Grover's Fingers and Wings opening new location, first of five on owner's to-do list
Having five booths has never stopped Grover’s Fingers and Wings from packing their old-school diner 14 hours a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner service. Even so, having just a few more seats couldn’t hurt. Now, a sparkling new 1950s-styled, 40-seat second location of Grover’s is slated to make its debut in Milton by Christmas.
While the original at 9418 N. Davis Highway is known for its no-frills environment when it comes to quality and affordable food, the additional location off Harvelle Street will have a little more glitz and glamour in design. Cherry red booths with the embroidered Chevrolet logo, black-and-white checkered floors and granite countertops are in the works.
But Grover’s simple menu, known for its juicy burgers and larger than life chicken fingers, will have the same recipes customers have known and loved since the beginning at their new Milton location.
Grover’s owner Michael Graham said the Milton location is the only the start of his expansion plans and he would like to grow to have about five identical restaurants over the next five years, built from scratch each time.
Graham still plans to hold onto the original location that holds all the memories, both for the community and for his own family.
“This isn’t a restaurant, this is a landmark,” Graham said. “I don’t want to let it go.”
He still has the photos of his daughter who was once was so small that she needed to stand on a milk crate to reach the sink. Now she works alongside him as a manager.
“It has a lot of history with the community, and with us,” Graham said.
From the French toast and the chicken fingers that sell like hot cakes – the food should still taste as good today as it did 10 years ago, according to Graham. Consistency is key, and even when inflation caused restaurants to start taking shortcuts on quality ingredients, his food stayed the same. The steady flow of customers coming in have proven to be just as reliable and steady.
It hasn’t always been that way. Graham’s wife, Amy, remember the early days when they would sit and read the newspaper while waiting for customers, praying to make $100 by the end of the day.
He remembers throwing the toaster away because they didn’t have room for it, which would mark the start of buttering up each slice of bread before toasting it on the flat top.
“Everything we did here was because we had to,” Graham said.
Now, on bike nights where they have 300+ motorcycles ride in for service, their kitchen is ready for the rush and runs like a well-oiled machine. But the success doesn’t come without a cost, and the two will do whatever it takes to ensure the day goes smoothly. Whether it be washing dishes in the back or leaving a vacation early to head back to the restaurant before they check into the hotel. Even so, he wouldn't change a thing.
“It isn’t what we do anymore. It’s who we are,” Graham said.
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This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Grover's Fingers and Wings to bring second location to Milton
