Shortly after the turn of the millennium, after two decades as a stockbroker, Chris Lloyd (BBA ’80) sensed it was time for a change.
“I saw what the internet was doing to most businesses,” he says. “I remember watching a Super Bowl commercial for Schwab, and they’re talking about no commissions. And I went, ‘OK, this could change my industry in a hurry.’”
Lloyd, who helped manage a bar and restaurant as a UGA undergrad, knew food, and he knew Athens.
Specifically, he knew what Athens was missing: a locally owned and operated steakhouse, an alternative to the chains cropping up along the Atlanta Highway corridor.
“I knew I could open right up the street from Longhorn but do it a little better, give a different feel,” Lloyd recalls.
Recruiting a former client as a business partner (“He was the equity. I was the sweat,” Lloyd says) and with the guidance of his architect brother-in-law, Lloyd set forth renovating the old Shoney’s on West Broad Street. In 2002, Hilltop Grille opened its doors.
With its classic menu and convivial service, Hilltop attracted a large and loyal customer base, establishing itself as one of Athens’ essential eateries over the next decade.
By 2013, its founder was ready for his next local venture.
The vacant house at the busy intersection of Milledge and Lumpkin had recently been granted historic status, shielding it from demolition but placing it in a sort of real estate purgatory. Lloyd saw an opportunity — and he knew the property owner.
“He’s a good friend of mine, John Barrett,” says Lloyd. “I said, ‘John, I want to put a restaurant there.’ And he said, ‘If you get it rezoned, it’s all yours.’ So I did.”
Again, Lloyd’s instincts paid off. With a breezy vibe and fresh seafood fare, Marker 7 Coastal Grill became one of a new wave of Five Points restaurants, transforming the neighborhood into a dining destination.
“All the students up and down Milledge used to go downtown (to eat),” he says. “They hang around here now.”
Lloyd credits much of his success to the teams he built, employees he trusts to carry out his vision with an eye on the details that can make or break a restaurant.
“You have to have people who care,” he says. “My managers do a great job. They came up working at (local restaurants). They know the business, and they know who to hire.”
Lloyd, who turns 70 next year, is looking to those employees to continue his legacy. He’s finalizing plans to sell Hilltop Grille to one of his longtime managers and says he’ll likely do the same with Marker 7 in the coming years.
The message he’ll pass to them is simple. “If you’re putting out a good product at a good price with good service,” he says, “people want to keep coming back.”
Favorite taste
“The fried shrimp at Hilltop Grille — we sell that more than anything else. I hear it all the time from people: ‘This is better than when we go down to the beach!’”