Spanky's Grille

10/10/2026

I think that one of the greatest challenges is willing yourself to look at the good things in your life and NOT focusing on the bad. Think of it like a movie. You are standing on a bridge which is falling apart; what does the person on the far side yell, “Don’t look down!” If you look down, you may lose focus and fall into the darkness. A biblical view would be the angels telling Lot’s family to leave S***m and NOT to look back. S***m’s wife looks back and she is punished by being turned into a pillar of salt. What if she wasn't turned to salt, what would she have seen; I would think death and destruction. Why would she want to see that, even if she could? I often repeat the same message, because it’s VERY important. Do not allow yourself to dwell on negative things; do not look back or down, but point yourself towards the sun. You can’t make yourself happy, you can make yourself happier.

10/10/2026

The Viking Standings. Over the last two weeks West Virginia was the biggest winners adding 4 Vikings. 4 Vikings didn't move WV up in the standings, (BUT!!!) one more would move West Virginia from 6th to 4th (to be continued). Pennsylvania and North Carolina Each tied for second by adding three Vikings which means neither gained any ground, BUT North Carolina is still six behind PA!!! Finally Virginia and Florida each added a Viking. Florida's 1 Vikings was the only Viking that changed the standings as it moved Florida from 12th to 10th!!! For the full standings, click on the link.

     VIKINGS LORE:  When Spanky's first opened we offered a one-pound burger.  Less than two weeks after we opened, two customers (Mark & Brian Zeiber) each requested and finished two of our one pound burgers each.  As a 'joke' we added a two pound burger (AKA The Mad Viking) to our menu.....

10/10/2026

VIKING UPDATE 3 of 3: The day ended with North Carolina striking back thanks to Noah. Noah has finished a LOT of Vikings, But I do believe that this was Noah's first Viking of 2026.

10/10/2026

Viking Update 2 of 3: Pennsylvania and North Carolina are in a battle for second place. Today Paul finished a Viking for PA to help Pennsylvania's cause.

10/10/2026

VIKING UPDATE 1 of 3: Today John finished a Viking for Florida which is a really big deal as that pushes Florida from 12th place to 10th. At the end of the year, we record the top 10 finishers. Great job John.

10/09/2026

A few days before opening (June 2003), we had to put together our first schedule. We double staffed as we knew that half of the people who want a job (in any business) won’t show up and they won’t call to tell you that they're not showing up. We knew that it would be bad if we scheduled two no shows together, but we made our best guess. As expected some showed up and some didn’t, and as always the two people that wanted jobs the most and were super thankful for being hired and talked the best stories were no shows; this is a repeating pattern at EVERY restaurant I’ve worked at: whoever begs for a job doesn’t really want a job, don’t ask me to explain, I can’t. It took about a week before we put together a solid staff. Aside from our cook George who often waited tables at the start (believe it or not) the original staff is gone, but most aren’t forgotten; it was a fun staff but not as fun as the staff we have now.

10/08/2026

If you were to look at Spankys in 2001 (we opened in 2003), this is what you would have seen.

10/08/2026

NEW SPECIAL!!! It took a little time BUT we have it. We are selling a quarter pound grilled pork belly sandwich. The pork is pasture raised locally (by the same company that sells us our hamburger for the cowboy burger). The meat has no hormones, no antibiotics, they grow their own feed and they age the meat themselves. The bottom line for me: Delicious!!! The pork belly sandwich is $7.99 and served with fries. You are looking at Mr. Spanky’s lunch!!! Honestly, I’ve never had pork belly before (not sure how that happened), but I really like it!!!

10/07/2026

When our children were little, Mrs. Spanky and I were telling a story about when we were younger and working at a different restaurant. Our oldest, Anna, said, “You weren’t always here?” Those aren’t the exact words, but I remember thinking, “That’s right, you two grew up here, you don’t know that we had a life before Spankys.” I would guess that Mrs. Spanky would be about 23 in this picture (I'm terrible with numbers) which would make her the same age as Anna is now. This picture is from next door at Jimmy's Buffett. Crazy coincidence that we ended up building a restaurant next door, right????

10/07/2026

You asked and it's back. The first time we tried tuna it sold okay, but it seems that every time that we bring it back it sells better (jinxed things, right???) Lately people have been asking when the tuna would return; the answer is tomorrow. We have the grilled tuna sandwich with fries $9.99 or the grilled tuna tacos with fries for $10.99.