LUCERNE— From an unsuspecting clay and green trimmed building, perched right across the street from Clearlake in Lucerne sits Grilligan’s Island located at 6232 State Hwy 20 in Lucerne. Grilligan’s Island is one of Lake County’s newest culinary addition, offering a variety grilled cheese, burgers, soups, and sides like Broccoli salad, Orzo Pasta salad, and Cole Slaw.
Since their soft opening on February 7, Grilligan’s Island has maintained hours from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, staying open just late enough for one to grab a grilled cheese and tomato soup and watch one of Lake County’s beautiful sunsets from the two bay windows inside. Their menu is straight forward but enticing and if you like heat, go for the “Ginger” which boasts jalapeños, cream cheese and bacon and is beyond what you would expect from a jalapeño popper grilled cheese. Other signature sandwiches include the “Professor” and “Millionaire” and are made with in-house ingredients while they source many of their meats locally. The sandwiches had just the right amount of crispiness to perfectly complement the tomato soup and there were zero leftovers, according to customers who tried it. The eatery also offer specials such as the Corn Beef and Cabbage St. Patrick’s Day special which they recently served.
Prior to establishing their first brick and mortar location, Nicole Gentry had been in the industry for 20 years, managing fast food chains like McDonald’s and Jack In The Box. She was born in Garberville but moved to Lake County with her mother over 20 years ago. Nick was born in Missouri and the two have been married for seven years and remain active with their church Harvest Clearlake. Last year they applied for the 1 Team 1 Dream competition, a county program aimed at helping beginning businesses establish themselves. Through the contest they received marketing assistance, started serving at farmers markets and when the opportunity to rent a store front arose, they applied, were accepted, and very quickly got inspections approved and opened their business. Having dreamt of “owning a Diner off the Highway for tourists and travelers”, her entire life, Nicole graduated Culinary School in May of 2021 and has now fulfilled that dream by opening her first family-owned restaurant with her husband Nick. Nicole has an upcoming graduation ceremony on May 20, closing the store that day in order to celebrate her achievement.
Despite opening their first restaurant during a global pandemic, Nicole and Nick feel they have had success in creating a credible reputation, with their only challenges being building up their clientele and hiring a solid staff, problems felt by many in the industry during this time. Nicole shared “Otherwise everything happened very smooth, our inspections happened a week after moving in and was approved then our second inspection was approved right after opening.” They continue to progress as they begin to plan their first event benefitting the Tango Mike organization. Currently they are seeking help finding an artist to design and complete a mural for the front of the restaurant and are holding a design contest asking artists of the community to submit ideas. The winner will receive a basket of goods as well as the opportunity to complete the mural. For more information find them online via Facebook or Instagram @grilligansisland.
