DI Grille sells to island resident, reopens as Mac’s Daniel Island

After nearly a decade and a half of service dating back to 2008, Daniel Island Grille has sold its Seven Farms Drive location. The neighborhood pub went public with its farewell announcement via Facebook on April 20.

 

“The almost 15 year journey has been a roller coaster at times, but one that we could never regret,” read a portion of the post published by former longtime co-owners Thomas Dowling and Amy Timmons. “The amazing employees and guests that have become friends and the friends that have become family will be treasures we will have for a lifetime.”

 

Two days before the news broke, on April 18, DIG was officially bought by Daniel Island resident Garret McNally and the owner of downtown Chicago-themed sports bar Mac’s Place Pub & Grub.  

 

“We’re very proud to take over this space,” McNally said. “We’re very passionate about what we do and the product we provide. We’re excited to share that with the people on Daniel Island and hopefully be here for many years to come.”   

 

Financial details of the sale and acquisition were not disclosed. McNally noted that the conversation about the transaction dated back to 2019. One of the main reasons it was put on hold was the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Dowling and Timmons, who were unavailable for comment, said on their Facebook post that their tagline “Family, Friends, and Fun” was received “tenfold” by the staff, patrons and the community.   

 

DIG’s several other locations will remain operational. As will Mac’s other downtown location. 

 

On April 21, just three days after purchasing the former DIG, McNally decided to turn right around and open the doors to his second location: Mac’s Daniel Island. 

 

McNally said that in the coming months, patrons can expect to see changes such as a new paint job, redone bathrooms, new TVs and an arcade game system for children. He noted that the new pub will likely shut down for a week or two this winter for the more extensive renovations.  

 

The focus is to get patrons to desire to dine inside as well. McNally felt the indoor space was previously underutilized in comparison to the traffic at the outside bar.  

 

As for the menu, there will be no immediate changes. McNally said he expects to add new items each week, but there will be no immediate changes to the menu, which will reflect similar bar bites as the Mac’s downtown location. McNally is slowly rolling it out to allow cooks to adjust to the items.

 

The Daniel Island location will not carry the Chicago sports theme.

 

As for the staff, current Mac’s employees are mixed with DIG’s former employees. They are currently hiring for all positions including management, host and hostesses, servers and bartenders. Full-time employment comes with salaries and full benefits. 

 

“We just want it to be a neighborhood sports bar,” McNally added. “... I think Daniel Island needs a casual restaurant like this with all of the other offerings out here.”  

 

Mac’s Daniel Island is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. For more information, visit macsdi.com.