SUunPnyside TRANSFORMATION
FROM SHILLINGS
ON THE SQUARE TO
MAC’S
CHOPHOUSE
NEARLY COMPLETE
BY THOMAS HARTWELL
44 COBB LIFE | JUNE 2020
MANY RESTAURANTS HAVE BEEN
HIT HARD BY THE CORONAVIRUS,
BUT THERE ARE A FEW IN
OUR COMMUNITY WHO HAVE
CONTINUED TO MAKE STRIDES,
WHETHER IT’S IN CONSTRUCTION
OR DOING SOMETHING
SPECIAL TO HELP OTHERS. HERE
ARE A FEW OF THOSE STORIES.
Work on Mac’s Chophouse, the newest Marietta Square restaurant venture
that has replaced the four-decade mainstay Shillings on the Square, is
nearly complete, said owner Randy McCray.
New signs have gone up on the historic two-story building at the corner of
North Park Square and Church Street, and while butcher paper still blocks the
windows, a few passersby have recently been seen trying to sneak a peek inside
through slivers left uncovered.
Dave Reardon, who owned Shillings for the length of its life on the Square, sold
the restaurant in November. McCray’s new restaurant will have a focus on steaks and
seafood, with menu items to include slow-cooked meat, six to eight prime Angus
beef options and seafood dishes such as sea bass.
The new establishment will also boast a wide variety of wines, craft cocktails and
10 to 12 beers on tap, and the lunch menu will include a variety of sandwiches,
salads and other lighter choices, he said.
Other items, such as pimiento cheese fritters, are expected to be adapted from
the menu of The Mill Kitchen & Bar in downtown Roswell, another of McCray’s
restaurants. He said the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner, as well as
Sunday brunch. Upstairs will be a more formal dining experience, while downstairs
will be a little more lively, McCray said.
McCray said in late April that remodeling of the restaurant was about 90% complete, and contractors
were installing booths, hanging light fixtures and completing touch-up work. He said the coronavirus
delayed the goal of opening in March, and while he’ll still be cautious with a grand opening date, he is
hoping for the first week of June.
“We just feel it’s the right thing to do right now,” McCray said, adding that the restaurant will eventually
employ 40 to 50 staff. “All in all, it probably was a good thing, because it allowed us to do what we
Randy McCray