Author

Amy Christian

The name Fat Man’s Mill Café has, for the past 60 years, become synonymous with hearty, stick-to-your-ribs Southern cooking. It’s ironic, then, that its current owners, Brad and Havird Usry, don’t indulge in this kind of eating on a day-to-day basis.

“I’ve obviously been involved with Fat Man’s for my entire life so, yes, I’ll enjoy a piece of fried chicken and some mac and cheese every now and then, but that would be my Friday meal,” Havird Usry said, laughing. “Monday through Thursday, though, I eat very little animal proteins and eat a lot of plant-based meals.”

It will come as little surprise, then, that the Usrys’ new restaurant concept at 1006 and 1008 Broad Street, which they hope will open in March of 2018, will reflect that lifestyle.

Renovations haven’t begun in earnest and they’re keeping the name under wraps, but Havird did explain that the concept is unlike anything downtown Augusta has yet to see.

“There are some similar concepts, but I think our spin’s pretty unique,” he explained. “We will have some sandwiches and wraps and a few things that, if people want to eat a really hearty meal, they can. We’re going to do some different types of smoothies and juices that will be pretty cool.”

Havird’s favorite aspect of the new restaurant, however, is how it will support other local businesses while they are supporting the restaurant.

“I’ve been involved with Augusta Locally Grown and East Georgia Produce, who’s just south of Waynesboro, and literally every ingredient we’re getting for this place is right here,” he said. “You can drive within the day and pick everything up. The furthest thing would be Beaufort, South Carolina, for shrimp, so it’s pretty cool, and I think we’re supporting the people around us with the food.”

The new concept will feature counter service during both the day and evening, a full bar, a 50-seat back deck, and a market where customers can buy items like small-batch vinaigrettes, locally made jams and preserves, and even ingredients like hydroponic lettuce.

It will also feature lots of salads, Havird’s meal of choice, mostly raw ingredients, no mayonnaise-based dressing, and very little use of natural gas, grease and other restaurants’ cooking methods, which can have a negative impact on the environment.

“I’m going to be back there cooking with a convection oven and that’s it,” he said. “Restaurants tend to leave a heavy, heavy footprint on our environment, so we’ll be operating all off of electricity. No natural gas, no grease, no frying. I feel that, as far as sustainability and leaving a footprint, there’s a dirty part of restaurants that people don’t see because it stays in the kitchen.”

The Usrys’ focus may be turning to their new venture, but loyal Fat Man’s customers shouldn’t worry about their old favorite. The Augusta institution is still going strong at Enterprise Mill, where they’re not only packed almost daily, but the to-go catering and events planning for weddings and parties is doing a booming business.

Here, Havird sees potential for growth and positive changes as well. The Usrys recently leased an Enterprise Mill loft which faces the courtyard, which can serve as a prep area for brides and their wedding parties. It even has salon chairs and mirrors.

Newly married couples can also stay in the loft after the ceremony and reception before heading off on their honeymoons.

“I feel like we’ve also improved things and, to be honest, there’s a lot of venues around town who’ve kind of stepped their game up, so, to be competitive with the venues we have in Augusta, we have to add those amenities and really cater to people,” he explained. “I think that’s kind of what we bring here is the full package: you come here, you can get ready here, you can have your rehearsal dinner here, you can have your wedding ceremony, your wedding reception. It’s all in one place, one office to book everything out of, so there’s no hop, skip and jumping to get everything taken care of.”

And with Augusta’s mild weather of the past few years, the outdoor areas like the gazebo and the covered patio with the working fireplace are being used more and more during what’s considered catering’s “off seasons.”

“What is January and February these days? It’s just another March, if we have another winter like we had last year. It’s super mild, and anybody can sit out in the gazebo for half an hour for a wedding ceremony. It’s beautiful,” he said. “The other covered space outdoors has a working fireplace, so even with holiday parties, people have the fireplace cranked up and bar out there.”

The only things Fat Man’s Mill Café and Catering don’t offer are photography and wedding cakes and, according to Havird, even the latter doesn’t make much of a difference these days. More and more couples, he explained, are moving away from traditional bride’s and groom’s cakes and toward popular items like dessert and candy bars. He’s even booked s’mores bars.

That flexibility is what customers love and it’s why the catering business is already booked up through the weekends in November and December for holiday parties, and is almost booked up through the next summer for weddings.

And that flexibility extends to Fat Man’s to-go catering for weekday lunches.

“That’s kind of our bread and butter as Fat Man’s, and the restaurant is really catering to the offices around town,” he said. “There’s nothing too small that we don’t take, and we really take care of our customers. I think that’s what puts us over the top of your corporate places that are now here in town. And customers know they can contact us two hours out and we’ll still make sure they have food there for lunch.”

Even while keeping the Fat Man’s train rolling along, the new restaurant is never far from Havird’s mind. In fact, make a visit to Fat Man’s and you’ll often see the “speshul” on the chalkboard is actually something he has in mind for the new place.

“I’m testing signature creations and recipes here. Right now we have one that has organic produce from East Georgia Produce in a salad that we’re running,” he said, referring to the Southern Summer Salad, which is topped with a sweet tea vinaigrette. “Though we’re six or seven months out from opening the doors of a new restaurant, we are testing the recipes, and it’s kind of nice to have a venue like Fat Man’s that’s open to testing those things and getting feedback from customers. So far so good.”

And though he doesn’t indulge often, Havird knows what his Fat Man’s customers really want.

“The meat and three is by far the most of what we sell,” he admitted. “People still come here and get a hefty lunch. Especially on a day like today, Friday, the ticket rack will be lined up. I think we’ve improved, even on the meat and three side. There’s always room for improvement to add love to those recipes. It’s called soul food because you have to add a little heart to it and love and soul to make sure things taste good for the folks coming through the door.”

For more information about Fat Man’s Mill Café and Catering, call 706-733-1740 or visit fatmans.com.

August 16, 2017

Forget Your Troubles

by Amy Christian August 16, 2017

Les Reagan, the founding director of The Augusta Broadway Singers (TAB), had no trouble deciding what the theme of the group’s upcoming show would be: “Hope… Happiness… Harmony…” is what he trusts audiences will feel when they leave the show.

“I decided I wanted a feel-good concert, just due to so much garbage going on in the world, so much heartache, so much hurt, so much worry and all,” he said. “I just wanted a few minutes, maybe an hour or an hour and a half of ‘Ahhhhhhh.’ We need that, just to take ourselves away. So in planning this program I looked at music that I thought would do that, would take us on this little journey of feeling good.”

This will be TAB’s third dinner show at the DoubleTree Hotel, where Reagan serves as general manager, since its inception in 2013. In 2014, they presented a holiday-themed event and went on to stage “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” a musical that incorporated girl-group songs of the 1950s and ‘60s.

This time around the group, which only performs musical numbers that are currently in or have been in Broadway and off-Broadway shows, will feature well-known songs such as “Joyful, Joyful” from “Sister Act,” “All Good Gifts” from “Godspell,” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” from “Guys and Dolls.”

Perhaps the most famous feel-good song of the program, though, will be performed by 12-year-old Heidi Gray, who will join TAB on stage Friday and Saturday night to sing “Tomorrow” from “Annie.”

“With this concert, we are featuring Heidi Gray, who is from North Augusta and has done a lot of theatre work around town with many of us,” Reagan said. “And she, of course, is most noted for landing the role of Annie in the Broadway national tour of ‘Annie.’ She has just returned a few months ago from touring the U.S. and Asia on a national tour. She’s doing a couple of numbers with us.”

“Tomorrow” is a song that no musical theatre lover gets tired of hearing, and Reagan says that sentiment goes for Gray as well.

“I asked her, ‘Are you tired of it yet?’ and she said, ‘Oh no, no, no, no,’” he said. “Because most of us, by the time we get to a show, we’re like, ‘Ugh, can we move on to another show?’ She does such a phenomenal job with it.”

In addition to making the audience forget their troubles for a while, Reagan said he and the members of TAB chose most of the songs because of their connection to them. Many of the members of the group are local theatre performers who have sung these numbers in productions from years past.

“For instance, the song ‘Happiness’ from ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown;’ that’s one of the songs we sing. Well, we’ve got several people who have done the show, from all different ages from several years ago. We have three Lucys from different times that are in it,” Reagan explained. “My wife and my daughter are singing in this, and we were all involved in ‘Godspell’ at different times. We met two other people who are in the group through doing ‘Godspell’ here locally years ago.”

Audiences will learn of these local connections when TAB introduces each song.

“It’s just one of those, ‘Welcome to our house, here’s who we are,’” he said. “And let’s have a moment of fun, and a moment of good, and maybe a moment of tears because there’s some beautiful stuff in the show.”

Hope… Happiness… Harmony…
DoubleTree Hotel
Fri-Sat, August 18-19
Dinner, 6 p.m.; show, 7 p.m.
$45, adults; $20, ages 5-12 (reservations required)
706-855-8100

August 16, 2017

Hand in Hand

by Amy Christian August 9, 2017

To Robert Williams, being in the restaurant business is a lot like being in the music industry.

“A song is very much like a recipe, and a band is like your kitchen staff — your drummer may be your sauté guy — it’s like a line,” he explained. “A group of musicians is like the connection you make working a line with a group of guys and gals. When you make that recipe, you’re trying to duplicate that song. When you’re doing that plate, you’re hoping you’re pulling that song off the same way every time. To me, a lot of those things are very similar.”

It’s not surprising for the owner of Roux’s Catering and The Foundry to make that analogy. Next to food, music is one of the passions of his life. It’s a passion he shares with a few other big names in the downtown food scene, who often travel together on what they call “summer tours.”

This past summer they spend their collective vacations in Chicago seeing a series of shows. The year before, they watched Widespread Panic perform multiple nights at the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado.

And while music is the reason they and their families make these trips, food is never far from anyone’s mind.

“Sean (Wight, owner of Frog Hollow Tavern, Craft & Vine and Farmhaus) and I, when we travel, we will have a food plan really before we plan anything else,” Williams laughed. “We will know two months in advance, ‘Okay, this is where we’re having dinner, this is where we’re having lunch, we’ll do this for breakfast.’ My wife and I are the same way, whether we’re traveling together or with a group of friends. Natalie and I will explore the different things we want to do and it gets to be afternoon and it’s like, ‘Let’s just go someplace and have a drink and a couple of snacks.’ Instead of going to a theme park, we may go belly up to a bar and have a couple of glasses of wine and some small plates. That’s how we kill time.”

Call it continuing education. Call it recon. Whatever it is, Williams always comes back with a ton of ideas and pictures, many of which make it into journals full of ideas he keeps at home.

“That’s as important to me (when traveling for shows): seeing new things, trying new things, eating foods in other parts of the country and, somehow, finding ideas that we can bring back and use in our own businesses,” he said. “My head is so full of all these things that we’ve seen traveling on summer tours, as we call them.”

The challenge, he says, is finding what works for a catering company. A restaurateur would have an easier time taking an idea that he found in another market — whether it be for presentation or a dish with new ingredients, adapting it and placing it on his menu, where 30 people may order it in one night. Williams, on the other hand, has to think about what would happen if a catering client ordered 500 of this new dish, or even 1,000.

“As much as I think about food all the time, and eat food, and try food in different places, it’s trying to find what makes sense for our market,” he said. “The biggest challenge for me, coming from restaurants, is, ‘Could I do a thousand of these? Is it feasible?’ You may get lots of great ideas, but you have to look at it in away that you’re not setting yourself up for failure if somebody orders them.”

That means certain fan favorites will always be available for order on a Roux’s menu, dishes like chicken sticks, quesadillas, and inventively presented versions of childhood favorites like banana pudding and pecan pie. And though catering clients often want to order these tried and true dishes, Williams says he is encouraged by how forward-thinking many of his clients have become. And many are the younger clients, like a more spontaneous bride who has thoroughly researched social media before coming to him and often communicates solely through technology.

It’s the “millennial effect,” and Williams says he sees it everywhere, from the increase in foot traffic downtown to the need for many of his clients to know what exactly is going into the dishes they’re ordering to their desire to have an event in someplace that doesn’t have the impersonal feel of a ballroom in a hotel or conference center.

It’s one reason Williams is so pleased with the public’s response to The Foundry at Rae’s Creek, his new event venue on Boy Scout Road. Open a little more than a year and a half, The Foundry is a mix of industrial and farmhouse looks. Guests open the door to what looks like a clubhouse, which then opens into a large event space. In the back is a covered patio with an outdoor fireplace, which is becoming more and more popular with brides.

“The covered patio is a huge asset. It’s one of the things we were adamant about with that design. We wanted an outdoor space but we wanted it to be covered because our weather here is so unpredictable,” he said. “It’s a beautiful setting. Even in the spring or fall, having the fire going on the back patio makes it such a nice, inviting space to sit, whether it’s raining or not raining. And even in the winter, we have those big heaters so it’s still comfortable.”

Williams and his wife live near The Foundry, so he knew firsthand of the need for an event venue in that part of town. Still, his heart remains in downtown, where Roux’s has been headquartered at the Marbury Center for 18 years.

“At the time it really was a pretty big leap of faith for us, although it was a little bit more interesting then,” he admitted. “Coco (Rubio) was doing what he was doing at the Soul Bar and Mike (Schepis) was doing his thing down at Pizza Joint. Pizza Joint was still in its original location, so, when we moved into the Marbury Center, there was really nothing here except for Sunshine Bakery. Barry (Blackston) was doing his thing with Nacho Mama’s, so there were a few things bringing people downtown, but nothing like it is now.”

Williams has seen downtown come a long way and is optimistic that it will continue to grow with the construction of two new hotels. He has plenty of ideas for helping that growth along, from more parking to making concessions and restrooms more accessible at the Jessye Norman Amphitheatre when events like Friends With Benefits’ recent Gov’t Mule and Galactic shows were being held there. He even wants the James Brown Arena replaced with something more modern at the same location, something that includes a James Brown Museum on site.

Williams, however, would settle for people just appreciating what their town has to offer.

“I am so not a part of this Disgusta crowd. It annoys the fool out of me,” he said, shaking his head. “When you think of the way we’re moving with all the cyber and NSA stuff, all the growth we’ve had, and the continued growth of the university, some of the acts that have come to town, the great restaurants we have, Augusta is becoming somewhat of a destination place. It may not be a place you go for a week, but I think it’s a hell of a good place to come for a weekend and eat at some good quality restaurants. There is a lot that Augusta offers now. I’ve always been proud to say I’m from Augusta but I’m even more proud now because I think we are moving in the right direction.”

And just like Augusta, Williams says he getting to the point where he’s ready for a little growth of his own in the form of his own restaurant.

“I think about it all the time, and I think I’m closer now to doing it than I have been in 20 years,” he said. “I’ve finally gotten to the point where I think I’m ready for that next adventure when it comes to the restaurant side of things. I haven’t completely jumped in whole hog yet, but I’m closer mentally than I have ever been. It is something I miss. First and foremost, I’m a line cook. I’m not a fancy chef, I’m a line cook and that’s where I’m most comfortable: on a line with a group of guys and gals on Friday night just getting our ass handed to us. That’s what I found great pleasure in. I miss it to this day.”

One of the reasons he feels that now (or soon) may be a good time for opening a restaurant is that he sees many diners moving away from chains and toward locally owned neighborhood joints. Which is great, except that the sameness and consistency of chain restaurants can’t often be duplicated by locally owned restaurants.

“And this kind of goes back to my analogy of a band,” he said. “You could go see Widespread Panic every night for a month. No two shows are going to be exactly the same. They’re going to miss a note here and there, one version of this song is going to be better than another version of the song they play later on in the tour, but, all in all, it’s still a good experience. I’m not going to stop because something was off. Every restaurant I’ve been to in town, at one time or another, has had an off night. It just happens. It’s the way life is. It’s hard to be perfect all the time.”

For more information about Roux’s Catering, the Marbury Center and The Foundry at Rae’s Creek, visit rouxscatering.com or thefoundryaugusta.com.

August 9, 2017

Second Anniversary Celebration

by Amy Christian July 27, 2017

It was a novel concept when it opened in the summer of 2015: A barbecue joint that was serious about its food, but not so serious about much else. Beer is served in cans. Cocktails are served in plastic cups. The food is delicious but not expensive. and you’re welcome to eat and leave but, if you want to linger over another beer (or three) and hear some live music, that’s great too.

“We have canned beer, almost like it’s out of a cooler, and we want it to feel like you’re at a cookout,” co-owner Brian Brittingham said shortly before Southbound Smokehouse’s soft opening July 13, 2015. “Nothing too crazy, nothing too fancy or crafty.”

Southbound Smokehouse’s concept was quick to catch on, not only with the Hill folk who loved that Brittingham and co-owner George Claussen decided to continue the tradition of great restaurants at the site of the former Le Café DuTeau and Crums on Central, but with everyone who liked good food and the jam band style of live music Claussen prefers with the concerts he organizes with Friends with Benefits.

So crowds turned out in droves for Southbound Smokehouse’s second anniversary party, which took place Wednesday, July 26, at the restaurant.

And it’s no wonder why the place was packed. In addition to the lure of their Almost Famous Wings, sandwiches like The Pimento Cheese Incident and, of course, the barbecue with all the fixins, this party featured a one-of-a-kind musical performance.

Todd Nance and Jerry Joseph, formerly of Widespread Panic, and John Neff, formerly of Drive-By Truckers, performed an acoustic set, much to the delight of the gathered crowd. There was birthday cake to be had and the party lasted well into the night.

Happy anniversary, Southbound Smokehouse, and here’s to many more.

July 27, 2017

The Coolest Place You’ll Never Find

by Amy Christian July 5, 2017

The term “B&B” means something a little different at the Olde Town Inn than it does at other places that describe themselves that way.

“It is a B&B,” admits co-owner Chuck Hardin, “but the B&B stands for bed and a bar because there is no breakfast.”

In other words, if you want breakfast, you’ll have to wait until 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday, when The Fox’s Lair downstairs opens and can offer you a Bloody Mary.

Hardin and co-owner Melinda Jones bought both the Inn and The Fox’s Lair on July 5 of last year. While they’re celebrating that anniversary this week, they’re also celebrating the fact that The Fox’s Lair has been open for 40 years.

As is befitting such a mysterious place, often described as “Augusta’s best-kept secret,” the origin of the Lair is up for debate and available largely by word of mouth.

“One of our most regular regulars swears that either his uncle or father, or someone like that, came here in 1978, and knew it was operating as a bar in 1977,” Hardin laughs.

After unsuccessfully attempting to get “Crutch” on the phone to verify the story, Hardin continues to recount the history he’s heard about the Olde Town neighborhood, which goes hand in hand with the creation of The Fox’s Lair and the Olde Town Inn.

“This neighborhood did not even have the name Olde Town until Peter Knox gave it that name,” he said. “Peter went around and bought parcels of land down here in the neighborhood called Pinched Gut [it’s also referred to as Pinchgut in some places] and then got to renovating. A collection of eight of those parcels were in this courtyard here and became the Telfair Inn. This building was the office building for the Telfair Inn.”

Knox, by all accounts, was an avid fox hunter and decided to finish the basement in that office building so he and his friends would have a place to hang out after hunting.

The building’s fascinating history goes back much further than that, however. It was erected in 1896 and somehow escaped being damaged by a fire in 1916 that destroyed much of the same block. Many think that the last legal duel in the state of Georgia was fought over a woman who lived there, in what used to be called the Delaigle House.

Oh, and there may or may not be a ghost.

“As far as we know, there’s only one ghost,” Hardin laughed. “People say there are two, but we think there’s only one. I believe our ghost is either the spirit of Louise de L’Aigle, daughter of the woman over whom the legal legal duel was fought, or her mother, Mary Clarke de Laigle, the actual woman whose honor the fight was about.”

And, yes, all those name spellings are correct. The family’s name was Anglicized and eventually ended up as Delaigle. There continues to be a brass plaque on the wall of the building identifying it as The Delaigle House and some of the Delaigle descendants still live in Olde Town.

The Olde Town Inn and The Fox’s Lair are unique, and not just because of their history. Where else in Augusta can you find a four-room inn above a bar? And where else can you find a true neighborhood bar?

As far as we know, only in Olde Town.

“There are bars that people could argue work hard to be a neighborhood bar,” Hardin said, mentioning restaurants with bars that have appeared on Central and Monte Sano avenues and in Surrey Center, “but they’re still in a business area. We’re in a dadgum neighborhood. And with the rooms up above, it’s such a cool staycation place. So many people we run into say they spent their honeymoon in one of our rooms and we have wedding parties who are booking with us now. Bridesmaids groups and things like that.”

The convenience of their location — within walking distance of most anything downtown yet far enough away from the crowds to lend it a quiet and relaxed atmosphere — has increase people’s interest in the inn. But the two businesses have a lot more going for them than just location.

The Fox’s Lair is open four nights a week and Hardin says they have live music every night. Tuesday’s are especially popular with Dr. John Fisher leading a group that plays Irish music.

“It’s huge,” Hardin says of Tuesday nights at the Lair, a typically slow night for any bar. “It starts early and ends early, so you can still get up and go to work the next day. People love that. Dr. John Fisher’s been doing that at least 12 years in this location that we know of.”

Thursday nights are dedicated to open mic, while Fridays and Saturdays feature local and regional singer-songwriters and bands, all of whom love the small room’s acoustics.

“They say they sound better here than almost any other place they play,” Hardin said. “The acoustics in here are fantastic and I think we’re just lucky. I think the ceiling shape has a lot to do with it, the bricks, it’s not a smooth wall, the ceiling beams. And it’s got that feel to it. The room is cozy and someone who’s got the right vibe and soul in their voice can really shut the place up. We’re not a listening room, we don’t tell you to be quiet, but I’ve seen people like Carey Murdock shut the room up just because we’ve got that atmosphere here.”

Another plus is that even when the live music is going strong, you can still carry on a conversation without yelling.

“Last night there was a group of students here and I started wondering why they had come,” Hardin said. “They were talking and then it just came to me: It’s because it’s quieter. They can sit down and talk and have a conversation even when there’s music going on without it being craziness going on around them. I don’t know what the right word is, but it’s just a nice atmosphere for visiting with who you came with. Being with the people you came with.”

The biggest plus for The Fox’s Lair, however, has got to its legendary bartender. Judy Whitaker has been mixing drinks with a smile on her face for 23 years, and Hardin said he and Jones wouldn’t have considered buy the place if she hadn’t stayed. While both have experience owning businesses — Hardin owns White Cap Water Sports and Jones owned her own salon for 15 years before becoming the area manager for three Fantastic Sam’s locations about to open locally — neither have bar, restaurant or hospitality industry experience.

“Melinda and I had no bartending experience. I know how to drink, but I don’t know how to make them,” Hardin said. “But Judy will remember every person who comes in here. If she does not remember your name, which is rare, she’ll remember what you drank. Even if you’ve only been in here once, years ago, you can walk in and she’ll say, ‘Manhattan?’ And it freaks people out. There are people who will come in the door and, if she’s not behind the bar, they’ll say, ‘Judy not working tonight?’ And if you say no, they’ll turn around and walk out.”

One of the things that Hardin and Jones were wary of when they took over The Fox’s Lair a year ago was changing much. A large portion of their customers are regulars, some who have been coming to the Lair for 30 years or so and consider it “their” bar. The two have made some subtle adjustments, however.

In addition to their regulars, Hardin has notice more and more young professionals visiting, something for which he gives his business partner the credit.

“Do you remember the old TV westerns and they had a saloon with a woman who was the saloon manager that everybody knew? That’s Melinda,” he said. “She’s got that enthusiasm and personality. She likes everybody and everybody likes her.”

It’s Melinda who promotes The Fox’s Lair on social media and, Hardin said, it’s Melinda and Judy who book the bands. In fact, for the first time ever, there will be a cover charge to see one of the bands visiting The Lair in July.

And as for the old “best-kept secret” moniker? Well, Hardin and Jones decided they didn’t want the Lair to be a secret anymore. They’ve added lead-in signs and lights to the bar’s Fourth Street sign.

Still, it’s been difficult to shake The Fox’s Lair’s air of mystery and when a fan posted a new slogan, Hardin thought it was just perfect.

“We hadn’t had this place for very long before somebody posted on Facebook, ‘Just had a great night at The Fox’s Lair, the coolest place you’ll never find,’” he said. “And I just thought that was awesome and said, ‘That’s what we’re going with.’”

The Fox’s Lair at the Olde Town Inn
349 Telfair Street, Augusta
Inn open daily; Fox’s Lair open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m.
706-828-5600
oldetowninnaugusta.com

July 5, 2017

The Legacy Continues

by Amy Christian June 28, 2017

Exactly two years after he died, Andy Jordan’s friends and family will do what the local legend loved to do most — ride bikes.

The date of the inaugural Flow Master race, a 20-mile cross-country mountain bike race at the world famous Forks Area Trail System (FATS) course, was a complete accident, said Andy’s son Drew.

“The race is going to be on October 21, of all dates,” chuckled Drew, who took over ownership of Andy Jordan’s Bicycle Warehouse downtown after his father died on October 21, 2015. “It was kind of funny. When me and Paul, the guy from SORBA (the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association) who is helping me with the race, kept tossing dates around, it always kept coming back to that one. I was like, ‘This is too much.’”

The date may have been a bittersweet but (somewhat) happy accident, but the reason behind the race is one that falls right into the bike shop’s wheelhouse, if you will. Whether it’s setting up DIY bike repair stations along local trails, holding group rides and maintenance clinics for cyclists of all types and abilities, or volunteering to do bike maintenance at local races, community service has always been an important component of Andy Jordan’s business model.

Flow Master, which costs $50 and is limited to 125 riders, is no different. The money raised will go straight to SORBA-CSRA, a local group that created and FATS, a system that has earned the International Mountain Biking Association’s Eric Trail status.

“FATS is an absolute gem of a trail for us,” Drew said. “There’s people from all over coming to ride those trails. A couple of weeks ago we had this group from southern Florida coming up to ride. We see that group a few times a year, actually. And a few weeks prior to that there were some guys from Pennsylvania out riding it. So there are people coming to ride FATS from all over the region and the country.”

In the past few seasons, however, the 37 miles of trail in Sumter National Forest near Clarks Hill, S.C., has been showing signs of wear.

“We’ve had some hard winters where it was real wet and didn’t have time to dry out, and maybe some people went out there and rode anyway and that ends up expediting the erosion process and you get more ruts forming on the trail and more exposed rocks and roots that you might not expect,” he explained. “So the local club, SORBA, they’re raising money to resurface the trail and, hopefully, even add a little more to the trail.”

The trails are free for all — cyclists, runners, hikers — to use, but SORBA also has a strong community involvement ethic, so Drew felt it was a good way for him to give something back.

“I’ve always wanted to put a race on out there and this was kind of the motivation I needed, knowing they were trying to raise money,” he said. “I like riding out there and everybody in the store does, too, so it’s a good way to sort of earn my turn, so to speak.”

Speaking of earning his turn, Drew has definitely done so at Andy Jordan’s, a store in which he literally grew up.

Opened by a businessman from Columbia, S.C., Andy Jordan took over the shop in 1974. The store was in his possession for three years when Drew was born, and he says his earliest memory is doing what virtually every kid who comes into their 13th Street location can’t resist doing.

“I just remember being in here and riding bikes around the store,” he laughed. “It’s something every kid likes to do.”

“I don’t know what it is about this building, but as soon as they come in here, they want to start running around, getting bikes down and riding around.”

That was when he was 5 or 6 years old and racing BMX bikes, and the shop was always the place to be before practice or weekend races. That was in the early 1980s, when Drew said BMX teams would tour the country, set up ramps and do tricks for crowds.

“There’s this documentary on the history of BMX called ‘Joe Kid on a Stingray.’ It came out many years ago, but I remember sitting down and watching that and having to hit rewind and re-watch it because our store was actually in that and it was from when one of the teams had come to town to do a show,” Drew said. “We used to have shows on the side of the building in the alleyway. They would set up big ramps and just put on a show for an hour or so, have someone playing music and guys just doing tricks. I remember those days for sure, back in the heyday of BMX, and skateboarding was also getting really big at the time. In fact, one of our local artists who’s now pretty famous, Paul Pearman, he used to skate for my dad back in those same days.”

Drew also remembers doing demo races and shows at the roller-skating rinks, but it’s odd things about the past that come back to him without warning.

“It’s kind of funny the little things you remember,” he said, smiling. “The store was a lot of little rooms then instead of one big open space and I just came across a picture the other day of the old floor. You can actually see it on some of the areas where they’ve stained the floor, you can see where the old tiles were. I remember those tiles. It was just all these old-school, checkerboard, 12 by 12 tiling.”

As the shop grew and evolved, so did Drew’s role in the store. What started as just hanging around, “being a pain in everybody’s butt, I’m sure,” turned into actual work during his high school years. He had a difficult time convincing the folks at Richmond Academy of that, though.

“They had OJT, so you could leave school a little early if you had a job to go to,” Drew remembers. “When they found out that I was going to be working for my dad, they were really giving me a lot of flack about it. So I had to fill out all this paperwork and they would call down here to see if I was actually here. They just assumed that since I was working in the family business, I wasn’t really working in the family business, but I was. I would probably argue that working for your family is a little harder than working for the guy at the fast-food restaurant.”

Drew continued to work at the shop part-time throughout college and, during that time, it was his father who tried to talk him out of making the bike shop a career. Citing the stress of owning a business, Andy encouraged Drew to branch out. As much as Drew tried, however, it only seemed like there was one place he was meant to be.

“My junior and senior years was when I tried to picture myself doing something else, picture myself at a corporate positions or something like that, and I never could get that vision. I almost had this calling to be here,” he said. “So in ’99, I graduated from Augusta State, walked across the stage, then walked through the door here and was full-time from that point on.”

When you’re 40 years old and the bike shop you’ve been involved in has been around for 43 years, chances are you’ve seen your fair share of change. That’s especially true in the bike biz, Drew says.

“You used to have a road bike, a mountain bike, a BMX bike, a kids bike,” he explained. “Now, you have a road bike that’s almost a mountain bike, mountain bikes that are almost road bikes and everything in between. It’s way more specialized, no pun intended (Specialized is one of the three brands of bikes they sell, along with Giant and Liv). People have very specific needs for the riding they want to do.”

And bikes are big, taking up a lot of space in a store. They’ve found an inventive way of storing bikes, hanging them from the ceiling, but they also do their research.

“We try to do some of the shopping for you ahead of time,” he explained. “We look at all the road bikes, the mountain bikes, the hybrid and comfort bikes, and try and figure out which bikes make the most sense and have those bikes in stock. We do special order a lot of stuff for people, because you can’t have every single bike available in here, as much as our vendors would like us to do that, but we have a lot of stuff where you can walk in and ride out. The same goes for parts. We stock the stuff that we feel make the most sense and then whatever we have to special order, we do.”

The internet has also changed the bike business, both for better and for worse.

More than a decade ago, Andy Jordan’s went to a computerized inventory management and point of sale system, something the store’s namesake was none too thrilled about.

“He was not too excited about it, to say the least,” Drew laughed. “And it took a few years for me to ease him into the idea of it. But once we had a few years’ worth of data under our belts, he said, ‘Okay. You were right.’ He loved running reports. I mean, I would have to run them for him and we would sit down and look at them together.”

“He hated the computer at first. Honestly, he probably hated the computer the entire time he was here, but he liked the information it provided you with.”

“I honestly don’t know how he did it as long as he did straight off of gut.”

Since implementing the system, stock duplication has decreased dramatically and that data that Andy loved so much shows Drew exactly what’s selling and what isn’t.

The internet hasn’t always made life easier, however. Not only are you out of luck if the wi-fi or power goes out, but customers are flooded with information and deals. Drew admits there’s no way a small business like Andy Jordan’s can match internet pricing.

“And we are very transparent with our customers about that,” he said. “I’ll tell someone that there’s no way I can match that price, but here’s all the stuff you get when you get it from us. If you buy something from us, you might pay a little bit more for it, but if something needs touched up on it, we’re going to look out for you and do our best to get you back running as soon as possible. There are a lot of little things after the sale that you’re going to get from a local shop versus buying stuff on the internet. You’ve got someone who’s going to have your back.”

Technology isn’t the be all, end all at Andy Jordan’s and, over the years, they’ve kept loyal customers as much through their commitment to service as they have by the quality products they offer. And we’re not just talking about knowledgeable salespeople and a bike service and repair department that can pretty much work magic, although they do have that. We’re talking about a commitment to the cycling community. Not only was Andy Jordan one of the biggest supporters of Wheel Movement when the bicycle safety and education organization formed in 2011, but the goal of every employee is to give each cyclist the best experience possible.

They do this through everything from custom bike fittings, with options that range from a one-hour session to a Body Geometry fitting that can take three hours, to hosting bike maintenance clinics. They offer weekly group rides, as well as a women’s only ride, hosted by Drew’s wife Kim, once every four to six weeks.

Check the “Maps & Rides” section of the store’s website (listed below) to find out more about group rides.

Andy Jordan’s also makes a point of volunteering at races such as the Ironman 70.3 Augusta triathlon held each September. But the preparation for that, and other races, happens way before the event itself. Now, Drew says, is about the time Ironman athletes will begin serious training, which means many trips to the shop to make sure bikes are in top working order. And out of town athletes will often ship their bikes to the store, where the shop’s staff will reassemble and tune them up before the athletes compete.

It’s a lot of work and, ironically enough, work that often keeps Drew from riding.

“A lot of people think that since I own a bike shop I ride all the time; unfortunately, it’s not exactly true,” he admits. “But Kim does a good job of telling me when I need to ride my bike. I’ll come home stressed out or be working on my day off and she’ll say, ‘Go ride your bike.’”

The connection with the cycling community makes it all worthwhile, though.

“The cool thing is, when people are walking through our door, they’re excited to come in here, they want to be in here,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who like being here so much they stop by just to hang out.”

“It’s like their third place, so to speak. You know, you’ve got home, you’ve got work and what’s that third place? For some people it might be a bar, but for a lot of our customers and friends it’s here.”

“That’s pretty cool and it’s pretty flattering when you sit back and think about it.”

So, at the upcoming FATS Flow Master mountain bike race, consider raising a water bottle to Andy Jordan, whose legacy continues 43 years after he first opened his doors.

FATS Flow Master
Forks Area Trail System, Clarks Hill, S.C.
Saturday, October 21
Sign-in, 7 a.m.; race, 9 a.m.
$50
andyjordans.com

June 28, 2017

One and the Same

by Amy Christian June 7, 2017

It has been a rough month for Derek Trucks.

The bandleader of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, co-named for his musical and life partner Susan Tedeschi, was in Macon last weekend for the funeral of Gregg Allman. While Trucks has been touring and playing music since he was about 9 years old, it was Allman who gave him his start. Trucks begin sitting in with the band when he was around 12 and became a full-fledged member when he was 19.

Allman died in Savannah on May 27, making it two influential individuals Trucks lost during the month.

“I guess around that time I was playing The Post Office and The Red Lion I met a good friend, Col. Bruce Hampton, and he really became family,” Trucks recently remembered. “He became a part of our crew. He was close to everyone around us — my little brothers and sister and then when we had kids. But even before that, when I was young, he was great about turning you on to the right things at the right times. When he thought you were ready for something he would drop the right book or the right record.”

And yes, that’s right, when he was between 10 and 12 years old, Trucks was playing the Augusta bar scene.

“In hindsight, it was pretty unique,” he said. “My dad traveled with me. He made sure I was aware of what was going on around me. He shielded me from some stuff, but just enough to let me get an understanding. Usually when parents are supporting their kids in that way they are trying to extract something. My dad made it clear we could stop at any point. He wasn’t living his music career through me. I was lucky. We have a very close family that way.”

That music is a family affair is something Trucks credits for keeping him grounded and away from the darker side of the business that many musicians fall prey to.

“You would see people who would just let their ego get away from them and the music would suffer,” he said. “A lot of darker things too: people that would OD, a lot of broken families, a lot of those things. You certainly are better for it when you survive those things or, in my case, watch those things.”

But for every dark side he witnessed, Trucks said there were people like Col. Bruce who showed him the flip side of the coin.

“And then you meet some people along the way who point you in the right direction and it’s the other side of that coin. You don’t only have to learn from the bumps in the road. There are some people who shine a light in different directions,” he said of Col. Bruce. “My dad was always really good about making sure that your attitude and your humility stayed intact, and that was always the Colonel’s thing, too, kind of taking musicians’ egos and just shattering them… in a loving way. He made sure you knew that you weren’t curing cancer for a living. It’s a magical thing, music, when it’s working, but the people that take themselves too seriously are missing the point. Take the work seriously, but not yourself was always kind of the MO.”

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi were, in fact, two of the people on the Fox Theatre stage in Atlanta on May 1 when Col. Bruce collapsed near the end of his 70th birthday celebration.

“We were right there,” he said. “It was the end of the night and he was just a few feet in front of us and, yep, I’ve never heard of anything quite like that. Doing what you love and surrounded by people that love you… that’s a minor miracle, without a doubt.”

Allman and Col. Bruce aren’t the only losses Trucks has suffered lately, however. He, like everyone in the Augusta area, is still mourning the loss of Sharon Jones.

“It’s been a rough few years for losing people close to you, Trucks said. “We had gotten pretty close with Sharon Jones, and she was an inspiration just because of how hard she fought through her thing, and then the Colonel. I’ve never experienced anything quite like that and I think people are still kind of processing that in their own way, but I feel lucky to have known him. It hurts losing a friend and someone who really felt like family, but you do realize how lucky you are to have people like that in your circle… ever. Sharon, too. You don’t meet people with that kind of spirit often, and you have to make sure you don’t take it for granted.”

tedeschitrucf05b Trucks first started touring with his dad as a child and, now, as an adult, he tours with his wife Susan, a musical giant in her own right. Music, therefore, has always been the family business for Trucks and the two are so intertwined that it’s difficult to separate one from the other, he said.

“I feel like there was never a separation,” Trucks explained. “I grew up around the Allman Brothers mythos and, you know, if you look at the inside cover of “Brothers and Sisters” it’s just full band and crew and family and that’s the way I always thought about that. When I was traveling in the beginning, my dad was always there, but my mom and my brothers were there as much as they could be, so it always felt like one and the same. You know, when you put a band together and start touring, you end up spending as much time, or more time, with your band as you do anyone else in your life so it really does become a family. So there’s never been much separation. It’s never felt like anything but that, and I think when we put this band together that was certainly in our mind. These are people you want to spend a long time with and go to bat for.”

The Tedeschi Trucks Band tours a lot. In fact, their upcoming visit to the Bell marks only a little more than a year from their last visit to the venue. How do they make that work when they have two teenage children? The answer is simple. Family.

“Again, we’re really fortunate,” he admitted. “My parents live six doors down from us and my brother and his wife are 10 doors down in the other direction, so when we’re on the road and the kids are still in school, Mom will move into our house and it’s a little village over here. Yeah, I don’t think we’d feel fully comfortable doing it if that wasn’t the case. Before, it was Susan touring, I was touring, one of us was home or the kids were touring with one of us, but it’s nicer now because when we’re together, everyone’s together. It’s not as fragmented as it was before.”

Then there’s the husband-wife dynamic in the band. While Trucks swears that Susan’s last name is first the band name simply because “Trucks Tedeschi just doesn’t sound good; that’s a total mess,” it was certainly a smart move on his part. Another smart move is the band’s policy of keeping issues out in the open.

“You don’t want to carry anything to the stage, if anything is going on,” he laughed. “And I think this extends to us as a band. We really try to deal with things as they come up. We try to just shine a light on what’s going on. But, you know, we waited a long time before we put a band together. We had been together for more than 10 years and had been married a long time and had kids before we ever decided we were ready for a band together. We wanted to make sure we really knew each other before we jumped into something like this. I’m glad we waited because I think by the time we put a group together we knew each other really well. We felt like we were ready for it. We weren’t naïve. We knew there would be bumps in the road but it really has been much smoother than we ever imagined. I think having a really good band helps. Everyone’s in a good mood when things are rolling along. Not that we started this group and everything was simple from the beginning, but you feel like you’re on the right track, doing the right thing.”

And though Trucks has been playing guitar for nearly 30 years now, it never feels like a chore.

“There are times when the traveling will get tedious or just the everything that comes along with being a bandleader with a 12-piece band running an organization. That stuff can get to be a bit much, but the playing is never a problem,” he explained. “There are good nights and bad nights, but it’s an amazing thing. You feel like there’s always, always work to do musically. You feel like you’re always just scratching the surface, which is a good thing. I never get into too major of a rut and, when you do, you just put on a few good records and it reminds you of why you play. You put on something that really moves you and inspires you and, somehow, it really cleans the slate and gets you back. In some ways you always want to be progressing, you always want to be moving forward, but you always want to keep that direct connection with why you are doing it in the first place and why you started playing when you were 9 or 10 and there are some things you do when you first step on stage that should really never leave you. There is a sound and a purity and an intention that, if you have that, if you can somehow keep a direct line to that, I think that keeps you sane and keeps you doing it.”

Tedeschi Trucks Band, w/ Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett of Little Feat
Bell Auditorium
Tuesday, June 13
8 p.m.
$19.50-$79.50
877-4AUGTIX
georgialinatix.com

June 7, 2017

A Family Affair

by Amy Christian June 2, 2017

Derek Trucks was performing in bars and nightclubs in Augusta, “When maybe I was 10, 11… 12?”

Besides the Walton Way institution the Red Lion Pub, Trucks remembers the former Post Office and its pool table.

Trucks has kept that family vibe as an important part of his music career. Now nearing 40 years old, he tours with his wife, Susan Tedeschi, a musical giant in her own right. The Tedeschi Trucks Band visits the Bell Auditorium Tuesday, June 13, with Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett of Little Feat joining the couple on stage.

That music is a family affair is something Trucks credits for keeping him grounded and away from the darker side of the business that many musicians fall prey to.

To hear more of what Trucks had to say to Metro Spirit writer Amy Christian, including his memories of being on the Fox Theatre stage in Atlanta when Col. Bruce Hampton, who was like a second father to him, collapsed and died during his 70th birthday all-star show, pick up next Thursday’s copy of the Metro Spirit, on stands June 8.

June 2, 2017

Continuing the Tradition

by Amy Christian May 17, 2017

When big band legend Glenn Miller left fame behind in 1942 to join the Armed Forces, he was at the pinnacle of his career.

“It’s kind of interesting: When he joined he was at the height of his popularity, said Air Force SMSgt. Tyler Kuebler. “He was like the equivalent of, I don’t know, like a Justin Bieber or a Taylor Swift or something. I think it was calculated at one point that he took a million percent pay cut to enlist in the Air Force and serve his country.”

Maj. Glenn Miller

Right before Christmas in 1944, Major Glenn Miller’s planned disappeared over the English Channel. In 1950, the U.S. Air Force Band, made up of six musical ensembles, was created to carry on Miller’s legacy.

One of the ensembles, the Airmen of Note, will swing through Augusta on Thursday, May 25, on their way to play the Jacksonville Jazz Festival on Saturday, May 27. While here, they play a free concert at 7 p.m. at Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School.

SMSgt. Kuebler, who serves as superintendent (second in command) of the Airmen of Note and plays lead alto sax, takes the band’s mission of remembering both Miller’s music and service to his country seriously.

“The band was created specifically to carry on the tradition that Major Glenn Miller started in the Air Force’s dance orchestra,” he explained. “Ever since then we pay tribute to his music at every single concert we do, so we have that lineage and heritage of his music, and then we also try to stay on the cutting edge of contemporary jazz and big band. So it’s a really wide range of music and styles that we present to the audience.”

SMSgt. Kuebler, like most members of the 18-piece ensemble, has an advanced music degree. He’s actually Dr. SMSgt. Kuebler, if you want to get technical about it. Similarly, most did not enlist in the Air Force until they had auditioned and obtained a spot in the band, a world-renowned one with an excellent reputation both within the military and in the civilian music community.

“The band has an international reputation for being one of the best big bands out there and I was aware of the band since I started music, boy, I guess in elementary school?” he explained. “I heard the band live when I was in high school when they headlined a jazz festival in California where I lived at the time and, after I’d finished my master’s degree, I was living in Los Angeles and freelancing, teaching, just living the professional musician lifestyle, and I had some friends in the band who gave me a call and said, ‘Hey the lead tenor spot has opened up. You should come and audition.’ So I sent a tape in and made the final and they invited out for the live audition and that was 1998.”

Members of the band go through basic training before joining the band at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C.

“We don’t get moved around like most military members,” he said of the unusual military career path. “Once we’re in D.C. we stay her for our entire career, so it’s not unusual for someone to spend 23 years in the band. We do have other collateral duties inside our unit that are related to our musical mission, but this is our job in the Air Force and it’s a really unique job.”

SMSgt. Kuebler said the band’s year is divided into season, with summer spent in town performing at different landmarks: The U.S. Capitol steps, the Air Force Memorial and the Washington Monument, to name a few.

The spring is spent focusing on the Jazz Heritage Series.

“We bring in international jazz artists and record with them,” SMSgt. Kuebler said. “We put on a concert in the area and then we record it and release it as a CD that we send out as a free product across the country and Canada that they can play on Veterans Day or July Fourth.”

The Airmen used to tour in both the spring and fall and, with the exception of this outing, is now limited to the fall.

This short series, anchored around their appearance at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, is a way for them to fulfill their other mission, which is community outreach. The band has an education outreach program called Advancing Innovation Through Music (AIM), which allows them to work with students at clinics and master classes, and they often conduct these in conjunction with their concerts.

It is a way for the general public to interact with members of the military, which most have little chance of doing.

“I think the power of the band is that many people are never exposed to military personnel,” SMSgt. Kuebler said. “It’s not every day that you get to see what people in the military do, so it’s our job to go out into the communities and give them a taste of the excellence that all of our brothers and sisters in the Air Force are showing on a daily basis. We try to represent them so people in the communities have an idea of what’s going on in the Air Force. So it’s a great tool to spread that message.”

“I think it really boils down to our core mission statement: Being able to represent and honor not only the Air Force, but to honor the service of the veterans that have come before us,” he continued. “We have so many veterans who show up just to come and see a military group again. I can’t tell you the number of times people have broken down and cried, and you can see the pride and service they live by. To honor their service and to represent the current crop of active-duty, guard and reserve people, that’s a huge honor for us to do.”

The United States Air Force Airmen of Note
Davidson Fine Arts School Theatre
Thursday, May 25
7 p.m.
Free, but tickets required
eventbrite.com (search for USAF Band)

May 17, 2017

Something Different

by Amy Christian May 3, 2017

Alex Zhao, a new Augusta resident from New York and who most recently lived in Atlanta, grew up in the restaurant business. He’s knows a thing or two about the industry, having helped his parents since he was a child.

“I have been in the restaurant business since I can remember, really,” he laughed. “I grew up in the restaurant business. My parents owned sushi restaurants, Chinese restaurants and bars.”

When he came to Augusta, however, Alex decided he wanted to give the area something it didn’t have: A sit-down restaurant with a casual vibe that served Creole-inspired seafood. He has succeeded admirably in The Juicy Crab, which has been open since the middle of February in a prime location next to The Country Club on Washington Road.

“I wanted it to be a laid-back, family oriented restaurant with a bar where families can bring their kids and friends, and couples can come to have dinner out,” he said. “A place to spend quality time with friends and family.”

The interior of the restaurant is definitely conducive to conversation among friends. Decorated in natural wood tones accented with nautical touches and dark furniture, it is inviting without being stuffy. Despite only being open a couple of months, much of the wood on the walls and booths has already been tagged with writing from past guests, which only serves to emphasize the anything goes atmosphere of the airy, two-room restaurant.

Then there’s the food. The Juicy Crab is actually a chain that started in Jacksonville, Florida, so it’s no surprise that seafood is its main focus. Open for lunch and dinner, the menu includes items like calamari, raw and steamed oysters and chicken wings for appetizers and a variety of fried seafood and sides. The real focus, though, is on steamed seafood and low-country boils.

And while The Juicy Crab serves this dish in the traditional manner, it does so with a twist.

“Actually, we made it so you can pick what kind of seafood you want in your low-country boil,” Alex explained. “We have mussels, crawfish, snow crab legs and shrimp. We even have lobster tails and king crab legs if you want to do something different. We’re all about choices.”

The low-country boil comes with a half pound of whatever seafood you choose, then you decide on your seasonings and spice level. The restaurant offers Cajun, lemon pepper and garlic butter seasoning, or you can get the Juicy Special, a combination of the three. The special is definitely the way to go, and the medium spice level I chose on a recent visit (choices from mild to extra hot are available) left a pleasant warmth in my mouth after my lunch was over, but not so much that it was overpowering.

Low-country boils are available at lunch with one seafood choice. Turn the menu over to the other side, however, and you can get a combo with two or more items. I chose the traditional shrimp with the addition of green mussels. Both were excellent: fresh, meaty and, in the case of the shrimp, easy to peel. A side of hush puppies were the perfect complement: not too sweet, fried just right, and great for dipping into the generous amount of “juice” left over from the main dish.

According to Alex, the lunch and dinner menus differ in only a couple of ways.

“Our lunch menu offers a smaller selection, but the prices are a little bit cheaper,” he said. “The amount is not as much as on the dinner menu, but people can still get a healthy serving of seafood for lunch.”

In addition to the food, The Juicy Crab’s bar also adds to its casual hangout mood. Offering a great selection of sangrias, martinis and signature cocktails (the Juicy Punch, with vodka, strawberry puree, lemonade, OJ and Sprite, sounds like the perfect summer accompaniment to a spicy low-country boil), The Juicy Crab just this week began a happy hour that runs 3-7 p.m. on weekdays and all day on Sundays. During those times, diners can indulge in $2 beers, $4 cocktails and $5 appetizers, as well as other specials.

All these elements combined make The Juicy Crab a unique dining experience in the Augusta area, which is exactly what Alex Zhao envisioned when he opened it.

“I think it’s different from most restaurants out there. It’s something special, something you don’t see around every corner,” he said. “We cater to a specific group — people seeking something different — and I think we’re doing pretty well.”

The Juicy Crab
2834 Washington Road
Noon-10 p.m., Sunday-Thursday
Noon-11 p.m., Friday-Saturday
706-922-8088
facebook.com/thejuicycrab
juicycrabaugusta.com

May 3, 2017