Meet Rolf Hensche: Proprietor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rolf Hensche and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rolf, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
We found Ellijay during one of our hiking trips in the area. We liked the city so much that we bought a weekend getaway cabin on the river. When we retired from the Corporate World in 2018 we moved to Ellijay fulltime. Unfortunately, at the time there were only a few restaurants in the area but nothing more upscale. We were approached by the owner of one of the restaurants downtown and eventually agreed to purchase the business and the building. We completely retooled the kitchen, and conceptualized the restaurant downstairs and live Music upstairs.

What should our readers know about your business?
We are Emily’s Bar & Restaurant, we created an upscale yet none prententious Restaurant, Bar, Live Music and Event center in downtown Historical Ellijay. We offer steaks, seafood and special plates, all sharerable while using local suppliers as much as possible to receive the freshest ingredients. The restaurant theme is contemporary and consists of a downstairs restaurant and bar, upstairs restaurant and bar, upstairs ballroom, and outside patio. All our dishes are prepared from fresh ingredients where possible, we receive fresh seafood every Wednesday and Friday. We offer Friday Prime Rib from 5-7, Sushi every Wednesday from 5-7, open mic night upstairs at Emily’s live every Wednesday, Trivia and ladies night every Thursday and brunch every Sunday. We also offer live music at Emily’s live upstairs every Friday & Saturday.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would eat & drink at the River Street Tavern, Cajun Depot, The Roof and Cartecay Pizza here in Ellijay. The Cohuta wilderness would be a great hiking option, maybe we rent mountain bikes at the Cartecay Bikeshop and try one of the mountain bike courses in Talking Rock. Amicalola Falls is another great day hike and so is a visit to the entrance gate for the Appalachian Trail. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would dedicate the shoutout to the city of ellijay. The way the local community has embraced us and our business is second to none. From the Gilmer Chamber of Commerce to all the local businesses that continue to promote and support us to all the individual patrons. Considering, we just opened July 4th of 2019 we have been extremely lucky and we are extremely grateful.

Website: www.emilysinellijay.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilysinellijay/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilysinellijay