I asked Lin on the phone recently how Blue Willow differed from Hunan House. “We felt like Hunan House was too traditional in its concept for a Chinese restaurant,” he said.

Blue Willow Inn. 294 N. Cherokee Road, Social Circle. 770-464-2131, bluewillowinn.com. When I was a kid, my aunt ran a boardinghouse beside the railroad tracks in the minuscule South Georgia town ...

A Blue Willow serving platter with the classic design sold for just under $400. It dated to the 19th century and measured 13.75 inches by 19 inches. A Tiffany & Co. Copeland Spode Blue Willow ...

The Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, about 45 miles east of Atlanta, offers an experience that is far grander in scale, though quite similar in spirit to those boardinghouse days of yore.