A Milton favorite for seafood and home cooking, The Cutting Board , reopened its doors Thursday after a six-month hiatus. They're making their return with big relocation plans on the horizon.
The Cutting Board, owned and operated by husband-wife duo Steve Gregory and Nan Foster, has been long-loved by the Milton community, dating back to their first location that opened on Stewart Street in 1996. While the couple sold their original location in 2004 to pursue other restaurant endeavors, they eventually made it back to their 5701 U.S. Highway 90 location about 12 years ago.
They closed their location last December with plans to relocate to a larger location at the former Avalon Bowling Center at 2986 Avalon Blvd. When the redevelopment of the bowling alley stalled, they decided to reopen their tried and true U.S. 90 location in the meantime. They are hoping to be moved into their new building by the end of the year.
“This community has been extremely good to Steve and I,” Foster said. “We hope to serve more of the local community.”
The new location will give the restaurant about 500 feet of additional space, along with some new additions like an oyster bar, a spacious banquet room to host in-house catered events and a few new menu surprises that be revealed on the restaurant’s social media closer to opening day.
From the hushpuppy recipe passed down for generations, to the top-selling “Andy’s Sauteed Sensation,” or the fresh mullet – which the restaurant typically sells 400 to 600 pounds of every week – most of the menu will remain the same, which is how the customers like it.
Best Milton restaurants: Nine restaurants that do Southern cooking (and more) right
Even though the restaurant's variety of fresh seafood is the star, there is plenty of other meat on the menu, like the best-selling Redneck Burger with fried pickles, fried green tomatoes, bacon and American cheese.
“We are a seafood-based restaurant that offers every type of food,” Foster said.
Their condensed lunch menu served Wednesday through Friday has options for seafood- and land-lovers alike, ranging from the Seafood Stuffed Potato loaded with sauteed shrimp, crawfish and fish of the day, to the Hwy. 90 Pileup featuring fried or grilled chicken tenders piled with sauteed onions and mushrooms.
The dinner menu, reserved for Friday nights, digs deeper into appetizers, steaks, pastas and seafood dishes.
While Gregory prefers to call himself a “home cook” rather than a chef, he’s responsible for curating the restaurant’s signature dishes, with a culinary career spanning back to when he was only 14 years old.
In case you missed: This Milton ice cream shop is saying goodbye
“He hates calling himself chef, but he is the mastermind behind the food here,” Foster said.
While Foster knows customers are eager for the restaurant to have longer operating hours, like they did in pre-COVID days, she sees the hours sticking, even once the larger location opens. This is largely so they can share their time with catering, which makes up a lot of The Cutting Board's business.
She said customers have been eager to get back inside with “no less than 75 people” knocking on the doors to see what's happening inside.
The Cutting Board is now open for lunch only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday with extended hours on Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Hungry for more? Stay up to date on the latest restaurant news by subscribing to our free Pensacola Eats newsletter, delivered to your inbox every Wednesday. Sign up for the newsletter at profile.pnj.com/newsletter .
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Popular Milton seafood restaurant reopens after a six-month hiatus
Most Popular
Comments / 0