About Us

Danny Mellman and Michelle Moran live in the bustling tourist destination of Blue Ridge Georgia. A charming Appalachian city, the duo helped put it on the tourist map a couple of decades ago.

Our story began in Danny’s Bonita Springs restaurant in 2004, where Michelle was a patron and Chef Danny was inspiring her palate when she wasn’t on the road at culinary events or international toursas executive editor for two national culinary magazines. It didn’t take long before she was cooking him dinner on his days off – and well, the rest is history.

The couple began visiting Blue Ridge, Georgia, every time they had a break long enough to escape Danny’s restaurant grind, eventually buying a small cabin in the Aska Adventure Area. They loved it. Danny’s kids loved it. Their animals loved it. They used to joke that the dogs would come to life as they approached the town on the drive up from Florida, heads out the window, tails wagging, joy on their faces. During the drive back to Florida, their depression became progressively deeper until, ultimately, they would have to carry their basset hound, Colby, out of the car into the house.

Danny sold his restaurant in Bonita Springs in 2007. On one of their trips to the cabin, they decided it was time to make the move permanent and officially became Georgia residents in 2008. Michelle rented an office and began her editorial work remotely. Danny began looking for restaurant spaces.

Michelle’s role would be marketing and design, while she continued to run two national magazines remotely from her tiny office over a gourmet shop on Main Street. She figured Danny would only need her to help during a few busy weekend lunch and dinner rushes. They thought it would take a little time until a sit-down, more upscale restaurant would find its footing in the region.

They certainly had no idea the restaurant they envisioned would be so well-received.

They were fortunate to have received a more extraordinary reception and experienced faster growth than imagined. As their quest for farm-fresh products continued, it was more difficult to find farmers than initially thought. They began to think about expanding their gardens and possibly establishing a teaching garden where Michelle could spend her time sharing her love of creating with kids. They purchased a little property downtown and turned it into The Cook’s Farm, where they began their annual Summer Kids Farm-to-Fork Camp. The camp ran for ten years at their 25-acre farm homestead following our move there in 2014.

It seemed they could not stop growing things. Danny’s love for designing menus and creating new concepts led to the opening of The Blue Ridge Grocery in 2013, Masseria Kitchen+Bar in 2014, and The Blue Ridge Fry Shop in 2016. In 2018, they embarked on another project, Blue Smoke World Famous Barbecue, up the hill from Harvest on Main. In 2017, they expanded our family beyond city borders, adopting two well-established and well-loved restaurants. Morganton-based Cucina Rustica and La Pizzeria at Cucina Rustica.

In 2018, Michelle began splitting her time between Blue Ridge and Belize – the perfect combination of salt, sand, snow, and sunshine – building and selling a resort a few years later. After 2020, the couple began downsizing, selling off individual restaurants to single-store operators. In 2024, they opted to sell Harvest on Main and purchase a small farm and home in Chiaramonte, Sicily, launching Lit’l Pond Adventures—truly authentic cultural and culinary tours. Michelle acquired her Travel Certification, allowing her to better curate clients’ adventures in Italy and Belize, as well as destinations they are personally familiar with around the world.

Today, they continue to travel the world, inviting guests to share in their passion. Their wanderlust is about getting to know the people and the culture of the places they visit, primarily through food. From innovative food introductions to creating a sense of place where guests can come and not only dine but also celebrate their passion for learning about the world through food, Lit’l Pond continues to grow internationally with culinary tours, consulting and private dinners.

The Cook’s Farm – Blue Ridge remains their home operations, where Danny serves up incredible culinary meals for their Table 4/10 Supper Club. In Sicily, the couple leads amazing culinary adventures with their Sicilian partners, Marcelle New and Filippo Sardo.

They expanded their olive grove in 2025 and look forward to their second harvest this year, producing an impressive, high-quality Sicilian olive oil.

And they continue to dream up their next adventures. They invite you to join them, setting a place at the table for you wherever they may be.

Cheers!

Danny Mellman & Michelle Moran

Lit’l Pond Hospitality