COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) – More small businesses are popping up in Columbia County, and their owners said business has been good.
This is the first month Rally Point Grille on Washington Road in Evans has turned a profit since it opened in June.
“In a restaurant you go through a process where you start to get known in the community, and I think we’ve finally reached that point, so our sales are substantially up now,” said Kelly O’Neal, the owner of Rally Point Grille.
But, he said the military-themed restaurant still needs more employees, and rising food costs are becoming an issue.
“We’re always looking for employees, right now we’re in particular looking for bartenders and servers,” O’Neal said. “We are seeing that our food costs are going up. We’ve been trying very hard to resist increasing our prices on the menu, but like everyone else we’re continuing to have to evaluate that.”
O’Neal and his wife are hoping to operate the restaurant until they retire.
“I think we’d be happy if we go that long and really establish the restaurant as something, as a fixture in the community,” he said.