Block party set for Friday, Saturday to open new Hamock’s Restaurant
Jason and Danielle Hamock flank Jason’s mother, Darlene Hamock, on the site where Jason and Danielle will open their new Hamock’s Restaurant this week on Eagle Bend Road in downtown Clinton. This photo was taken in May 2024 during the announcement of the coming new Hamock’s on the site of the former Real Dry Cleaners. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Owners Jason and Danielle Hamock said the event will include live entertainment on both days at their restaurant, at 425 Eagle Bend Road.
They are the son and daughter-in-law of Darlene Hamock, who for years operated the now-closed Hamock’s Perkadeli restaurant and deli in Clinton.
There will be a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. Friday at the new restaurant.
The site is the former Real Dry Cleaners location, just across the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks from Market Street. The building and site have undergone a complete renovation and reimagining over the past year and a half.
For the block party, Jason Hamock said, “We’re putting up a stage in the parking lot. The city’s letting us shut down the road, and we will even have a bounce house for the kids.
“We’re planning a fun family event for the Memorial Day weekend.”
Regular business hours for the restaurant are tentatively set for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but “we are considering extending hours on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays to 9 or 10 p.m., depending on the demand,” he said. “The only day we will be closed is Sunday.”
On its Facebook page, Hamock’s has posted that the grand opening weekend party will feature “Gage Cowart Music live in concert all the way from Panama City Beach. and Sterl the Pearl special guest.”
Hamock said Cowart is a country music artist.
The block party will be sponsored by Fox Farley Willis & Burnette Law, and “Orange Hat Brewing will be on site both nights,” the post said, along with “96.7 Merle Knoxville.”
“C-Town Music will provide unbelievable sound and lights for this amazing night,” the Facebook announcement said. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. Hamock’s will be your local and worldwide spot for downtown entertainment.”
After the grand opening weekend, Hamock’s plans to hold a special event every third week, featuring a variety of attractions, such as live bands, karaoke, cornhole tournaments, DJs, and more, Jason Hamock said.
For the past several months, the Hamocks had been running a takeout-only version of their business from the rear of the Onyx and Pearl boutique at 364 Market Street, accessed off Freddy Fagan Way. They closed that business two weeks ago to concentrate on getting their new building up and running.
“Our menu will be quite a bit broader than what Mom was able to do [in the Hamock’s Perkadeli location],” Jason Hamock said earlier.
Hamock’s Perkadeli, which was at 321 S. Charles G. Seivers Blvd., had been in business for 23 years when it closed about three years ago. Darlene Hamock said at the time that she was quitting the restaurant business for health reasons.
The restaurant specialized in Hamock’s locally famous chicken salad and bakery creations – including hand-designed special-occasion cakes.
She has continued making the chicken salad and cakes on a part-time basis since she closed the restaurant, marketing them mostly through Facebook.
Jason Hamock said the chicken salad and cakes will be offered at the new restaurant, too.
“It will be a full restaurant with a deli feel, like a McAlister’s, but with newer flavors and vibes” he said earlier. “We will have sandwiches, soup, salads and coffees.”
