LOCAL BUSINESSES
Think of all the events and changes that have happened in the last 50 years. Through all of that, one local restaurant staple has remained in business and is going strong. Grins, co-owned by Texas State graduates Paul Sutphen and Johnny Ferrell, has been in operation since Valentine’s Day of 1975, serving San Marcans delicious food since day one.
According to a press release provided by Grins, in 1975, the Lightfoot house was converted into a restaurant. At the time, the restaurant could hold up to 60 customers and hosted live music with recognizable names like Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen and the Beacon City Band. It has now been expanded three times: once in 1983, again in 1987 to include a deck, and in 1996 the original deck was enclosed alone with the building of the final deck. Today, Grins can accommodate up to 250 customers and has an extensive menu to choose from.
“It started on Valentine’s 1975, and it was such a small place then, with just hamburgers and fries, nachos and one green salad,” Sutphen said. “Now and through the years, it’s expanded, and we’ve had like three remodels over the last 50 years. And we just try to grow with the time to make it interesting for our customers [and] make it interesting for us.”
Ferrell added that the menu has also grown with time, and with that, so has the recognition; it has been voted Best Chicken Fried Steak and Best Onion Rings in Best of Hays for the past 10 years.
“[We now serve] everything from sizzling fajitas, gourmet hamburgers, chicken fried steak, catfish, grilled chicken, jumbo onion rings, and of course, nachos, and for the beverages, we have buckets of beer, frozen margaritas, margaritas on the rocks, and we have a limited alcohol bar with all the major flavors,” Ferrell said, adding that there are lots of great specials. “We have 99 cent Margaritas. Monday through Friday happy hour is 3 to 7 [p.m., and] on Thursdays, [it’s from] 3 to 9 [p.m.]. Buckets of beer are $5.”
For the anniversary, the restaurant had several specials, including complimentary anniversary cake and carnations for any woman that walked in. They also gave away a few gift certificates.
“We might do promotions probably throughout the year,” Sutphen said.
Ferrell said the restaurant mostly employs Texas State students, and they support local charities such as The Hays Caldwell Women’s Center, Families 4 Life and they’ve given gifts-inkind to the university. They also have employees that have been with them for years.
“In the back of the house, we’ve got more local people,” Ferrell said. “Our guy in the back Barry Hill has been with us almost 30 years, and Johnny Tello has been with us close to 40 years; … he and his wife raised three beautiful girls, and they all graduated from Texas State.”
Learn more at this link grinsrestaurant.com.
