New eatery to replace long-time chicken restaurant - Augusta Business Daily (2024)

• Consumer Stories, Openings, Restaurants/Food, Top Story

• June 12, 2023
• Josh Heath

Bill and Melissa Hoard will soon open a new restaurant in a well-known Columbia County location, and countless people have already stopped by that location to find out when it will open.

The couple has renovated the former Maryland Fried Chicken, located at 6008 Clarks Hill Road at Pollard’s Corner in Appling and are replacing it with Granddaddy’s Kitchen, an eatery that will specialize in Southern cuisine.

“We’ve wanted to open a restaurant here forever,” Melissa said. “We are the talk of the community; everybody wants us to open.”

But the Hoards don’t know exactly when they will be able to open Granddaddy’s Kitchen. That’s because Bert Pollard with Pollard Land Company, has requested that a portion of the property be rezoned from M2 General Industrial to CC Community Commercial and variances allowing them to use the existing business sign and keep the parking lot unpaved.

Columbia County Public Information Manager, Cassidy Harris said the issue with the sign is that it’s on a separate piece of property than the building.

“It will go before the Planning Commission on June 29,” Harris said.

The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on those requests on Tuesday, July 18. If approved, Melissa said they will open Granddaddy’s Kitchen soon after that, but if the variances are denied, they will have to wait six months from the time the application was filed, which was May 31.

She said there’s another way people will know the restaurant is open for business.

“The sign will say, ‘Praise the Lord; we’re finally open,’” Melissa said.

Granddaddy’s will serve a variety of menu options, including hamburgers, hot dogs, fried okra, fresh-baked pizza, and pulled pork sandwiches. Her homemade banana pudding will be one of its specials.

“We won’t serve alcohol or sell lottery tickets,” she said.

They’ve never owned and operated a restaurant before, but they’ve owned businesses for many years, including Appaloosa Moving & Storage. Both also have a background in the restaurant industry. Bill worked at McDonald’s, and Melissa worked her way up at PoFolks.

“We’re not strangers to hard work,” she said. “We’re just people who love to cook and love to have people eat our food.”

Melissa said former Maryland Fried Chicken diners will appreciate the changes they’ve made to the restaurant, including replacing the booths with tables.

For now, they’re patiently waiting for the county to make its decisions. They haven’t decided on their hours yet, because many have requested that they serve breakfast.

“The community wants it so badly,” she said. “We feel like God is still opening the doors.”

We will bring our readers updated information as it becomes available.