Local family opens restaurant to honor late loved ones

CALHOUN COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Having a new restaurant open in a small town is always big news.

“It’s wonderful for new businesses to open in our community,” Executive Director for Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce Kristy Terry said. “We are definitely open for business.”

However, the Calhoun Southern Grill in Blountstown isn’t just a restaurant.

“You can really tell when you walk into a business when there’s heart there, and there’s definitely heart in this place,” Terry said.

For the owner of Calhoun Southern Grill, David Story, it’s a dream come true.

“It’s always been my dream to actually have a restaurant of my own, so to actually have the restaurant and get it to open up is the dream I’ve always wanted to live,” Story said.

Story said even though he doesn’t live in Blountstown now, he’s always wanted to bring a restaurant like this back to his hometown. These dreams didn’t come without difficulty, though.

“My wife, her and her brother both passed away at the latter part of last year and in between them passing away, that did create the funds that were available to be able to come in and actually get in here and open up the business and to start fulfilling our dreams,” Story said.

Now, he’s able to honor their memory by doing something they all loved, and he says he believes his family would be proud.

“As we opened the business, you know, the restaurant is in memory of my wife and my brother-in-law, you know, they always supported us,” Story said.

Story said his new restaurant has already received an outpouring of support from the local community.

For more information on the location and hours of Calhoun Southern Grill, visit their Facebook page.

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