The Collegiate Grill

Hello, Gainesville! We are proud to say that all staff are Covid and symptom free as we begin this week. With that being said, we are gladly re-opening at 11am today for To-Go only! We have decided to keep our dining room closed for a period of time until this virus slows down a bit. So we are now OPEN for all your To-Go orders and look forward to serving you! *CALL IN ORDERS @ 678-989-2280!*... God bless! (TO-GO ONLY) Monday - Closed Tuesday - 11am-3pm Wednesday - 11am-3pm Thursday - 11am-3pm Friday - 11am-7pm Saturday - 11am-7pm Sunday - Closed Thank you always for supporting us! We are extremely thankful and appreciate you all!

After reading NGHS Article in The Times on Friday regarding rise in Covid (and extreme rise in Covid deaths in past 30 days) we discovered last night that Donna has now tested positive for Covid. She has noticed minor symptoms but has had no fever - yet, she is positive for Covid. So far, I’m (Jeff) symptom free with no need for testing. We were also devastated to discover late last night that a friend we had just casually seen last week just passed away due to Covid, so sud...den and far too soon. Just a sobering reminder of how serious this Virus is. Of course, it’s not that serious for most, but sadly, far too often it is. It feels bizarre to Temporarily Close, just after getting things going again but Covid is beyond our control or reason. With Donna testing Positive for Covid and my close proximity to her, it is the only option at the moment. These Closures result in tremendous business/personal financial losses for us - so we would obviously prefer to be Open. However, we will never knowingly put our community at risk for money. The safety of our customers and staff will always take priority over the dollar. God has provided faithfully over these past 13 years and He remains the same. So, we WILL get through these trying times and we appreciate your support as we navigate this ever-bending path we are all on. We are praying for all in our community being impacted by Covid and look forward to better days soon! See more

We would like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Happy New Year! We are very thankful for you all as we continue navigating this Covid Path together. Please note that we will be Closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day. Otherwise, both, inside dining and all carry out options are available during our regular (but temporary) business hours. We remain eager to resume our traditional schedule Mon-Sat but current conditions require us to f...ocus on being available for you during peak hours only. Monday - Closed Tue-Thur 11-3 Fri-Sat 11-7 The Worley’s join The Collegiate Team in wishing you a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Good Morning Gainesville! Just a quick video shout out to keep you all in the loop as to how we are progressing. I thought we were closing to take a breather - but it would appear there were issues that needed to be addressed. Sure am glad we have divine guidance and are not trusting in our own knowledge and ability. What was revealed when that floor in back was taken up was completely shocking. We were very close to a complete collapse of the floor where someone or many could have been badly hurt or worse. We have had entire floor inspected underneath and have been assured by qualified inspections that we are in great shape everywhere now. Look forward to seeing you soon!!

Wanted you to see a snapshot of the build back. Starts with the new floor joists, then new subfloor, then new concrete board, and finally the blue waterproofing process all before new industry recommended tile and grout. Someone asked about renovations completed couple years ago - to clarify, all of that work was done on the House Side only. We were not able to do it all at one time. The significant difference is that you don’t have water on the house side, no sinks, dish washers, and more sinks. etc...so other than the huge exterior wall we had to replace interior portion of it was much smaller in scope in terms of construction than behind the counter. That’s the simple answer as to why this was so much more involved - it’s where all the water is. Hope to show you some new tile real soon!

HAPPY SATURDAY MORNING GAINESVILLE!!!! Oftentimes it is the little things that get us most excited. One such example is our new cups finally arrived! We only have our 20 oz printed but 16oz are promised by first of the year. They just seem to fit The Collegiate Grill! As Donna and I started prepping earlier this morning for the day I was wondering what YOU ALL would be doing for lunch today. As the thousands we have served since last Thursday could confirm, your kind and ...very gracious response have been overwhelming to us, bringing Donna and I both so much gratitude. We want you to know that we value you, and we value the relationships we have built over the years. You have our pledge to keep The Collegiate Grill alive. With Covid lingering, rising food costs, and overhead always on the rise, we are not sure what The Collegiate may look like in the months ahead but the one thing we have certainty on is The Collegiate Grill will emerge from this pandemic stronger than ever, solely due to your loyalty. We can work hard all day long but without YOU it is all to no avail. So...Thank you Gainesville, from the bottom of our hearts for your amazing support. At times it seems like we have fought an up hill battle for 13 years just to survive but we’ve made it. Most of all just wanted to share our deep sense of gratitude for your loyalty and support. We are keenly aware that it’s more about The Collegiate Grill than it is Jeff and Donna; but we are thankful to simply be a part of the process. Today would be a great day for you and the fam to come in, sit down, and enjoy one of your favorite downtown lunch spots. In closing I do want to say, while we apologize for the extended wait times during peak hours we want you all to know that we give it our absolute best. Our Hood Vent Space is so small we are limited to counter top equipment (deep fryers etc..). It’s a miracle that we are able to produce the volume we do with the equipment we are limited to due to code. Our goal has always been to be a Mom and Pop eatery. We are not a national franchise with the budget to maintain the latest technology and equipment etc... At our age, we are too old to change. Maybe the next owners will take advantage of expanding hood vent space to handle more volume. But for now, please understand that we do have limits, and when we are overrun with orders, it does take time to fill them, especially with excellence, which remains our priority. In the famous words of the late Charles Hardy, We love you, and we need you. Now, for all of you armchair quarterbacks out there that refer to what I do as flipping burgers, I’m reminded of the wise words and quick wit of my late Grandmother, If you can’t say something good Jeff...just don’t say anything at all. We love you all and really do look forward to serving you soon but please do be aware of extended wait times during peak hours. Blessings to all and Merry Christmas everyone! See more

Good Evening Friends and Family of The Collegiate Grill! I promised to keep you all posted of our progress. Hesitant to share some of these photos but as we sou...ght to replace flooring behind counter we soon realized we had decades old issues to address. So, I’m really happy to report that we are moving right along. The demo/rebuild is near completion and Tile Company is prepared to start their work tomorrow, waterproofing and new tile, new floor drains etc.....Once they are finished we will be completed renovating entire restaurant. What we thought was to be a little time off has turned into much more - but once we re-open we are going to be in a good position. Dr. McHugh, along with Donna and I are making a really significant investment so that this part is done with excellence- all to set us up to serve YOU with excellence! Check out the pics. You can see the ugly but also the new. There were eight layers of mostly rotten subfloor to remove. Then to build back for the tile guys. I’ll be working through the night locating all plumbing drains from below the floor - then Adam and his guys at AAA Commercial Flooring will finish us up. Huge shout out to Carrol Daniel Construction for being an amazing neighbor and getting us a crew right away as the overwhelming need became obvious. Justin and his Team did great work and we are mighty thankful! Gotta go crawl under the building for a bit...but we are really looking forward to resuming operations as soon as tile is finished and we get cleaned back up. Thank you Gainesville for your tremendous support- thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate these very challenging times. I’ll do my best to post photos of tile as we progress Blessings to you and yours and just can’t wait to serve you again really soon! See more

GOOD MORNING GAINESVILLE!!! Donna and I are very pleased to announce that Your Collegiate Grill is once again open for business. We were intentional in Opening very quietly, without promoting, this past Thursday. Simply by word of mouth we were blessed with a remarkable weekend of business. Currently we are open with limited hours and limited seating indoors. If your lunch is time sensitive we strongly urge you to call ahead and we can have you ready when you arrive. We can n...Continue reading

Donna Worley, Josh Worley, Brandon Worley, Christan Harding, Jeffrey S Worley

Very grateful The Times interviewed us to help keep folks informed. We have been working non-stop since TEMPORARY Closure. All equipment, sinks, ice makers, plumbing, etc...had to be removed for demo of old flooring to start. We replaced the "house side" couple years ago. We have been "patching" behind counter and in kitchen to just get by as we remained operational. After having one day off work with my brain slowing down I immediately realized to not use this time to comple...Continue reading