MIGUEL MORALES
The number-one restaurant in Chattanooga has taken a little road trip south to Acworth, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Six years ago, after years of working at other restaurants around the southeast, Miguel Morales made the leap to pursue his own dream and opened 1885 Grill in Chattanooga. Miguel, who grew up in South Carolina, has a long-standing love for Southern coastal cuisine, and he knew he wanted his restaurant to reflect his culinary passions: sharing his family’s recipes, showing off the best ingredients from local purveyors, and grilling steaks and seafood on a patio with live music, to name a few. It didn’t take long before the rest of the town caught on — the restaurant quickly became one of the top-recommended restaurants in the city.
In addition to the shrimp and grits, hushpuppies, and pimento cheese that made the restaurant a Chattanooga favorite, 1885 Grill’s Acworth location has a few special things to call its own: think low-country boils, plus grab-and-go picnic baskets. “We’re super excited to become part of the community,” says Miguel, “and we have every intention of continuing the tradition of bringing something special that can create another great destination for people to be able to get together and enjoy each other.”
We asked Miguel for a little sneak peek of what makes this restaurant special, why it’s worth a visit, and why it was love at first sight when he came to Acworth:
What inspired the food you serve at 1885 Grill?
I grew up in the Carolinas, and anywhere in South Carolina still has a very big coastal influence. I really wanted to share that. I also love to dine outside, especially in the spring and fall. We’re not afraid to pull a grill out on the patio and grill out. We love live music. To have the smell of the grill going as you enter into the neighborhood, hearing live music… we love to create an atmosphere of a backyard barbecue and give a great place for community to gather and socialize.
How is this location different from the original?
Some of the original ideas that I had, we just did not have the space to do at the original. One of those is going to be steamers, so we can do things like low country boil baskets, crab legs, and lobster tails. We’re located right across from Logan Farm Park, and we would like to be able to offer picnic baskets that you can come and pick up. You can just walk with your family across the street, throw out a blanket, and have a one stop shop with your sweet tea and fried chicken.
Tell us more about the menu. What are a few fan favorites?
For appetizers, we are very well-known for our pimento cheese. We do that appetizer with grilled pita bread and fried okra. We also do a really good seared scallop, where we start out by sautéing a piece of bacon and using the drippings to sear fresh scallops on each side. We’ve made believers out of a lot of people who said they never ate scallops.
As far as entrees go, we’re known for what we call our country Cuban sandwich. My mother is from Spartanburg and my father’s from Puerto Rico, and so I have implemented some of my grandmothers’ recipes on both sides. The pork we use is a mojo pork we make fresh in-house, and that mojo pork is my Puerto Rican grandmother’s recipe. And the ham we use is a Coca Cola ham, which is a very traditional Southern ham. And we have a local bakery that makes us fresh Cuban bread. That sandwich has become a huge hit.
You knew you wanted to open another restaurant somewhere in the area. What made you decide on Acworth?
I just simply fell in love with it, immediately. I love the feel of it. I love the tightness of the community. Everyone made us feel very welcome and warm. The reason that we’re coming here is because of the incredible community that’s here, the support they give each other, the support they give to their local businesses. And we cannot wait to be part of that family.
Based on the time you’ve spent here so far as a visitor, what would you say to folks who haven’t made it to Acworth yet?
For people traveling to Acworth, I’d say it’s an absolute must, if you’re from a fast-paced world and you want to slow down for a moment. There’s tons of great small shops and boutiques and restaurants, and I think if you’re traveling around the area, or if you live nearby, you should take a weekend and go there. Pick a weekend and just go and slow down for a moment and enjoy what I would consider a little bit of a step back in time, when times were a little more simple, when people took care of you. There’s a sense of a much deeper caring here, if you’re local or if you’re visiting. We’ve visited maybe 8 times, and any time we come into shops or restaurants, they treat us like they’ve known us all our lives.
