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Owners Justin Daffinson (left) and Walker Petty stand out front of the new building located at 101 S. Wayne Street, where the former Verizon store was. -
The 12 inch margherita pizza is one of the red sauce pizzzas offered at Milly Grub.
Milly Grub recently opened a new permanent location in downtown Milledgeville at 101 S. Wayne St.
Milly Grub began as a catering business in 2022 started by Georgia College & State University students Justin Daffinson and Walker Petty. Together, the pair began catering in November 2022 as a way to build up funds to establish the restaurant. Milly Grub catered multiple sorority and fraternity events, the Lost Dog Tavern in Buckhead, Mercer football games and Shallow Roots.
“Shallow Roots was one of the first events that showed us the impact our food had on people’s emotions and energy levels,” said Daffinson. “From there, we knew we wanted to establish our food as its own restaurant.”
The first physical location of Milly Grub was initially on South Wayne Street and after a short time at a secondary location, the restaurant has settled on the street again inside the former Verizon Wireless building.
“Our customers have followed us from that first location and share our same interests. Their love for our food and our service is what fuels our fire,” said Daffinson. “Our goal is to create a good environment that people want to come to and enjoy. We hope our new location will become a gathering spot for the downtown community.”
Milly Grub offers specialty pizzas, red or white sauce pizzas, chopped salads, and a late night menu with flatbread pizza, nachos, signature dawgs, and more to choose from. According to Daffinson, their best seller is the carne asada white sauce pizza.
“All of our dough and pizzas are made in house and fresh veggies are imported each week,” said Daffinson. “Customers are able to build their own salads and we offer special 12 inch personal crust pizzas that many pizza locations downtown do not offer. Each week we also offer specials for customers to enjoy.”
Now operating throughout the week and during the day and late nights, Milly Grub is run by a group of staff that have been with the business since its start as a catering service. This team allows Daffinson and Petty to balance the restaurant and their responsibilities as students.
“It’s because of our team we’ve been able to make this dream a reality. We want Milly Grub to become a staple for the Milledgeville community and their hard work makes that a possibility,” said Daffinson.
Recently the co-owners hired a new event manager to assist with event planning and catering services. The restaurant currently has about 20 events already scheduled and are actively planning more.
“Alongside our normal catering and event services, we also do percentage nights,” said Daffinson. “A percentage night is where a fraternity, sorority, or nonprofit organization comes into our location and we block it off for them from 5 p.m. to 8 or 9 p.m. and 10% of our total sales will go back to their charity of choice. It’s our way to offer support back to the community.”
Beyond events, Milly Grub allows for in-house eating or online orders for pick-up or delivery. To stay updated on their upcoming events, menu items and more, customers may visit their instagram Milly_grub or visit millygrub.com.