By Kristina Pritchett
Next weekend, the Salt Creek Grille will be celebrating 20 years of serving the community, a feat that wasn’t always easy, according to co-founder Tim McCune.
“It was 20 years of very hard work,” McCune said. “In the very beginning, we weren’t quite prepared for the onslaught of business. Those were hard times, long days. But I look back on those difficulties in the very beginning, and [the difficulties] make today all the more worthwhile.”
McCune and his original partner Pete Truxaw decided to open the Pacific Coast Highway restaurant after working in the restaurant industry for years. The goal was to open an upscale yet casual American themed grill.
“There was always this quest to do something on my own, have my own business,” McCune said.
McCune gives credit to staff members, past and present, for the success of the restaurant.
“The staff is the most important aspect,” McCune said. “Those people have had a huge impact.”
McCune said General Manager Marcos Costas and Executive Chef Scott Green are two of the people he’d like to thank the most.
In the coming years, McCune said they’re going to start looking to update the bar area, and to continue to not be complacent.
“We need to keep improving, and stay fresh, but remain true to our identity,” McCune said.
One of the restaurant’s values is to give back to the community. Sri Divel, national director of marketing and sales for the Grille, said giving back was always something the business strives to do.
“We never really scaled that back, which is true to Tim as a person and as a business model,” Divel said. “That is something we stay true to year after year.”
On Sunday, July 10, the restaurant will be having a celebration event, from 5-9 p.m., where proceeds from the day will go to a non-profit organization called the Jessie Rees Foundation. The foundation sends Joy Jars to children in hospitals across the nation.
“We felt it was a perfect fit,” McCune said.
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