Pavilion Serves Up Good, Clean Food & Fun

The Pavilion at Snug Harbor is more than a lakeside restaurant. It’s a key ingredient in owner Tom Jones’ evolving recipe for filling some local needs, including “a place where kids can get off their computer for a while to play in the water and basically have good food free of any additives.”

Shortly after Guntersville Dam was completed in 1939, Snug Harbor was the site of the first marina built on the reservoir, Jones says. “When I grew up in Grant in the ’70s, Snug Harbor was a place we used to go to ski, to fish. We’d basically stay on the river all weekend.”

Those memories inspired Jones to build The Pavilion, which will celebrate its second anniversary this fall. Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, The Pavilion provides customers and visitors access to water activities and a boatload of good food options. It’s located at 154 Snug Harbor Road, just off Highway 431, in Grant.

The restaurant’s lakefront wall is actually 6 large doors that roll up and out of sight. “Eating here is like being outside on a picnic,” Jones says. “We can open up all those doors to see the sunset and the lake views. But it’s nothing fancy — just a place to come and have a big time, run around in your bathing suit, soaking wet.” On hot days, fans provide comfort, and when it’s cold, portable heaters keep customers toasty.

The menu of fresh meats, seafood, and desserts, all made from scratch, represents the solution to a problem Jones was facing long before he decided to open a restaurant. DredgeIt, his primary business cleaning waterways, takes Jones and his employees to remote areas along the East Coast and beyond, where food options are often limited.

“My guys would go out and eat, then all day long they’d feel bad,” he says. “So, I started cooking for them, feeding them good food. Then they were able to work longer and feel good, not sick all the time. What you eat really controls how you feel.”

Bringing the Heat

A DredgeIt crew favorite is AJ Wings, which brings a spicy kick to The Pavilion’s menu. “They really like chicken wings, so I’d marinate them in a cooler overnight in Frank’s RedHot sauce and pickled jalapeno juice,” Jones says. “And then we’d get to the job, I’d grill them to 165 degrees, and then we’d flash fry them in peanut oil.”

The Pavilion’s seafood options include fresh oysters delivered weekly from the Gulf Coast. “I’ve eaten oysters all up and down the East Coast, but our oysters are better,” Jones says. “I get them fresh every week and keep them at 38 degrees. And when we’re shucking them or doing anything, we keep them on ice. A lot of times, I just throw them on the firewood, they’ll pop open, and I just eat them like that.”

Wood is the fuel of choice at The Pavilion. “We cook all of our food on direct heat, which is basically firewood. Because when you get older and you eat food that’s been smoked in a smoker, it’ll give you heartburn.”

Grilled items include all-beef hot dogs, burgers and briskets, pork butts and a red rub-seasoned chicken that gets eaten “all the way to the bone,” Jones says. Unique sandwiches, tacos, stews, gumbo, pizza, loaded grill-baked potatoes, decadent desserts, cold treats, and more are also on the menu.

Food prep is done in food truck-type stations, and all orders are made to go. “80% of it goes to people who come in or call in for an order to take with them,” Jones says. “A lot of the customers come in golf carts or 4-wheelers. Hundreds of people come in boats, pick up the food, and go out on their boats to eat.”

Jones prepares a Lowcountry boil every day except Thursday, which is when The Pavilion is hopping with its weekly cornhole tournament. “Every Thursday, people drive in from near and far for the cornhole tournament,” he says. “When you talk about getting serious, they really get serious about cornhole.”

Pavilion guests can also enjoy activities like playing in the water and swimming. Plenty of spots are available for fishing, with a permit, and kayaks and boats can be rented. Jones says he plans to “put in a little water park that covers about 3 acres.” The Pavilion also frequently hosts parties and events.

“We’re just basically aiming to create a place to jump out of your car, get some good food, go fishing, play in the water,” Jones says. “And you know, we’ve got a great sunset.”