Anyone who has ever been a student at the University of Georgia in Athens knows of Locos Deli & Pub. The restaurant has been serving a huge variety of sandwiches, burgers, wings and entrees to hungry college students since its first location opened in in 1988.
Brooks Robinson was one of those hungry students, and when he moved back to Fayette County after his stint at the university, he wanted to introduce the area to his favorite restaurant.
Locos Deli & Pub opened in May of last year in the Towne Center Shopping Center in Fayetteville. The restaurant presents a laid-back and family oriented atmosphere and offers a full menu ranging from appetizers to desserts, as well as a bar area.
"I used to love going to Locos while I was a student and I always felt that it would be a great fit in a town like Fayetteville," Brooks said. With his father Chuck on board, this local father-son team made their dream happen.
Chuck Robinson stresses the fact that Locos is not a fast food restaurant, but a place where people can sit down and enjoy a fresh cooked meal. "We want to create a place where friends meet to have a meal, relax and talk," he said. "With the two of us being local, we often get into conversations with our customers and Fayetteville and Fayette County's history. We want our customers to feel like they are eating with friends when they come in."
Customer favorites off the menu include the wings and sandwiches. Brooks said his personal choice is the Looney Bird. It consists of smoked turkey smothered in Swiss cheese, topped with lettuce, tomato and mayo served on an onion roll. For only $6.95, it comes with a side choice of chips, french fries, pasta salad, cole slaw or black beans.
"The Looney Bird was the sandwich I tried at Locos when I was in school in Athens and it is still my favorite," Brooks said.
Other delicious sandwich varieties include the Chicken Parmesan, with marinara sauce, mozzarella and aged Parmesan, and the Damage, which includes lean roast beef, smoked turkey, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard and mayo on a choice of bread. Sandwich prices range from $4.95 to $9.25.
If you are in the mood for something a little bigger, try one of the Locos entrees. These include the Bleu Moose Steak, a 12-ounce cut New York Strip topped with robust melted bleu cheese crumbles and placed over a bed on Onion
Tanglers. For seafood lovers, there is the Flagstaff Tuna Steak, a southwest marinated tuna steak seared on the grill. Entrees are served with a side salad, garlic bread, and either french fried or a baked potato. Prices vary from $9.95 up to $16.95 for the steak.
Salads abound at Locos, and one unique menu option allows customers to create their own custom salad. A basic bed of lettuce and tomatoes is provided, and can then be designed with 24 different toppings including a variety of meats, cheeses and vegetables.
Locos offers a full range of hamburgers, as well as a meatless portion of the menu, where customers can choose from vegetarian sandwiches or the veggie burger. The Fun Guy is a hearty marinated and grilled portabella mushroom on an onion roll with lettuce, tomato, sprouts and dressing for only $6.25, and also comes with a side item.
Finish it all off with the Mount Chocsuvius dessert, a mountainous chocolate baby bundt cake served hot and topped with ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Brooks said it is the top selling dessert at the restaurant and people love it.
Drop by on a Wednesday night for weekly trivia, and watch for live music coming this spring. Locos also offers catering and local delivery.
Locos Deli & Pub is at 805 South Glynn Street in the Towne Center Kroger Shopping Center. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, please call 770-719-9552.
