Grins Restaurant

What Grins Restaurant does

Grins Restaurant is a privately held, single-location full-service restaurant operating at 802 North LBJ, San Marcos, Texas, founded on Valentine's Day 1975 by Paul Sutphen and Johnny Ferrell — both Texas State University graduates. The restaurant serves a casual American comfort food menu centered on burgers, chicken fried steak, sandwiches, salads, fajitas, and award-winning house-made salsa, complemented by a full bar with cocktails, beer, and wine. The physical footprint has been expanded three times (1983, 1987, 1996) and now accommodates up to 250 customers across multiple indoor dining rooms, a tree-shaded deck, a Beer Garden, and private dining spaces; the team is approximately 15 employees, with staff drawn largely from the Texas State student/alumni community.

The business operates a horizontal GTM motion focused on direct-to-consumer local traffic from San Marcos residents and Texas State University students, supplemented by catering and private event bookings. Revenue is generated across four streams: dine-in food and beverage sales, off-site catering (corporate events, weddings, birthdays, holidays), private event hosting in dedicated dining rooms, and online ordering/takeout via the Toast Tab platform. Pricing is unit-based with aggressive value levers: $10 lunch specials daily, a 3pm-6pm happy hour featuring $2.50 margaritas and half-off cocktails, daily rotating dinner specials (e.g., Thursday Ribeye $19.99), and a Sunday brunch with $5 cocktails. Ancillary revenue comes from digital and physical gift cards sold through QuickGifts and recurring Beer Garden programming including weekly Thursday Bingo and live music.

The technology stack is intentionally lean and entirely third-party: Toast Tab for online ordering and Toast Tables for reservations; SpotHopper for the website, SEO, and email marketing; and QuickGifts for gift card fulfillment. There is no proprietary technology, no mobile app, no API exposure, and no disclosed AI/ML capability. Distribution is single-channel geographically — one physical site plus its digital extensions — with marketing conducted organically through Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, an email newsletter, and a website-maintained events/specials calendar. The company is not VC-backed, has no subsidiaries, and operates as a simple partnership between its two long-tenured owner-operators.

Name

Grins Restaurant

Legal name

Grins Restaurant

Website

https://grinsrestaurant.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Grins Restaurant is a privately held, single-location full-service American comfort food restaurant in San Marcos, Texas, founded in 1975 and serving local residents and Texas State University students with burgers, bar fare, catering, and private events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (72232)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAFACAB

Casual Dining Restaurants

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Full-Service Restaurants (Casual & Fine Dining)

SECONDARYTHAFACAJ

All-Day Dining Restaurants

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Full-Service Restaurants (Casual & Fine Dining)

Keywords

• Casual dining restaurant
• American comfort food
• Off-site catering
• Private event hosting
• Happy hour bar

Headquarters

HQ city

San Marcos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue from serving food and drinks to dine-in customers. Menu includes burgers, sandwiches, steaks, salads, appetizers, and full bar with cocktails, beer, wine, and soft drinks.
2. Catering Services: Off-site catering for birthdays, holiday parties, corporate events, and wedding festivities.
3. Private Event Hosting: Revenue from hosting private events in dedicated dining rooms. Multiple private dining spaces available for parties and gatherings.
4. Online Ordering and Takeout: Revenue from online food orders placed through Toast Tab platform for takeout and delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Grins Restaurant is a single-location, full-service casual dining restaurant in San Marcos, Texas, operating since 1975. It serves American comfort food and Texas cuisine, including world-famous hamburgers, chicken fried steak, sandwiches, salads, fajitas, and award-winning salsa made fresh daily, alongside a full bar with cocktails, beer, and wine. The business additionally offers off-site catering, private event hosting, online ordering and reservations, gift cards, and weekly events such as Thursday Bingo and Sunday brunch.

Product overview

Grins Restaurant is a single-location, full-service restaurant offering a comprehensive dining portfolio centered around its core dine-in restaurant experience featuring world-famous burgers and comfort food. The business operates as a unified service with integrated modules including online ordering (via Toast Tab), table reservations (via Tables by Toast), catering services, private event hosting, happy hour specials, and gift cards. The restaurant also features ancillary offerings such as a Beer Garden with live music, weekly Bingo events, and Sunday brunch service. The establishment can accommodate up to 250 customers across multiple dining spaces including a tree-shaded deck and private dining rooms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dine-In Restaurant Services Full-service dine-in dining experience featuring world-famous burgers, chicken fried steak, comfort food, Texas cuisine, full bar service, and seating across multiple dining rooms, a tree-shaded deck, and a Beer Garden for casual diners and families in San Marcos.
• Catering Services

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Toast TabcoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party online ordering and reservation platform used for customer orders, takeout, delivery, and table reservations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Chuy's: Texas-founded casual Tex-Mex dining chain operating as a broad incumbent across Texas and beyond. Comparable to Grins as a Texas-rooted casual full-service concept, though at materially greater scale and national footprint.
• Chili's Grill & Bar: Texas-based casual dining incumbent with broad menu including burgers, ribs, sandwiches, and a full bar. Comparable to Grins on casual full-service American menu with bar-led happy hour programming, but at vastly larger scale.
• Texas Roadhouse: Large national casual steakhouse chain with strong Texas-casual positioning and family-friendly appeal. Comparable to Grins on 'Texas' casual dining cues and steak/burger menu overlap, but operating as a broad national incumbent.

Direct peers

• Plucker's Wing Bar: Texas-based casual dining chain with full bar, happy hour deals, and college-town locations. Highly comparable to Grins on format, bar-driven revenue mix, and proximity to university markets.
• Hopdoddy Burger Bar: Texas-based casual dining chain focused on premium burgers and craft cocktails. Closely comparable to Grins in menu center of gravity (burgers, comfort food, full bar) and Texas casual-dining positioning, though operating as a multi-unit chain.
• Freebirds World Burrito: Texas-based casual dining chain serving customizable Tex-Mex options. Comparable to Grins as a Texas-rooted casual chain with strong local brand affinity and broad menu appeal, though QSR-leaning.
• P. Terry's Burger Stand: Texas-based casual burger chain known for affordable pricing and value menu. Comparable to Grins on Texas roots, casual format, and value-driven burger positioning, though smaller in scope and menu.
• Bubba's 33: Texas-based casual dining chain with burgers, pizza, beer, and sports-bar atmosphere. Comparable to Grins on casual American menu, full bar, family-friendly positioning, and Texas roots.
• Hat Creek Burger Company: Texas-based casual burger and family dining chain with beer gardens and family-friendly atmosphere. Comparable to Grins in combining burgers, casual dining, outdoor seating, and Texas family-friendly positioning.

Emerging players

• Velvet Taco: Texas-based emerging upscale-casual taco concept with craft cocktails and rotating menu. Comparable to Grins in being a Texas-rooted casual concept with strong bar/cocktail focus, though differentiated on menu (tacos vs. burgers/comfort food).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GrinsRestaurant
• Facebookfacebook.com/111471648893583
• Instagraminstagram.com/grinsrestauranttx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grins-restaurant

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grins Restaurant