Chef Tony and Pamela Sharpe are growing their restaurant empire.
The husband-and-wife duo, best known for their hit concept Mad Dads Philly’s, are preparing to debut a second brand under their hospitality umbrella: Stackhouse Burgers and Shakes, Pamela Sharpe confirmed to Whatnow Atlanta in a telephone interview.
The new smash burger concept will open as soon as July 2025 in Phipps Plaza, where the couple already operates a location of Mad Dads Philly’s. Known for its indulgent cheesesteaks and no-frills counter-service experience, Mad Dads quickly gained a cult following after opening its flagship in Roswell Junction and later expanded to Halidom Eatery and Phipps Plaza.
With Stackhouse, the Sharpes are broadening their footprint in Atlanta’s comfort food scene while doubling down on high-traffic, high-visibility real estate.
The burgers in particular will need to live up to the name of the restaurant — literally. “The concept is about the ability to stack em high,” Sharpe laughed. “One, two, three — as high as you want to go, we’ll layer on the stacks of beef for you.”
In describing the brand, Sharpe reflected on starting with their line of sauces and seasonings, but Stackhouse is “a way to reintroduce ourselves,” Sharpe said. The restaurant will still have all the flavor customers know and love — including their “signature” blueberry saracha sauce, which they’ll use on wings. “Its going to be savory, fun, just a chance for them to see the flavor from our seasonings and sauces,” Sharpe continued, but also an opportunity for the pair to stretch and get creative. “We’re premiering a million dollar baby burger,” Sharpe adds. “We’ve got fun names.”
The shakes, too, are key. “Can’t leave out the shakes,” Sharpe added, but “there will also be vegan options.” Patty melts and french toast melts are just some of the proposed menu items she mentioned for customers to look forward to.
They knew it was time to expand when another stall became open inside Phipps plaza. “They’re known for shopping, the luxury feel,” Sharpe said. She credits the Buckhead location for the space’s “high energy,” and sense of “moving and shaking.”
When asked if she thought it would make their life hectic, having two concepts in the same food hall, Sharpe was quick to point out the labor would be divided. “(Stackhouse is) going to have their own staff, completely separate.” Though she conceded, “As owners, we’ll probably be running back and forth.”
The Sharpes’ brand expansion is all the more impressive when they reflect back on where they started. “It’s been quite a journey,” Sharpe said. “My hubs and I started off on restaurant consulting — marketing, scaling, you name it.” Though they helped other business owners achieve their dreams of a successful restaurant, their own dreams were put on hold until COVID offered a wake up call.
“COVID happened, Tony was hospitalized in a coma,” Sharpe said. “We really thought we were going to lose him, he was on palliative care.” Sharpe identified Tony’s extensive recovery — “he had to learn how to walk and talk again” — as “the turning point” in their approach to their work in the restaurant business. “We’ve been helping everybody else live their dreams, we have to live ours because tomorrow is not promised.”
“He was like, ‘Let’s just go for it,'” Sharpe recounted. She readily agreed, asking, “‘What first?'”
Given both were born and raised in Philadelphia, they immediately turned towards cheesesteaks. Mad Dads Philly was born in a cloud kitchen off Piedmont, but quickly scaled to three brick-and-mortar locations in under a year. “We decided to do the start up kitchen as a spring board as a test kitchen for us,” Sharpe said, but added with a laugh, “we crawled our way out of that cloud kitchen.”
But this early struggle helped cement the pair’s resilience and commitment to living their dream: “If you can make it out of cloud kitchen,” she said, “you can make it anywhere.”
And make it they certainly have. Mad Dads Philly’s was nominated by the Georgia Restaurant Association Restaurateur Rookie of the Year. Sharpe says that, though they didn’t take home the title, they were honored to have lost to a “one star Michelin rated chef.” “We were a top contender,” Sharpe added, “and to be recognized among our peers was an honor.”
So what’s next for the Sharpes after Stackhouse? Sharpe says they are still consulting and considering how technology might help small businesses. “Going through this as a growing business, you see different hurtles that you face,” Sharpe said. “We’re looking for more concepts and more tools to support other restaurants. I wanted to be able to create a solution being on the other side.”
But the couple is also savoring the victory of getting Stackhouse to opening. “We really just want people to understand that we’ve taken the leap to grow and create,” Sharpe said. “Just to be able to create another concept, it gives us an opportunity to be creative.”
