Thu, March 28, 2024

Legends Grille tees off at historic Aiken Golf Club

Right about now, golf is on everyone’s radar. The Masters is coming up April 7 through the 10 at Augusta National, which opened in 1932. But there is a course in Aiken that’s been around even longer – the Aiken Golf Club, established in 1912.

Just in time for the wining and dining surrounding the first Major of the season, The Legends Grille recently opened at the historic Aiken Golf Club. The timing couldn’t be better.

“The course is sold out during Masters Week and catering requests and parties are flowing in every day at The Legends Grille,” said restaurant owner, Michael Allen.

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The restaurant will operate special hours that week, opening from Sunday to Sunday rather than Tuesday through Saturday and beyond their normal 9 p.m. closing “until the last person is served each night.”

Fortunately, Allen has the experience to handle the flow. He owns the successful City Billiards in Aiken.

State Representative Bill Taylor, wife Donna, and Legends Grille owner, Michael Allen

He believes his chef and staff are ready. They held two soft opening weekends in February and since opening their doors on March 1, the business has been steady.

“The biggest challenge for us has been overcoming past management mistakes and creating the high-end club-style atmosphere,” Allen said. “The place has good bones and I spent $34,000 to bring it up to par with new carpet, tables and chairs, and better lighting.”

That’s just the “window dressing.” What draws people to a restaurant is the food. The hand-cut prime rib, filets, and succulent roast duck have become popular dishes. Legends has also been a popular destination for business lunch meetings.

Some of the most popular dishes at Legends Grille are prime rib, filets, and roast duck.

“I’ve played golf here for 30 years,” Allen said. “It’s a beautiful course and the deck offers a great view for our customers. I wanted to create a higher-end establishment that people would enjoy and I think we are doing that.”

And about the history surrounding The Legends Grille, it was built as part of a resort hotel complex, Highland Park. The hotel caught fire in 1898. The restaurant was the original laundry facility back then and a separate building that remained standing after fire gutted the hotel.

The Highland Park Hotel was gutted by fire in 1898. (Photo courtesy of the Aiken County Historical Museum)

The golf course was designed by a pro, John Inglis in 1915 and hosted tournaments played by the likes of Babe Zaharias. In the following years, the course and grounds were bought, sold, and managed by many investors.

With the help of the city, Jim McNair, Sr. rebuilt the course from the ground up and he still holds the course record of 58.

Today, Allen is building his piece of history for the Aiken Golf Club with the opening of The Legends Grille in hopes of hitting a hole-in-one with his restaurant endeavor.

Editor’s Note:
Mitzi Oxford is a veteran broadcaster and features writer who also worked at the same television station in Columbus, Georgia as Augusta’s Brad Means! 

If you have a South Carolina story idea for Mitzi, please email her at mitzioxfordcreative@gmail.com.

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