Meet The Owner
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My name is Kendall Tillotson. I was born and raised here in Berea South Carolina. I am part of this community and always have been. I have the great privilege of owning Kendall's Grill.
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I am married to the love of my life, Carlie Tillotson. We have a baby girl named Kaylie Page.
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My Wife and I open the restaurant each and every morning to provide our guests with a great meal at a very reasonable price. We like to believe we offer a unique environment surrounded by friendly faces, attractive music and delicious food. We want to give our community the "Downtown Vibe" without having to go Downtown.
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I have not always been in love with the culinary field. Food was something I fell in love with and it sucked me in. At an early age I was very interested in the film industry and everything that surrounded it. I embarked on entering film school with the idea that I could start a career in the film industry at some point. During all of this I was grinding away day after day as an employee at Bikas under Eric Bikas, my mentor and friend and my life was changed forever.
I began working at Bikas in Berea when I was the young age of 13 years old! Some of my customers may remember the days where I would walk into work wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt. From the age of 13 to the age of 18 I worked 40 plus hours a week while attending school, playing basketball, and living the average teenage life. The restaurant is something that you just happen to fall in love with. Anyone with the love for food could tell you that. You go home at the end of the day with painful knees, an achy back, and greasy from head to toe. After all of that you still wake up the next day and can not wait to do it all over again. Falling in love with the restaurant is what happened to me. I never wanted to leave. During my early college years I experimented with different career paths. I applied for film school and came to the conclusion that in order to attend film school your parents have to have a net worth of 5 M each (Sarcasm.) I didn't have to desire to pursue that industry any longer. My mother is a registered nurse so I always thought the medical field could be something that would spark an interest in my brain. I entered the PCT program at Greenville Tech and soon realized that the medical field was not for me. After the PCT program I finally entered into culinary school. During culinary school I realized that I truly was in love with the food industry.
During culinary school I was given the opportunity to become the owner of Bikas Drive-In. I was the grand age of 18 years old. What was I thinking right? My father has owned his own business for his entire adult life so I knew that I could make the business side of the industry work. At that point I changed the operating name to Kendall's Grill and got to work.
I can not say that the journey has been easy or that the journey has even started, but what I can say is that I have enjoyed each and every minute of it. I can say that without the constant support of my wife, my brothers, and my close friends I would not be able to be where I am today. I hope to continue to serve great food to the Greenville area and to further expand my comfort zones in the future to cover other culinary industries besides just burgers and fries.
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For now, come see me at Kendall's Grill. I would gladly shake your hand, make you a delicious burger and have a vast conversation with you all at the same time.
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Kendall Tillotson
Owner
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