A beloved San Marcos staple is undergoing a significant change.

Following its 50th anniversary in February, Grins Restaurant, located at 802 N. LBJ Drive, is transitioning to new ownership. Co-owners Paul Sutphen and Johnny Ferrell are selling the restaurant to Cody Taylor, a Texas State University alumnus and the owner of Valentino’s.

The background

Grins served burgers, margaritas, homemade comfort food and more.

Sutphen, who started as the first cook at Grins in 1975, purchased the restaurant from one of the founding owners shortly after graduating from Texas State. Ferrell joined the business as an owner in 1978. Sutphen shared that one of the most rewarding aspects of owning Grins was helping students through their college journey and being a part of their lives as they moved on to bigger things. However, after 50 years, Sutphen and Ferrell decided it was time to move on.


Sutphen said he felt the need for fresh leadership that could adapt to the constantly evolving restaurant business.

“Grins is a living business that's so dramatic,” Sutphen said. “It keeps changing every day, the people keep changing, customers keep changing, and it's always so dynamic and that's what... this business [is about]—It's all rewarding and it's scary sometimes.”

What’s changing?

Taylor began working in restaurants at the age of 13 as a busboy and has been involved in the restaurant business ever since.


Taylor says he wasn’t expecting to buy Grin’s, but when he started to learn more about the history of the restaurant, it was “serendipity.”

Calling the restaurant a “legacy business,” Taylor doesn’t plan to make drastic changes and wants people to be at ease that it’s going to continue being the Grins they’ve loved for a very long time, just a “Grins 2.0.” There will be slight menu changes, but other than that, Taylor said they’re just putting more energy into the space.

“The beloved Grins—I want to cherish that," Taylor said. “That's my big responsibility out of the gate is honoring the 50 years of ... blood, sweat, and tears of all the previous employees and customers.”

Taylor said if he could say one thing to long-time customers, it’s that he’s going to protect the restaurant that they’ve grown to love. Taylor also reassured long-time patrons that he values their feedback and welcomes honesty.


As part of the change in ownership, Grins closed temporarily for renovations in early March but are now reopen.