Local restaurant Mary’s Grill will be hosting a visit from America’s Best Restaurants (ABR) in late August 2023.America’s Best Restaurants, a national media and marketing company focusing on bringing attention to local, independently- owned restaurants, will bring its ABR Roadshow to the restaurant on August 30th. Popular dishes will be highlighted, along with an extensive on-camera interview with owner Carole Sawyer about the restaurant’s special place in the community. The episode will be aired extensively on social media channels at a later date.Mary’s Grill opened in 1955 under the direction of Mary Ditmore, and her family continued its operation until 2008. Carole and her husband George have owned and operated the restaurant for the last seven years after a few other concepts began in the space and failed. Carole says she is staying true to what she thinks Mary would have wanted.“I didn’t plan on owning a restaurant, but the community needed it back open. It was a substantial hub for the community for a long time, and we’re trying to get back to that,” she says, adding that longtime customers tell her ‘it’s just as good as it was then.’Offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, Mary’s Grill has a solid selection of diner-style specialties such as burgers, sandwiches and salads, specialty dinners such as ribeye steak or Mary’s Cavatappi Alfredo, and ice cream. Desserts are homemade; no surprise, as Carole also owns The Baker’s Table & Coffee House next door.The tidy, open dining area of Mary’s Grill was remodeled during the pandemic, and the restaurant focused on delivery and take-out to stay afloat.“We’re a small town, and we don’t like change,” Carole says. “We rebuilt the reputation of what [the restaurant] was when I was growing up. Everything is from scratch. People come back and say ‘It’s just as good as it was then’.”Carole takes pride in what she’s accomplished for the community.“I think we are very few and far between, as far as the way we do things, the cleanliness of our restaurant, the care we put in our customer service; we are an example to lead by,” notes Carole. She is looking forward to the exposure of the Roadshow visit and what it would mean for Mary’s Grill to be acknowledged as one of America’s Best Restaurants.“I’m going to claim that title,” Carole says.America’s Best Restaurants will be filming on location on Wednesday August 30th from 9 am ...
