Students, families, locals and out-of-towners from as far as multiple states away are all greeted to the same thing when they walk through the door of The Grind, and that is the welcome of the waitstaff and a nostalgic atmosphere of ‘80s and ‘90s music and décor, which includes polaroids of past customers sprawled across the ceiling and mini arcade machines on every table.
The Grind Mac and Cheese Burger Bar is located at 112 Lovelace Ave, Martin, which is about a block away from campus. It is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and open until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The prices usually range from six to 20 dollars depending on what the item is.
The restaurant was founded in 2017 by Martin residents Marc, Lisa and Alan Laderman. The Ladermans are also the owners of Sammie’s, a sandwich deli founded by them in 2012 that is located right next to The Grind.
“It [Sammie’s] was a place that my wife, Lisa, who is also Alan’s mother, ran for the family. Alan and I kind of longed for something that was more our style that was a bit more exotic food,” Marc Laderman, co-owner of The Grind, says.
The Grind is one of only a couple sit-down restaurants found in Martin, but that isn’t the only thing that stands out about it. The Grind puts a twist on traditional American food, such as burgers, mac and cheese, hot wings and milkshakes, by mixing creative ingredients together and having huge portion sizes, and all of the food is made from scratch. One of the things they are notorious for are their ginormous gourmet milkshakes. Their milkshakes are overflowing with toppings, such as cereal, ice cream bars, syrup, sprinkles, finished with whipped cream and a cherry.
Marc says that they had been thinking about opening a burger bar for almost a decade, and they faced several obstacles trying to open one because the deals kept falling through. After a few years, the Ladermans were finally able to open their dream restaurant.
The name of the restaurant came from a brainstorming session that Marc says he and his son had to find names that were associated with burgers. It came up that one of the most important parts of a burger is how the meat is ground, which is why they chose the name “The Grind.”
Another aspect of The Grind that makes it stand out is the hospitality and enthusiasm of the people who work there.
“The most special part [of The Grind] is the way that we treat people that come here. We try to make everyone that comes in The Grind feel like they are part of our family,” Marc says.
This philosophy does not only belong to the Ladermans as owners but also to the crew who work tirelessly to ensure that it is carried out. Of course, part of the reason that The Grind’s staff is so welcoming is because they are treated like family as well.
“It takes being able to create a culture with the staff … treat staff like family so they will then treat guests like family,” Whitney Hayes, a manager at The Grind, says.
Another part of the restaurant that adds a bit of a mystery factor is that The Grind has many fun secrets. Marc says one of the secrets is that they have a secret menu that people only know about if they ask. Another secret is that certain actions, phrases or ordering a specific item can trigger a surprise event to happen. Though he would not reveal what exactly was on the secret menu or what triggers these surprise events, he welcomes people to try and find out.
“Get ready for an experience like you’ve never had in a restaurant,” Hayes says.
I love the grind. Everything I have eaten there I loved especially the milkshakes. Thanks