James Beard-nominated Russell worked as a pastry chef at Atlanta restaurants including Nikolai’s Roof, the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, the Chocolate Bar and Restaurant Eugene.

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