Business spotlight: Grandpa's Grub offers Southern-style specialties

By Roni Gehlke
For the Contra Costa Times

Name of business: Grandpa's Grub

Type of business: Restaurant

Owners: David Ross, James and Blanche Clemons

Founded: December 2009

Address: 900 A St., Antioch

Phone number: 925-755-4227

Hours: Wednesday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; closed Sunday through Tuesday.

Number of employees: Eight

Products and services: Grandpa's Grub offers barbecued Southern-style food, including ribs, chicken and hot links. They also offer catfish and fries, potato salad, greens and sweet potatoes. Each of the Clemons and Ross family members make their specialties at the restaurant.

"David made up the recipe for the barbecue sauce," James Clemons said. "Then others made salads and the rest."

The restaurant also makes homemade sweet potato pie and banana pudding.

"We can't keep enough of it," said Beverly Garrett, the Clemons' daughter who also helps with the salads, waitressing and the financial part of the business. "When it runs out, it is gone for the day. Most of our regular customers know to call and make sure we still have the desserts."

How did you get into the business?: The idea to open a restaurant came from the Clemons' business partner David Ross. Ross had a barbecue sauce that everyone agreed was good enough to build a restaurant around.

"We came in basically for financial purposes," Blanche Clemons said.

She said that now she hopes that her children will take it over the business some day. "It really is for them," she said.

The partners' families run the restaurant. The elders even named the restaurant dishes after the grandchildren.

Best part about the business?: "Serving the people has to be the best," Blanche Clemons said. "Especially hearing them say how good the food tastes."

Worst part about the business?: "We all have our good days and our bad days, but our days are mostly good," she said. "We try not to have the bad days."

Key to success: "Presentation is everything," Blanche Clemons said. "Also, attitude and always giving your best. My daughter does a great job of training the others and is really great with people."

Biggest misperception about the business: One of the misperceptions is that because they are in a small, older building that the food must not be good. The building that Grandpa's Grub is located in has been housing restaurants for decades. For years the restaurant used to house a popular drive-in food stop. Over the past decade the restaurant has switched hands a few times offering barbecue and Mexican food.

"The building might be small but we offer good food," Blanche Clemons said.

Also, Garrett said that all of the food is made fresh daily and it is important not to wait until closing time to come in. "We do run out sometimes because we make everything that day," she said. "We want only the best for our customers."

Future plans: The owners are considering adding some new items to the menu in the coming months. They are also thinking of only offering desserts on certain days so that they can make a concentrated effort to make sure they have more to go around.
— Roni Gehlke