Any rational person who hears the story of Mack Hill’s first foray into the hospitality business might be shocked to learn that the bartender is willing to give it another go.
Back in 1995, Hill, who was in the Navy and stationed in South Carolina, had just spent his life savings to purchase and renovate a massive nightclub, the second largest in the state. Hill describes the space, a former storage facility, as positively gigantic; to give an idea of the scale, the parking lot was the size of one you’d find at a Walmart Supercenter. But he didn’t let its enormous footprint deter him. Instead, he sank $87,000 and priceless sweat equity into creating an entertainment destination, complete with a restaurant, bar, full-size stage, and slot machines. It was a labor of love and the realization of a life’s dream to own his own bar—and he only had it four days.
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“I was an E6 in the Navy and was in the process of becoming a commissioned officer,” Hill recalls. “We were getting ready to do our grand opening when my recruiter called and told me I had orders to go to Guam. I told him it didn’t make sense to go to Guam, because I was going to be sent back to become a commissioned officer, but he told me he was the one who was in control, and he needed me in Guam. He sent me there four days after our grand opening.” Without Hill at the helm, the establishment shuttered shortly thereafter.
Twenty-five years after his tour of duty in the South Pacific, Hill is ready to give it another go with Mack’s Bar & Grill, slated to open August 1 at 5513 Pershing Avenue in the DeBaliviere Place neighborhood. Hill is no stranger to the spot. The storefront has been home to his aunt and uncle’s restaurant, West End Bistro, since May 2019. Hill has been tending bar since its opening, garnering a following of regulars for his best-in-class hospitality.
As Hill explains, he decided to take over the restaurant space when his aunt and uncle, Marion and Kevin Green, made arrangements to move West End Bistro around the corner, to 255 Union Boulevard. The Greens had their eye on the Union space even before opening the bistro on Pershing, but their deal fell through. When the landlord recently enticed them with an offer to finally get the spot they’d dreamed of, they decided to jump on it. The only problem: They still had a lease on the Pershing spot. That’s when Hill stepped in.
“I told them to go ahead and make the move, and I would take care of it,” Hill says. “I didn’t want to compete with my aunt and uncle, but then I kept getting these calls from customers saying, ‘Mack, don’t leave.’ I figured, OK, I’ll let them do high-end, and we will do lower-end and see how it goes.”
Hill describes Mack’s Bar & Grill as a casual “neighborhood get-away.” While he and the cooks are still working out details of the menu and recipes, diners can expect such dishes as barbecue-style burgers, pizzas, wings, and calamari. “Shrimp and grits is the fanciest thing you’ll see,” Hill says.
Hill’s foray into bartending and now bar ownership has been a long time coming. Following his career in the Navy, Hill worked in pharmaceutical sales for a number of years. After a company buyout, Hill was left with enough money that he was able to bartend for the sheer joy of it. Carrying that forward to a place of his own was an opportunity that he couldn’t let pass, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To be honest, the COVID situation is really what converted me to owning the place,” Hill says. “The crowd who had been supporting us is still doing so, but they are not coming back to dine in anytime soon. I realized that the only patrons I’m going to have are millennials and a younger crowd. I don’t think COVID is going anywhere for a year or two, and I have to count on them.”
In the midst of a global pandemic, Hill still feels lucky to finally be realizing his dream, even if it took him more than two decades and a lot of heartbreak in the process. Now that he’s finally arrived, he can’t help but smile at this second chance.
“I gave it all up and had to let go, but those four nights in South Carolina gave me a taste for the bar. Every time I thought about it, it was a bright light—walking around and being able to see everyone smiling, I mourned for that. Now I get to bartend and enjoy people. All my friends, former bosses, and coworkers are waiting for me to open up. It’s all falling in line.”
