According to a news report from onlineathens.com, “A decade after his son first asked him to be partners in a Mellow Mushroom franchise, Vince Landis took the plunge. Landis, along with his wife, Judy, and their son, Grady, opened a spacious Mellow Mushroom restaurant and bar in the historic Michael Brothers building on East Clayton Street in downtown Athens.”
“My son is a graduate of Georgia Southern, and they had a Mellow Mushroom, and he said, ‘Dad, why don’t we open up a Mellow Mushroom,’ ” Vince Landis said. “Ten years later, he finally convinced me it would be good idea,” said the story. “Mellow Mushroom has had a presence in Athens for about 15 years, but last year the man who held the Athens franchise decided not to renew and instead go independent with his two locations, now called The Tavern at the Arch and The Tavern at Five Points. The Landis family’s new Mellow Mushroom, which opened last Monday, represents a much larger venue than its predecessors and can accommodate 210 people, Vince Landis said. Additional seating will be available in the near future, when the restaurant adds some outdoor tables on the sidewalk.”