Photos by Jodi Hyde  

When Sheri and Scott Adners’ children were preparing to leave the Chicago, Ill. area for college in the Southeast, the Adners knew they wanted to find somewhere between Mississippi and North Carolina to call home. They had been working corporate jobs for more than thirty years but knew when they made their move they wanted to take the opportunity to pursue a dream they had both had for a long time of opening a restaurant.  

“The bank Sheri was working at decided to outsource her department overseas,” Scott said. “A few months later COVID hit. Once this happened we decided that maybe now was the time to begin looking into our dream of opening a restaurant.” 

Scott had spent some time in his younger years as a cook in a few different restaurants and really enjoyed the work, and Sheri enjoys baking and cooking. 

Once the Adners had made the decision to move, they began the search for a restaurant that would be a good fit for them, searching all over the Tennessee Valley for an existing establishment they could purchase. Initially they found a place in Huntsville that piqued their interest, but it ultimately was not an opportunity they wanted to pursue. Having passed on the first opportunity, their realtor mentioned there was a place in Hartselle that had not been listed yet but that would soon be on the market.  

“The realtor told us about Cahoots so we came and looked at it and bought it before they even had a chance to list it,” Sheri said. “We renamed it Eatin’ in the Attic because we both just felt that it was an appropriate name for the restaurant as once you walk into the restaurant it is as if you have stepped into the attic of a very old house. You are eating amongst all kinds of antiques, oddities and memorabilia. It’s like taking a walk down memory lane.” 

The Adners have changed more than just the name of the restaurant, expanded both the menu options and hours of operation, opening up evening hours Thursday through Saturday and also added several child-friendly options to the menu. Additionally, they have added a candy store and a full service bar. “We were looking at what was missing in Hartselle and didn’t see a candy shop, so we added that to the front of the restaurant. We just want to make that bigger and reality focus on the old kind of candy. If you can go to a big box store and buy it you’re most likely not going to find it here.” 

Since opening, the couple have partnered with the Hartselle Merchants Association, the Downtown Business League and their neighbors to grow downtown Hartselle. “It’s a beautiful historic district that needs to be shared with the community,” Scott Adner said. “We recently worked in conjunction with Red Ribbon Decor to provide Lunch with the Grinch before they offered pictures with the Grinch.” The Adners also plan on expanding their various holiday offerings with things like Pancakes with Santa, a romantic Valentines Day reservations-only dinner, and special after eight events for their bar patrons. 

“The merchants on Main Street and the Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce have been very welcoming to us and have made us feel as an integral part of downtown Hartselle,” Scott added. “I think we must continue to work on letting the city know that we are here and that we are a family friendly restaurant serving tasty food and desserts and that we do have a catering menu of full service bar available.”