Local Business Spotlight

Roy's Grille is the kind of place that makes you slow down on the way in and check the address twice. It looks like a total dive, and I mean that as a compliment. Behind that humble exterior is some of the best southern cooking in the Midlands, and the people who know have been keeping it to themselves.

Roy's was established on September 16, 2014 by Chef Chris Williams, as a tribute to his late grandfather, Leroy Carter. Chris grew up in Olar, South Carolina, learning to cook from his mother and grandmother, and he spent years cooking out of a gas station, first in Lexington and then in Irmo. The food comes first. The building was never the point.

The menu is southern cooking done seriously. Barbecue is the anchor, brisket, pulled pork, and ribs, plus breakfast, burgers, collard greens, candied yams, and sweet potato fries worth the trip on their own. And there is the Carolina Korean Cheesesteak, which placed eighth in the world at the 2022 World Food Championships. Chris Williams has also been named a South Carolina Chef Ambassador, which is the state's way of saying what Irmo already knew.