With Mockingbird’s biscuit basket—a warm nest of fluffy buttermilk biscuits served with a quintessentially Southern trio of honey butter, pepper jelly, and apple butter—Close-Hart shares what is now a fourth-generation recipe. Her mother, who grew up in the deep South surrounded by a big family of cousins who played outside all day until dinnertime, said those biscuits brought back dear memories when she visited her daughter’s restaurant for the first time.
“My grandma made biscuits with every meal. That was their bread, and she made it fresh,” Close-Hart says. “But she was allergic to the flour, and it would make her sneeze. Mom said when they were out on the street playing, she knew it was 30 minutes until dinner when she heard her mother start to sneeze. The biscuits were going in the oven.”
Now, it’s Close-Hart’s son, Jacob, who makes the biscuits for the restaurant, extending the legacy for another generation. Family is a thread that ties Mockingbird together, the chef says, whether it’s biological or situational. “My husband is the chef across the street at The Local. Jacob, our son, works here with me. All my staff are very close, I consider them family. That’s the feeling we want to give our customers and the feeling we want to run the business with as well.”
At Mockingbird, the concept of family stretches to the business side. Close-Hart and three long-time employees of majority owner Adam Frazier came together to become co-owners of the business when it transitioned from the Southwest-inspired concept Junction to Mockingbird in 2022, following Junction’s pandemic-related closure. Close-Hart says being a co-owner doesn’t change her work ethic, but it does make Mockingbird feel more personal. “It’s been our baby from design, name, concept, menu, the way it’s run. It feels a little more special to us and makes us work a little harder for it.”
Close-Hart uses seasonal Virginia ingredients to celebrate her childhood in Mobile, Alabama, mapping the route of her life in a menu that feels both personal and deeply relatable to anyone who grew up eating slow-cooked greens seasoned with ham hocks or fried green tomatoes and creamy pimento cheese. The daughter of two working parents, Close-Hart remembers her mother cooking every meal in addition to working full-time.
“My uncle had a huge city garden, and he would leave baskets on the front porch, and mom was the kind of cook that, whatever we had, she made a meal,” Close-Hart shares. “I learned how to cook off the cuff with my mom. She never used a recipe, and she always used what was in season.”
Mockingbird’s menu is divided into two sections—shareable apps, like an open-faced oyster po’ boy on a garlicky baguette or crispy Brussels sprouts with a sweet and lightly spiced honey-chipotle vinaigrette, and mains, including a New Orleans’ style shrimp and grits with andouille sausage and a grilled bison hanger steak from nearby New Frontier Farm. Those main dishes, Close-Hart says, are fan favorites that will remain on the menu for years to come, while others, like their salmon, change with the seasons. Seasonality is important at Mockingbird, but it’s Southern-ness that anchors the menu.
The dessert menu is a paean to classic Southern sweets, like chocolate-bourbon pecan pie with fresh whipped cream and Mississippi mud pie with dense, fudgy brownies and Oreo crumbles. Close-Hart’s banana pudding is made just like it was when she was growing up—with Nilla wafers and fresh bananas, served in a Mason jar.
That Southern spirit extends to the beverage program, which features a half dozen fruit-forward cocktails like the lavender-scented Bee’s Knees with Empress Gin and lemon oleo saccharum and the Apricot Manhattan with apricot-soaked rye, vermouth, and plum bitters—both classics given the Southern treatment. In addition to the alcoholic offerings, Close-Hart, who is four years sober, has included an ample selection of booze-free drinks.
“When I do go out to a restaurant of a similar caliber, my choices are sometimes soda or water. There might be one mocktail, and if it has something in it that I don’t particularly like, I’m stuck with soda and water, and that’s not necessarily as food-friendly as I’d like,” Close-Hart explains. “Working at a winery for 15 years and being in fine dining for a big portion of my career, food and drink pairings are a big deal to me, so I wanted to make it possible for someone who chooses not to drink for the night—or who’s sober—to have more choices.”
The epitome of Southern hospitality, Mocking-bird makes sure all of its guests are accommodated, both on the drinks menu and with the selection of food, which includes vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, like a meatless “meat” loaf and a clever house-smoked jackfruit barbecue platter with baked beans and a vinegar-based coleslaw.
“It was really important to me to include dietary restrictions,” says Close-Hart. “I always have a gluten-free, vegan dish. I get a lot of positive feedback from people who have those particular diets. It’s nice to be able to go to a restaurant and order straight off the menu.”
Stepping into Mockingbird, you feel a sense of nostalgia. The light-filled space is enclosed by brick walls and wood floors and decorated with sweet vintage details, like antique china hanging on the walls. Close-Hart describes the interior as, “your hip grandmother’s house, or if your youngest grandma decided to open an Airbnb.”
A central brick wall bisects the building into two halves, each from two different centuries, and each holding countless stories and local history. That’s one of the reasons why owner Adam Frazier bought it in the first place. “When the building came up for sale, it was almost condemnable,” Close-Hart says. Frazier bought it to avoid a potential tear-down.
The interior is warm and inviting, but it’s the patio that offers some of the best seats in the house. Nestled in among lush greenery, the outdoor space provides guests with a front seat view of Charlottesville’s Belmont neighborhood, where young couples walk their dogs and kids run around until dinnertime, just like Close-Hart’s mom once did, except now the smell of biscuits in the air is from the kitchen at Mockingbird.
Stephanie Ganz has cooked professionally and has always been obsessed with food. Her work has been published in The Local Palate, Eater, and Bon Appétit. Follow her at @SalGanz.