Chef Johnny Earles’ newest venture has arrived, just in time for the peak summer season.

Grayton Bar & Grill is now open, found in the same 30A location where his Criolla’s Restaurant became the stuff of culinary legends. Chef Earles recently opened the doors with wife, Debbie Loomis-­Earles, to packed crowds enjoying Earles’ unique style of Modern Deep South Cookin’.

With its casual menu, creative cocktails and Old Grayton-­style decor, Grayton Bar & Grill elicits memories of the good old days when beach‐loving families piled the kids (and the dog) into the back of the station wagon, strapped a ton of luggage to the roof and went to the family cottage in Grayton Beach.

Throughout his prestigious career, Earles has worked with such culinary luminaries as chefs Jean-­Georges Vongerichten, Tom Colicchio, Charlie Palmer and in San Sebastian, Spain, Michelin three-­star chef, Martin Berasategui. And he previously held the record for the longest-standing eatery on Scenic Highway 30A before Criolla’s closed its doors in 2008.

Earles’ culinary experience began at 22 years old when the Louisiana transplant came to Grayton Beach to help a friend launch a restaurant in an old beach shack. The location had been a grocery store by day and a dance hall by night. It had no air conditioning or commercial kitchen equipment. That summer gig ultimately transformed Earles into an accomplished chef when he became the owner of the fondly remembered Paradise Café.

At the bar — with some guidance from an internationally recognized mixologist — two of the most popular drinks include Pom Pom’s Butt Fan (we’ll have to let the bartenders tell you that story) and the Clooney Rita, a Grayton Bar & Grill margarita creation that uses specialty tequila produced by actor George Clooney. In addition to cocktails made from other small batch American craft spirits producers and a list of 120+ reasonably priced wines, there are eight different beers on tap and ten different bottled beers.