local flavor
Story By Shaila Creekmore, Photos By Dero Sanford

Godsey’s Grill may be the new kid on the block downtown, but with original exposed brick walls, stained wood floors and the beautifully carved wooden accents and rich coloring of the uniquely crafted bar, the restaurant exudes a familiar atmosphere that feels more like a historic Jonesboro landmark.

After catering for more than four years, Lisa Godsey and Gray Hurt turned their business into a casual eatery when they opened Godsey’s Grill in June. With a laid-back, retro atmosphere, the restaurant is often said to have a “Cheer’s” feel when customers walk through the large wooden and glass door on Main Street.
Hurt and Godsey said their goal for the restaurant was to create an atmosphere where everyone felt welcome whether they were in jeans and T-shirt or a business suit.

“We wanted something that was very relaxed, that served good food, had a good mood and good music,” said Hurt. “It’s a mix and we want everyone to feel comfortable here.”

When looking at locations for the restaurant, Godsey and Hurt searched various venues along Main Street.

“This was a complete shell so we saw a lot of potential with this one,” said Godsey.

A semi-open kitchen was added to the left of the building with a wood-burning, stone oven toward the front. A bar is located at the front of the kitchen with the seating area wrapped around it. The original brick walls and remnants of the stucco added over the years remain with newly painted murals by Vince Pearsy.

Customers frequently begin their dining experience at Godsey’s with at least one of the restaurant’s many appetizers. With 16 appetizers on the menu, including three of Godsey’s signature dips, three variations of mega nachos, eggrolls, fried pickles and beer-battered onion rings, it’s difficult to narrow the selection to just one.

Custom-made pizzas, cooked directly on the stone at 650 degrees in the open, all wood-burning oven, are also a specialty at Godsey’s. The 12-inch hand-rolled crusts start with homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and are finished with each customer’s favorite toppings.

“Lisa has always dabbled with pizza, so we thought the pizza oven would be a great addition,” said Hurt.

“We decided not to go with signature pizzas, but just to let everyone build what they want. Most of the time people change the ingredients anyway, so we just let people order it how they like it,” said Godsey. “It truly is a custom-made pizza.”

Burgers prevail as the most popular item on the menu. Made with fresh ground chuck, each burger starts with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and mayo, or as they call it, “all the way.” Variations to burgers include a bacon cheddar burger, black and blue burger with blue cheese and grilled onions, “Jtown” burger with bacon, ham, American cheese and fried onions, Arkansas burger with pepper jack, barbecue sauce, bacon and fried onions, steak burger with A-1 Steak Sauce, sautéed mushrooms, fried onion and pepper jack, and Texas Burger with bacon, cheddar and a fried egg.

“Most people look at the Texas burger on the menu and they think ooh, that’s awful, but then they try it and say, ‘Oh man, that’s wonderful,’” said Godsey.
Hurt and Godsey are currently working on adding numerous items to the menu, including more burger selections.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Godsey’s includes a selection of steaks on the menu. All of thesteaks are hand-cut each day and use a limited amount of seasoning, letting the taste and quality of the meat come through. Also popular on the menu are Godsey’s paninis. The seven paninis currently offered on the menu include the French Quarter, turkey mushroom melt, hot Italian, chicken bacon club, drunken chicken, tuna and artichoke and vegetarian. Sammies, Godsey’s version of the sandwich, are available on ciabatta bread, bun or wheat berry bread. All of the meats used are smoked onsite for both the paninis and sammies, including Godsey’s pulled pork sandwich.

The restaurant’s salad menu also features several of its smoked meats including the drunken chicken salad and barbecue pork salad along with black and blue salad topped with steak, tuna steak salad, Caesar and Greek salads.
Godsey’s kid’s menu features mini burgers, grilled cheese, mini pizzas and will soon include mini corn dogs.

For the big game, Godsey’s dinning room has three flat screens that can each show a different game.

“We bought every sports package we could think of so we could catch everybody’s game,” said Hurt.

The restaurant also features a full service bar with 16 beers on tap. A number of the beers are rotated in and out so that seasonal beers are available. Godsey’s is currently developing a drink menu for customers.

In the five short months since the restaurant opened, Godsey and Hurt said they have been very happy with the reception they have received downtown as well as with customers.

“Going into something like this, it’s a roll of the dice, but it’s been great,” said Godsey. “We want to make sure that no one leaves here unhappy. We want to encourage people just to come in and give us a try. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

Hurt and Godsey also asked restaurant patrons to look for the return of their catering business in early 2009.

Godsey’s Grill, 226 South Main Street, is open Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call 336-1988 or visit the restaurant’s web site at www.godseysgrill.com.