The Laderman family loves to travel, and they love to eat. After one food-filled trip, they returned home to Martin, Tennessee and asked, “Where do you want to eat now?” The answer was “someplace special.” That’s what their restaurant, The Grind, delivers. One way they do it is with their monster milkshakes.
“We wanted to make The Grind an experience,” Mark Laderman says. Mark, his wife Lisa and their son Alan are equal partners in The Grind and two other area sandwich shops.
Alan is the creative menu planner who always pushes to “make everything amazing” and provide “over the top” customer service. His milkshakes are epic works of art.
His idea of over the top is “if a little bit is good, a lot is better.” And his monster shakes are a real attention-grabber. Each milkshake-filled glass is piled high with eye-popping, colorfully sweet confections.
Whipped cream and a cherry on top? Been there, done that. The Grind’s shakes turn something simple into something spectacular. Such as the “Chocolate Freak Shake”—a chocolate shake rimmed with Coco Pebbles cereal and topped with a chocolate ice cream treat, chocolate whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate syrup and a cherry.
There’s also a shake called “S’more the Merrier,” which is topped with marshmallows toasted at the table. Mark says the aroma evokes memories of nights around a campfire.
This spring, The Grind whipped up a new creation for Peeps sake—a shake topped with marshmallow peeps and pastel candies.
The creative shakes have always been a hot seller. When The Grind first opened, there was a line out the door. One weekend, they served 150 gallons of milk shakes.
Restaurant Snapshot
Operation: The Grind Mac & Cheese Burger Bar
Location: Martin, Tennessee
Classification: Casual Restaurant
Number of seats: 98 inside/70 patio
Dayparts served: Lunch an dinner
Check average: $50 (average table with two guests)
Signature shake: S’more the Merrier
Owners: Mark, Lisa and Alan Laderman
Total staff: 70 (40 front of house)
Guiding philosophy: The American Dream is still alive. It’s just hard work. You’ve got to grind it out.
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