Last year, The Iron Skillet was one of many locations in Giles County devastated by Hurricane Helene and the flood damage it caused.
Formerly known as Anna’s Restaurant, the Iron Skillet was only open for four months before Helene came crashing down upon Giles County and forced them to close their doors.
“It was very substantial,” The Iron Skillet owner, Justin Spicer, said. “We probably had a foot of water in here all the way through the building.”
The rebuild was long and arduous, with many aspects of the restaurant needing to be repaired or outright changed.
“We completely gutted the whole dining room, tore the floors up... redid the kitchen and prep room, everything downstairs,” Spicer said.
However, The Iron Skillet is now back up and running within Giles County. Despite an abbreviated menu and different operating hours, hungry diners have already been stopping by their favorite spot.
One such diner is Sean Harris, who was a regular at The Iron Skillet before Hurricane Helene forced the temporary closure.
A fan of the hamburger steak, Friday was Harris’s first time back at the restaurant. To celebrate, he brought his brother Billy and father Tommy to share a meal with.
“You know you don’t have to travel or anything like that,” Harris said. “The food is just wonderful really it is. The people are great too, they are good too.”
Despite all the hardships, the Iron Skillet has quickly re-established itself as a pillar of Giles County as the community celebrates the return of a beloved local restaurant.
“It’s hometown people that work here, we know the people that work here and we went to school with them,” Harris said. “We grew up with them and all that good stuff.”
Spicer said that he hopes to return to catering, finish the upstairs section and bring live music back in the near future."