Lillie J’s Kitchen & Cocktails: Jamaican Spice with Southern Soul

International Restaurants: Find Cuisines from Across the Globe Just Down the Road

If you look at Tiffany Coleman’s resume, you’ll see an extensive background in talent management and talent production in film and television.

“I’m definitely a behind-the-scenes person, for sure. I’m too shy to be out front,” she said. “I’m good at managing things – schedules and stuff like that.”

But, if you look into her heart, you’ll find a person who loves her roots and the art of perfecting a delicious dish. Although she hasn’t given up her career in entertainment, Coleman has branched out into another field – restaurateur.

Generations of culinary love

“I’m originally from New Jersey, but my mom was born in Jamaica. She came to America when she was very young,” said Tiffany. “She stayed in the kitchen with her mom, and that’s where she learned to cook.”

Like in many close-knit communities, neighbors and aunts also contributed to Annette Coleman’s culinary training.

“She just loves the kitchen,” said Tiffany. “I guess that was therapeutic for her … because she left Jamaica at such a young age to come to America that her cooking brings the families together. It was like a focal point for people to fall in love with her.”

Subsequently, the craft was passed down to Tiffany, who experiences the same love of cooking. But, unlike her mother, she doesn’t work at a quick pace.

“I know how to cook because I was always in the kitchen with my mom,” Tiffany explained. “But I really like to take my time. It’ll take me hours to cook a meal. So, I’m not the one cooking for a restaurant. But my mom can do it in no time with her eyes closed.”

Multi-talented Annette has owned, managed and consulted on numerous food businesses in the metro Atlanta area.

“This is actually our, well, my mother’s fifth restaurant,” Tiffany said. “It’s my first one all hands in.”

Annette started a restaurant in New Jersey with Rita Owens, Queen Latifah’s mom before she moved to Georgia. The family also owned a breakfast bar in Jersey.

“When we moved down to Georgia in 2009, she opened another restaurant,” said Coleman. “We had two in Georgia before opening Lillie J’s.”

What’s in a name?

Ironically, Tiffany didn’t name her first restaurant after her mother, the person who nurtured her love of cooking.

“The restaurant is actually named after my dad’s mother, Lillie Jones,” she said. “We were trying to be funny. … She doesn’t know how to cook at all. She can barely boil two eggs.”

But Jones loved good food and good conversation.

“She’d sit in the kitchen with my mother while she cooked, and they’d talk and have a good time,” said Tiffany. “So, my mom wanted people to be like Lillie J and enjoy a meal in the same way my grandmother did.”

Annette is the head chef at Lillie J’s, but the concept and the management belong to Tiffany. She comes in early, gets things going, and moves through the many restaurant tasks.

“People think she’s Lillie J because they are her recipes,” said Tiffany.

Jamaica meets the South

The food blends Jamaican spice and American soul, with Annette’s creativity thrown in for good measure.

Many of her New York area friends and family had Southern roots and taught her how the South fixes collard greens, yams and a whole slew of other mouth-watering dishes.

“I would say it’s a fusion restaurant,” said Tiffany. “We’ve got a little Jamaican, a little Southern American and a lot of love.”

Traditional fare such as shrimp and grits and Southern fried chicken are expected, as well as curry chicken and braised oxtail. But there are twists on the menu, like brussels sprouts tossed in guava or avocado toast topped with plantains.

Even the cocktails are diverse.

You could order an “Island Mule” or a “Dark and Lovely” as easily as a “Listen Linda” or a “Wrecked Side Car.”

Although she loves everything on the menu, Tiffany said one of her absolute favorites is the honey cornbread.

“I’m always mixing it on my plate with yams or even the mac and cheese – it’s just ridiculous!” she said.

Anyone who likes to lick their fingers and get personal with their meal will have a dilemma in choosing what to try.

“Just get one of everything,” Tiffany said. “You won’t be disappointed.”

Best of both worlds

Lillie J’s is in its second year and doing well, said Tiffany, but she wants it to do better. Splitting her time between two careers isn’t easy, but she believes she can make it work.

Besides being a phenomenal cook, Annette is a successful hairdresser.

“My mom has done hair for a very long time. Well, my whole, honestly,” said Coleman.

She worked on the Ricki Lake Show, the Queen Latifah Show and the Court Show with Judge Glenda Hatchett. Her connections helped open doors for her daughter, and the two formed a community within the television and film industry.

“I’d always go to work with [my mom] when I was on break from college,” she said. “I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and I fell into TV and film.”

Coleman said she loves what she does but wanted to try something different.

“For the past decade, I’ve been dedicating my life to other people’s lives, and I just felt like I wanted something of my own,” she said.

She doesn’t have plans to leave the film and television industry.

“It’s something I can’t get away from, but it’s more like I could do all my eyes closed,” she said.

So, the restaurant business is a new challenge she hopes will succeed – one bite at a time.

Lillie J’s Kitchen & Cocktails
5975 Peachtree Pkwy Suite 102
Peachtree Corners, GA 30092
www.lilliejs.com 678-395-4095

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