I cannot say for certain, but I suspect that somewhere amid the unsuspecting citizens of Northeast Georgia, there’s a secret network at work. A network of Christian bakers and family farmers. They trade shadows for a veil of powdered sugar and flour.
Chief among them, if local whispers are to be believed, is Amanda Browning of Amanda’s Farm to Fork at the Tea Room, whose surreptitious gaze during our interview appears to suggest that she knows more than she chooses to articulate on the subject.
The group’s modus operandi? Sugar, spice, and messages nice. They send one another encouraging direct messages, amplify each other’s content, and turn up faithfully, debit card in hand, phone at the ready to support one another’s endeavors.
They are not just friends. They are a powdered-sugar-fueled undercurrent of a coordinated kindness campaign. Together, these women operate like a de facto bakers’ chamber of commerce.
I visited Amanda’s Farm to Fork at the Tea Room on a Friday, where an attractive auburn-haired woman greeted me in a hand-sewn dress patterned in frogs, a yellow flower tucked neatly into her striking victory roll. In any other setting, Amanda would arrest attention. But here, she blends in as naturally, and as charmingly, as a blue silk ribbon in a toddler’s blonde curls.
What felt like a fall from grace, a gift in the making
On this day, Amanda stands on her front porch, an Alice in her very own Wonderland. A far cry from 2015, when she stood in her living room and told her children to pack their lives into a single Walmart-brand storage container.
She didn’t sugarcoat the moment. There wasn’t enough time. She had just lost her job of 22 years—and with it, the house, their sense of place, and the fragile veneer of control that people cling to as a shield against the chaos of an unpredictable and often unforgivable world.
What came next? A home too small and too far from what she and her husband had worked to build. It felt like a fall from grace. But she didn’t collapse. She cooked.
Her husband made the first suggestion. Start small. Deliver dinners. “My family has always cooked,” she said, though she still carried quiet doubts. Would people really pay for the kind of food she’d always made around her table? But neighbors did. And then their neighbors did. And then, suddenly, Amanda Browning had a business.
She moved fast. Within months, the kitchen became a production line, and it was all hands on deck, making it a family business.
The restaurant – Amanda’s Farm to Fork
In time, she opened a brick-and-mortar, Amanda’s Farm to Fork in Lula, Georgia. From the outside, it looked like a holdover from another time, its whitewashed brick façade still partially under renovation, a “Now Open” banner fluttering beside the door.
Inside, warm yellow walls and well-worn wooden chairs offered an unpretentious welcome. The space hummed with small-town chatter: pendant lights glowed overhead, and a menu near the register promised home-cooked specials.
The kitchen, partially visible through a swinging door, turned out trays of buttery dinner rolls. Soft and warm, they arrive in foil pans, just like the ones passed around Nana’s round table. Nearby, cinnamon rolls rise in tight spirals, and loaves of fresh bread sit beside them, waiting for liberal amounts of butter—because in Lula, they don’t raise kids with gluten allergies.
And then there’s the meal itself: a Sunday supper served on a Thursday afternoon. Think crispy fried chicken nestled beside tender green beans and collards. A generous heaping helping of sweet potatoes, whipped smooth, leans into a mound of dressing drenched in gravy.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Amanda shifted the restaurant back to its roots and returned to a delivery service. Over time, that pivot led to something new: a tea room located in Cleveland, Georgia. In a restored historic schoolhouse, Amanda hosts themed parties, intimate and affordable weddings with cake-and-punch options, cooking classes, and community gatherings.
The Tea Room
The exterior of Amanda’s Farm to Fork at the Tea Room tells two stories at once. The first is rooted in the region, featuring weathered wood siding, a metal roof, and a front porch framed by red railings and stone steps. An iron bell stands near the walkway, and roses grow thick at the base of the house, evoking the symbolism of The Queen of Hearts.
The second story begins past the porch, where the grounds shift from practical to playful. A pink metal Eiffel Tower rises from the lawn. A white iron carriage sits quietly at the edge of the property, framed by a row of pine trees and a barn. A black-and-white checkerboard platform hides just beyond the edge of the clearing, its painted squares flanked by a cast-iron chair and a chandelier intertwined with artificial roses, perfect for photos.
The back of Amanda’s Farm to Fork Tea Room opens into a wide, brick-paved patio, bordered by a low stone wall and a manicured lawn. White iron tables and chairs sit beneath scalloped pink umbrellas. Just beyond, a second carriage awaits, and to the right of the Tea Room patio, a stone-lined pond glows emerald in the sun, tucked beneath a bank of cypress and banana trees.
Set slightly apart from the main house and garden, a pavilion-style venue offers a rustic, spacious setting ideal for events. Exposed wooden beams, rough-hewn walls, and a large stone fireplace anchor the space with a warm, agrarian feel. A gold chandelier hangs from the center, adding a surprising touch of elegance above the wide concrete floor. Stacked firewood and folding tables hint at its versatility, ready to transform for weddings, dinners, or seasonal gatherings. Surrounded by greenery and natural light, it captures the charm of a barn with the intimacy of a backyard celebration, reminding me of the wedding scene in the movie Steel Magnolias, sans armadillo butt.
Each room in the tea house carries its own theme. The Honey Room glows with filtered light and features antique mirrors, an ornate fireplace draped in roses, and a whimsical Alice in Wonderland display that nods to Amanda’s playful imagination.
The Tiffany Room takes on a Dutch milkmaid aesthetic with a blue-and-white palette, with glass pitchers and pressed florals. Next door, the Bridal Suite offers a quiet, romantic space. A cross hangs above the door, antique silver handheld mirrors rest in front of salon stations, and a Bible sits on a dresser. Yet, the Rose Room is the most personal. Amanda filled it with soft pinks and mismatched teacups, each one a gift from neighbors, friends, or visitors.
The tea room as a whole mixes country charm with a touch of sparkle. Chandeliers hang from exposed rafters, casting light on whitewashed walls and weathered wood. Handwritten signs, baskets, and old frames line the walls. I’m calling this motif farmhouse fairytale chic.
The farmstand
A small cinderblock farm stand sits just off a country road in Lula. The stand, located at 5525 Lula Road/Hwy. 52 is open to customers looking for fresh, homemade food. Inside, a glass-front refrigerator holds chicken salad, pimento cheese, banana pudding, and full meals, such as cheeseburger macaroni and chicken and gravy over rice.
A weathered table displays cinnamon rolls, honey butter rolls, caramel pecan rolls, and loaves of bread. Signs accept cash or Venmo. A simple pink and white roadside sign lists what’s for sale: cakes, bread, and honey. Red tomato pie goes for $25. Everything is self-serve.
Overcoming
Amanda Browning may just be the final boss of domesticity in Northeast Georgia. She’s a woman who turns setbacks into supper and hospitality into an enterprise. After she lost everything, Amanda chose not to return to what she knew. With prayer, reflection, and her husband’s guidance, she and her family built a new life together. From that resolve came a restaurant, a tea room, a farm stand, and a reputation for kindness and fortitude.
Amanda and women like her are reshaping what it means to serve a community—building a local economy held together by faith, flour, and mutual support. Whether or not the secret network exists, the impact is real.
You can connect with Amanda Browning and follow the story of her whimsical, faith-rooted culinary world through both her tea room and farm stand online.
Facebook: Stay up-to-date with events, daily menus, and photos from Amanda’s Farm to Fork & Tea Room and Farm Stand at: facebook.com/amandasfarmtofork
Instagram: Get a visual taste of the magic—from rose-trimmed rooms to buttery baked goods—on Instagram at @amandas_farmtofork
