As of Feb. 3, the space on Baxter Street that once housed Mirko Pasta is now home to Mama Jewel's Kitchen, an independent business that does Southern cooking and healthier options.

Mama Jewel's serves breakfast (from-scratch biscuits, eggs, bacon, fried chicken, smoked sausage, country ham) Monday through Saturday, starting at 6:30 a.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. Saturday. It's open until 2 p.m. for lunch Monday through Thursday and does dinner as well (until 8 p.m.) Friday and Saturday.

Non-breakfast items include a bunch of different kinds of chicken salad, corned beef, smothered chicken, meatloaf, grilled pimento cheese sandwich, spinach salad (to which you can add grilled or fried chicken), soups, bread pudding, peach cobbler, chocolate cake and "on-the-go" desserts packaged and ready to take with you.

Also open, replacing Yummy Pho downtown on Broad Street, is Mother Pho, which has an almost identical menu to its predecessor but some additions (shaking beef, crispy fish with mango sauce, claypots focusing on meat and seafood). Here's to the number of Vietnamese restaurants in Athens not contracting after all! Mother Pho is open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday.