When Sam Diminich opened Restaurant Constance three years ago, he named it after his now-22-year-old daughter. Before doing so, he checked with his son, Allan Grey, whom he calls AG, to make sure he was OK with it.
“He said, ‘As long as there’s a burger on the menu for me,’” Diminich says with a grin. “I thought, ‘This isn’t exactly a burger kind of restaurant.’”
This year, Diminich evened things out. He opened Grey’s Diner in the former Mattie’s Diner space in Plaza Shamrock, honoring his now-18-year-old son. Grey’s is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving American diner classics with Diminich’s signature farm-to-table approach. The menu includes vegetarian and vegan options, milkshakes and a bar program that shifts from coffee in the morning to cocktails at night.
Grey’s also features that burger for AG, as well as the lasagna that Diminich’s father and grandfather used to make in the family’s Italian restaurant in Myrtle Beach.
“This is such a cool opportunity to cook my dad and grandpa’s food,” he says. “I want to honor them so much. I wish they could be there sometimes, especially when opening a new restaurant. There are so many questions I want to ask them.”
The third-generation chef hadn’t planned on adding another restaurant to his portfolio, especially coming off one of the busiest years of his career. Last January, his Your Farms Your Table Restaurant Group (YFYT) teamed up with HopeWay, a local nonprofit mental health treatment organization, to manage its 9,000-square-foot, in-house kitchen and provide daily meals for patients, visitors and staff at the center’s 20-acre campus.
“Moving into HopeWay was like opening another restaurant,” Diminich says. “It was a huge lift from a leadership standpoint.”
That same month, he was named a 2025 James Beard semifinalist. Over the summer, he “took Restaurant Constance on the road” with a series of pop-up dinners as part of YFYT’s Farmer Celebration Series. In November, Restaurant Constance was named a Michelin‑recommended restaurant in the 2025 American South guide. Diminich also celebrated 11 years of sobriety, something he’s been outspoken about following a three-decade-long battle with addiction.
By December, he says, the renewed attention from the Michelin recognition had kicked in, helping Restaurant Constance hit a record month.
“That was really cool and completely unexpected,” he says. “I think it’s important to look up every once in a while and acknowledge and be proud of the progress you’ve made.”
When Diminich’s business partner, Jill Vande Woude, learned that Mattie’s Diner was for sale, she suggested they go take a look.
“I said absolutely not—I’m not doing another restaurant,” he laughs. “But then we looked at it, and I thought, ‘This could be really cool.’”
The restaurant is housed in a 1940s chrome diner car, with expanded seating in an adjoining tire shop and garage. For Diminich, it was important to honor both the space’s legacy and the care its previous owner, Matt King, took in preserving the neighborhood’s history.
That respect for tradition, especially when it comes to diners, runs deep. While studying at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, they served as a kind of lifeline for the aspiring chef.
“I had, like, two nickels, so I found diners,” he says. “Some days I’d just get toast and a cup of coffee, but I always felt so welcomed there; it lifted me up in a lot of different ways. On days I got paid, and I could afford a full breakfast, it was always slammin.’”
With both of his kids now away at college, Diminich makes the most of their time together. A recent trip to New York proved why.
“Put the three of us in Manhattan, and it’s game on,” he says. “We had a blast. Whether we’re shopping for Constance or finding AG that slice of pizza he’s craving, it’s a good time.”
Diminich is hoping AG might make a few cameos at his namesake restaurant.
“In a very 18-year-old way, he sent me his availability,” Diminich laughs.
Joking aside, he genuinely loves watching the young man his son is becoming.
“He has a quiet confidence about him, and I love that about my son,” Diminich says. “I love our connection through food. He and I can go anywhere and have whatever tasting menu is available.”
On a recent trip to Big Sky, they did exactly that. When they learned that famed Chicago restaurant Alinea was doing a pop-up, they scored a reservation.
“It’s very progressive and a little molecular,” Diminich says. “We had an incredible meal that night, just him and me.”
But even the most cultivated palates cave to a greasy spoon at some point. And the next time a burger craving hits, AG knows exactly where to go.