Pizza Grill-a: Serving Big Appetites with Big Hearts
By Becky Billingsley
What do you get when you mix motorcycle-riding Christians with delicious recipes? A cozy little restaurant in Pawleys Island called Pizza Grill-a, where everyone feels welcome to enjoy delicious and economical meals.
Eric and Sissy Rutherford opened Pizza Grill-a in 2008 to fulfill a need to share their home-style food with others and to reach out to the community as business owners. Eric is also a popular local motorcycle columnist, and the couple are active members of Garden City Baptist Church.
This is all relevant information, because their lives and their missions are intertwined with the restaurant. During the previous two years they have baked heart-shape pizzas for Valentine's Day with sales benefiting the American Heart Association; made Pizza Grill-a a drop-off point for food donations for the Baskerville Ecumenical Food Bank; and collected coats, gloves and hats for mission work in Kentucky.
These really nice folks also cook outstanding food.
Meals can start with Grill-a Knuckles, which are house-made dough knots baked with garlic butter, topped with grated Parmesan and served with a side of homemade marinara sauce for dipping. The meal can proceed with sandwiches such as their Italian Hoagies, which have sliced ham, salami and pepperoni with provolone cheese, lettuce tomato, onion, and Italian dressing.
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Sissy is responsible for concocting the robust tomato sauce that accompanies the restaurant’s pizzas and signature dish of Spaghetti and hand-rolled Meatballs. In fact, Pizza Grill-a mixes almost all the sauces offered on their menu, such as the 14 flavors offered with their hot wings: Mild, Medium, Hot, Extra Hot, Teriyaki, Terihottie, Barbecue, Honey Barbecue, Hot Honey Mustard, Parmesan, Garlic Parmesan, Parmehottie, Sweet and Sour, and Hot Garlic.
Each pizza is hand-tossed with dough and sauce made from scratch and topped with the diner’s choice of more than 15 toppings. The result is a hot, gooey cheesy dish that’s light on oils but loaded with rich flavor.
The grill’s 17 sandwich options include the Buffalo Bob with chicken tenders in hot wing sauce and blue cheese dressing. However, the most popular selections are the Philly Cheese Steak served on genuine Amoroso rolls, and the Meatball Sub with Sissy’s incredible marinara.
Cloth-covered tables placed around the room create comfortable seating for parties of any size while bar seating invites solitary diners or those waiting for carry-out orders. A few televisions - including a mammoth big screen - and arcade games are placed around the room to create diversions, and children are delighted by toys and coloring books.
But the real action can be seen through the small window into the kitchen, where patrons can watch the preparation of their favorite dishes.
A popular special is from 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays when you can get Spaghetti and Garlic Bread for $6. They offer free delivery for orders of $10 or more.
Pizza Grill-a is in the Litchfield Plaza Shopping Center at 13088 Ocean Highway in Pawleys Island. They are open daily from 11 a.m.-10 p.m., and the number is 843-237-7500.
I have eaten the meatball sub many times and it is hands down, the best on the beach!