Florence's Kelly finds success in the restaurant business

FLORENCE — Little did Tripp Kelly know what lay in store for him when he ate at Groucho’s in Columbia while playing baseball for the University of South Carolina.

Groucho’s is a landmark Columbia eatery that was established at Five Points in 1941. Umpteen USC students have darkened its portals to inhale its deli sandwiches, potato salad, slaw and secret recipe 45 sauce.

Groucho’s was about as far from his mind as it could get when Kelly graduated from USC and went on to play professional baseball for the Oakland Athletics. But two years into the minors, Kelly kind of saw the handwriting on the wall and decided it was time to slide into home permanently in Florence.

He had a golden opportunity to go into business with his father, Tommy, one of the owners of Carolina Typewriter Co. Carolina Typewriter is a well-established company that can still work on such dinosaurs as manual and electric typewriters.

But Kelly wanted to strike out on his own. And strike out he did by investing in a Groucho’s franchise.

“I ate at Groucho’s when I was going to Carolina and I know a lot of other Florence people who went to Carolina ate there, too,” he said. “I thought the franchise would be a good fit in Florence.”

And it has been. Kelly’s main location is at 1725-A W. Palmetto St. He also has two “spots” in the McLeod Regional Medical Center cafeteria and the McLeod Medical Plaza.

“Business has been picking up every year,” he said. “The drive-through at the Palmetto Street store helps a lot. We also do a lot of catering.”

Kelly’s wife, Jennifer, has been by his side the whole time. She went through Groucho’s franchise school with him and keeps the restaurant’s books.

Kelly said the STP sandwich is the most popular. It consists of roast beef, turkey, bacon bits and swiss cheese — all topped off by the 45 sauce.

“We can’t make enough of the 45 sauce,” he said. “We make it fresh and sell it by the pint.”

But there had to be more to life than Groucho’s for Kelly.

So when the owner of Moe’s Southwest Grill said he was ready to sell, Kelly said he was ready to buy. Moe’s, a franchise based in Atlanta, specializes in Southwest-style food.

“Burritos are our mainstay,” Kelly said. “Moe’s Monday is one of our biggest days. That’s when you can get any burrito you want for $5, including a drink and salsa.”

Kelly sells Moe’s burritos at the Red Wolves games and is planning to do likewise at the West Florence High School football games. He said he’s also signed a contract to put a Moe’s at McLeod.

Kelly’s neighbor on Palmetto Street is Little Caesar Pizza, a Detroit franchise. He told the owner when he moved in that he would be interested if he ever wanted to sell.

Sure enough, six months ago, the owner came knocking. He said he wanted to sell his two Little Caesar stores in Florence and another one in Hartsville. He had owned the stores for 15 years.

So Kelly is now in the pizza business — much to the delight of his 5-year-old son, Coleman.

“We’ve got very good pizza at very good prices,” he said. “You can get a large pizza with pepperoni or cheese for $5.55.”

Kelly had no idea what he was getting into when he entered the restaurant field. He said he never thought about it as a career.

“It’s hard work but I love it,” he said. “It keeps me motivated trying to keep up with 55 employees and everything else. But every day is different. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to know that I make people happy by selling good food.”