The Dupree is ‘Cooking’ with Honey & Challah

Located in The Dupree building, Honey & Challah is a new kosher dairy café offering breakfast, lunch, specialty coffees, and handcrafted drinks in a café-style setting. Honey & Challah is fully kosher-certified and uses only Cholov Yisroel dairy products.

Since its opening, the lobby and outdoor patio have been buzzing with activity from the Jewish community, though it also serves tenants and local visitors. The concept began when the uber-motivated Zalik family envisioned a dining amenity for The Dupree building, located a block from Temple Sinai. The LLC was officially formed in April 2025, followed by a lease signing that spring, with the café concept ongoing ever since.

The owner, Patricia Kapusta, has 20-plus years of experience in the food industry and graduated from culinary school. Originally from Brazil, she moved to the United States in 1997 and was exposed to a wide variety of cuisines including Greek, Mexican, Brazilian, and American. The menu design was inspired in part by Kapusta’s original restaurant, also in Sandy Springs, Cupanion’s Kitchen + Coffee, adapting this successful café-style concept.

Honey & Challah currently employs around 10, with plans to expand as business grows. The café also has a full-time mashgiach on site. In preparation for operating a kosher establishment, Kapusta, who is not Jewish, completed certification through the Kosher Institute of America and coordinates with Rabbis Zehnwirth and Stein.

Ingredients are sourced from a variety of vendors, including Deli 2 U, A&L Foods, and Athena Farms. The café seats 48 guests indoors and an additional 28 outdoors. They hope to eventually expand into off-site catering once the restaurant hits its stride. Future plans include daily specials and seasonal menu updates, though the core menu is expected to remain consistent.

Some of the most popular items are: Bernie Marcus Tuna Melt, Egg Shakshuka, Orange Cranberry Scone, and the Classic Salmon Burger. We also sampled the Roasted Beet Salad with goat cheese, walnuts, and oranges ($14.50); Avocado Toast with charred corn is a winner ($13). A traditional Lox Sandwich is $12.50. Flatbreads (more like a pizza), bowls, omelets, root vegetable hash, and falafel only scratch the choice surface. Kids meals and gluten-free options are available. Kapusta notes that prices may increase slightly in the summer.

Yosef Moaty, Chabad of North Fulton’s Torah reader and Shabbat Magid Shiur, serves as the mashgiach. A rabbi, sofer (scribe), husband, and father of three, Moaty previously worked in kosher meat hashgacha before joining the café world to oversee kashrut operations. Under communal leadership of Rabbi Hirshy Minkowicz and Rabbi Gedalya Hertz, and the Kashrut leadership of Rabbis Zehnwirth, Stein, and Khoshkerman, Moaty has developed experience in the practical application of halachic supervision. He’s responsible for ensuring food adheres to the laws of kashrut. Because Honey & Challah uses fresh herbs and produce, many ingredients must be carefully inspected for prohibited insects. He initiates all cooking processes in the kitchen and verifies that every ingredient used is kosher-compliant.

Restaurant entrepreneurs know that kosher restaurants succeed more heartily when they also attract non-kosher diners because of the convenience and food quality. Kapusta notes they are enjoying loyal customers already, including families, office building tenants, and neighbors, especially One River Place — a large development just east of The Dupree. It was especially touching for this reporter to see “benching” after meals with no urgency to quickly turn the table for another customer.

Kapusta told the AJT, “11:30 to 1:30 especially is bustling with activity here.”

She enjoys dining out in Atlanta and stated that her favorite dish is ceviche. She related, “I actually can devise a kosher version perhaps down the road.”

Kapusta, a “hands-on” owner, who has a watchful eye on every plate that goes out of the kitchen, concluded, “I’m happy to be developing this long-term and to eventually pass the torch to the next generation.”

Honey & Challah is open from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, and is located at 6120 Powers Ferry Road.