Grandy's Country Cookin' is a homestyle cooking and comfort food

Comfort food

Comfort food is food prepared traditionally that may have a nostalgic or sentimental appeal. Comfort foods may be foods that have a nostalgic element either to an individual or a specific culture...

 restaurant

Restaurant

A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...

 chain based in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

. Still known for their homestyle meals, Grandy's specializes a hearty country breakfast while the lunch and dinner meals features fried chicken, country fried steaks, catfish and eight homestyle vegetables complimented with fresh-baked biscuits, dinner rolls, and their much heralded Sinnamon rolls.

Biography

Grandy's was founded in 1973 by Walter E. Johnson and Rex E. Sanders, who became friends while working together as teenagers at a Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

 cafeteria. After launching and selling a successful chain of restaurants, the two young men created Grandy's, hoping to combine the efficiency of fast food

Fast food

Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...

 with the ambiance of a full-service restaurant.

Under the ownership of Saga Foods, Inc. a multi-concept restaurant firm, Grandy's experienced its greatest growth surge, primarily in the 1980s, having at its zenith almost 200 stores. A buyout of Saga by Marriott Corporation led to a sell off of the Grandy's chain along with other concepts owned by Saga. In the late 1990s, Grandy's, now over 20 years old, began to close older locations and remote markets that were underperforming. They retreated to the core markets of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 and Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 with a strong presence in southern

Southern Indiana

Southern Indiana, in the United States, consists of the 33 counties located in the southernmost part of the state. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be part of the Upland South...

 Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 and northern

Northern Kentucky

Northern Kentucky is the name often given to the northernmost counties in Kentucky...

 Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. As of August 2010, Grandy's is franchised in eight states, with 66 restaurants.

Acquired by Sun Capital Partners of Boca Raton, Florida

Boca Raton, Florida

Boca Raton is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, incorporated in May 1925. In the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. However, the majority of the people under the postal address of Boca Raton, about...

 in 2007, Grandy's has been re-energized and a major remodel/reimaging program was launched in 2008. Largely a franchise-owned concept today, there is renewed interest in strategic growth of Grandy's focusing on filling in the Core Markets of Texas, Oklahoma, and Indiana.

During the G8 meetings of 2004

30th G8 summit

The 30th G8 summit took place in Sea Island, Georgia, United States, on June 8 – June 10, 2004.-Overview:The Group of Seven was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and...

, held on Sea Island, Georgia

Sea Island, Georgia

Sea Island is an affluent resort island located in the barrier islands just off the Atlantic coast of southern Georgia in the United States. The resort complex is located in an unincorporated Glynn County....

, the Brunswick, Georgia

Brunswick, Georgia

Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...

 store had the exclusive contract to provide food for the Secret Service

United States Secret Service

The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...

, BATF

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...

, Georgia State Patrol

Georgia State Patrol

The Georgia State Patrol is the highway patrol agency for the U.S. state of Georgia. The GSP has statewide jurisdiction with the exception of federal military installations...

, and other law enforcement agencies protecting the leaders. Then-president of the US George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

visited the command center and personally thanked all of the catering staff for their work.