When a high school-aged Melissa Clegg watched her mother play a Les Paul guitar and sing the blues at The Last Resort, the future Athens restaurateur never could have imagined the role that the downtown Athens location would have in her later life.

Last Resort Grill celebrated its 30th anniversary in August, making it one of the Classic City's most enduring restaurants. Though guests have enjoyed Last Resort's southwestern-inspired southern cuisine for decades, the building and the eatery's name are rooted in Athens music history.

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Opened in 1966 by Curt Smith, The Last Resort was one of Athens' earliest music venues and hosted a variety of folk music and other related genres more than a decade before the city gave birth to the alternative rock scene. Legendary singer and civil rights activist Odetta performed there frequently, and future superstars from Jimmy Buffett and Tom Waits to stand-up comedian Steve Martin graced the stage as well.

Originally from California, Clegg arrived in Athens at age 12 with her family and later entered the restaurant industry as a teenager by working at Sparky's seafood, where she went from washing dishes to shucking oysters.

Meanwhile, The Last Resort expanded its 174 W. Clayton St. location into 184 Clayton next door to accommodate the city's exploding music appetite, hosting performances from iconic bands like The B-52s, Pylon, Squalls, Limbo District, Guadalcanal Diary, Is/Ought Gap, Little Tigers and Normaltown Flyers.

By the late 1980s, The Last Resort had closed down and Clegg tried her hand at restaurant ownership with the short-lived Lumpkin Café. Sparky's owner Ed Wilde convinced her to reopen Last Resort as a restaurant, and she did just that in August 1992 and partnered up with Jamshad Zarnegar the following year.

"The community really embraced Last Resort Grill from the get-go," Clegg said. "There weren't many independent restaurants downtown back then, and people were literally hungry for an alternative."

With an eclectic menu that married coastal influence and southwestern flavors, Last Resort was an instant hit due to its lunch option, a rare find in the 1990s Athens dining scene. Clegg is also the owner of Wall & Broad, an event space on South Lumpkin Street that opened in 2018.

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Last Resort's journey hasn't been without challenges, including weathering the coronavirus pandemic to a pair of lawsuits filed in 2020 by former employees, which attorney Peter Steckel told the Banner-Herald were resolved in early 2022. LRG Provisions, a dining room and catering service in Five Points owned by Clegg, closed in 2020 after six years in operation.

Today, items like shrimp and grits, praline chicken, crab cakes and fried green tomatoes remain on Last Resort's menu due to their enduring popularity with guests. When asked about the key to the restaurant's longevity, Clegg cited the loyal customer base and consistency with management and staff, several of whom have worked there for more than a decade.

"I've seen regulars have families of their own over time, and it's just been great to watch them continue to come eat here together," said front of house and floor manager Gary Warenfelt, who has been with Last Resort for 19 years. "We recently had a couple celebrating their 25th anniversary because their first date was here."

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Last Resort celebrates 30 years as a downtown Athens dining favorite