Owner, Operator and Executive Chef Christopher Paulk has been passionate about cooking for most of his life. Born in South Alabama near the Mississippi Delta, his introduction to cuisine was a collision of traditional Southern cooking, fresh seafood from the Emerald Coast, and the ever-present spill of Louisiana's rich culinary heritage. 

At the age of 21, Christopher moved to New York City, where he fibbed his way into the hectic world of Manhattan's upper west side restaurant scene. Having no real professional kitchen knowledge, Christopher relied on training from every member to the team from dishwashers to bus boys to sous chefs. After several roller coaster years of "hard knock" schooling from trendy, fine dining restaurants and packed nightclubs, Christopher entered culinary school in the city's exclusive Soho District. Honors at graduation and recognition as one of the top young chefs in the school lead to many open doors over the years to come. Over the course of ten years, Manhattan's opportunities allowed Christopher to work in some of the world's finest restaurant and learn from some of the world's premier chefs.

Christopher was 31 when he made his way to Atlanta, Georgia with a pretty impressive resume as a sous chef. It was in Atlanta where he started putting the entire "chef puzzle" together. Maturity and dedication to his craft paid off and Christopher eventually rose to become an Executive Chef. Two years later he opened his first restaurant in Gulf Shores, Alabama aptly naed The Sandbar and Grille. After nearly three successful years, Hurricane Ivan destroyed most of the Emerald Coast; sadly, the Sandbar was not spared. With very little insurance money to rebuild, Christopher set his sights on the Auburn/Opelika, Alabama area because of its Southern boom town appeal. The restaurant Christopher was born.

For the last three years, Christopher spent his days and nights working on making the restaurant better than it was the day before; recently relocating the wildly popular Opelika restaurant to Lake Martin, Alabama.