Clay Harper

Clay Harper is a musician and restaurateur from Atlanta, Georgia. He is known for his work as a songwriter and frontman in the band the Coolies, and for co-founding the Atlanta-area restaurant chains Fellini's Pizza and La Fonda Latina.^[1][2] He also founded and owns the barbecue chain the Greater Good.

Biography

Harper began his musical career when he co-founded the Coolies in the 1980s.^[3] He subsequently founded the band Ottoman Empire in the 1990s. At one point, its members included Daniel Pearl.^[4] During the 1990s, he also released two albums (one solo and one with his brother, Mark) on his own label, Casino Music.^[5] In 2012, his children's book Are You Sure That Was a Rabbit? was published.^[6]

Career as a restaurateur

With Mike Nelson, Harper co-founded Fellini's Pizza in 1982,^[3] and co-founded La Fonda Latina, a restaurant that frequently is located next to Fellini's.^[7] He later founded the frozen yogurt chain Three on the Tree in the summer of 2010.^[8][9] He also founded the barbecue chain The Greater Good, which opened its first location in Tucker, Georgia in 2012.^[4]

Discography

Solo

• East of Easter (Casino Music, 1997)
• Old Airport Road (Terminus, 2013)
• Bleak Beauty (Clay Harper, 2016)
• Dirt Yard Street (Clay Harper, 2020)
• They’ll Never Miss a Five (Clay Harper, 2022)

With Mark Harper

• The Slippery Ballerina (Casino Music, 1999)
• Not Dogs ... Too Simple (A Tale of Two Kitties) (Casino Music, 2000)