Cliffisms providing ‘hometown feel’ where ‘everybody knows your name’

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – It’s the hot spot on the South side where “everybody knows your name…” in real life, also known as Cliffisms Sports And Spirits.

Cliff and Ginger Thomas take some time from cooking to chat with WJBF about their origin story into the culinary business and how they are providing their customers with a “hometown

feel.”

Welcome to Celebrating Black Excellence. What inspired you to get into the culinary business?

I had a thought of opening a sports bar. So, within the sports bar chain, the culinary part of it, that’s exactly how it happened. It was kind of by accident, to be honest, because my focus was on the alcohol, but since we got into the food, we have been actually recognized as having pretty good food.

How is it working together as a husband-and-wife team?

Oh, my goodness. It is great. Now, listen, all of my couples who have went in business together, they know it’s a little tough at times, but once you kind of get to the yin and the yang, and you kind of intertwine, and you know what one person’s thought is and the other person’s thought is and kind of mesh it together, then, it begins to work well, really, really smooth. In the beginning, it was kind of rocky because I had a different opinion, and he had a different opinion, but that’s what made us work and gel so well in the end.

Who came up with the name Cliffisms? How did that come about?

Cliff: Cliffisms actually started about 20 years ago, and what it was thoughts and expressions of mine that I put on Facebook. So, in our search to have a name for the sports bar, our original name was Cliffhanger, but we couldn’t get that because it wasn’t dormant long enough in the state of Georgia. So now we are thinking about names, and then all of a sudden Ginger says, “Well, what about Cliffisms?” I never thought about that, you know, because that’s just something I’m just using on a different platform. So actually, I have to give her the credit that she’s the one that came up with us using that name.

Ginger: It was something different. You know, it’s got a good ring to it. You know what I mean? Everybody can’t pronounce it. They shortens for Cliff’s sometimes, and we’re cool with that, too. But Cliffisms, I thought it was original, and it works.

Now, what do you guys have to offer at Cliffisms? What can people expect when they come to Cliffisms?

We have a variety of things, so we’re open from Tuesday through Saturday. Tuesdays, we have karaoke nights, Wednesdays, we have sip and paint. That’s when you come and get you a canvas, get you some wine, and wine down, and there’s also game night. Thursday is throwback R&B styles. Friday is ladies’ night, and Saturdays, we always have a live band. So, it’s something for everybody. We are 25 and up sports bar, but we’re not like your normal typical sports bar. We have an open kitchen, we have four pool tables, we got 11 flat screens. It’s just a totally different vibe. Have you seen the show Cheers? Well, that is exactly the feel that you’re going to get when you walk into our sports bar. We have an open kitchen, and we are your hometown sports bar. So, when you walk in, everybody knows your name. We, as owners, know our patrons’ names. Shout to the bartenders and our cooks. Everybody is like a hometown feel. That’s what we love about what we do on the south side. From the outside, when you pull into the parking lot, you’re not going to think that when you walk in, you’re going to get what you’re going to get: that vibe and that hometown feel. That’s what we’re known for.

Let’s talk about the menu. What type of food do you serve?

Cliff: We serve chicken wings, burgers, fish, quesadillas, egg rolls… we have a variety of things on there. We’re not just a regular bar food place.

Ginger: Pork chop sandwiches, fresh cut fries, homemade patty burgers. They’re not frozen. We do everything ourselves. Everything is done with love and just pouring into the community, and everybody just loves it. That’s what it’s all about.

What is the most popular thing that people ask for?

Chicken wings.

Which flavor?

Lemon pepper. Here lately, the sweet chili. They’re loving the sweet chili. It’s either hot lemon pepper, honey lemon pepper, mild lemon pepper… but we have some of the best wings in the south side, and I can attest to that. That’s what the people say.

What is your favorite thing that you provide?

Ginger: Well, I have a few favorites. The whiting basket is really good. Then, we have a chicken Philly that is really good. We have a Philly cheesesteak, and we have a chicken Philly. Those are my favorites.

Cliff: I have a Cliff’s special that is not really on the menu. It’s a wrap with chicken and shrimp. We may have to put it on there now. (Laughs) Besides that, the mango habanero wings. I like those as well.

Now, you have the actual traditional brick and mortar building, but you also have a food truck. What made you decide to do both?

Well, the thought between me and the wife was, what if something happens where we’re not in a building? So, we want to make sure we maintain money stream if we’re there or if we weren’t. So, our main thing was, “Okay, what about a food truck?” We can do basically the same things, except the alcohol, and we can take it to people who can’t get on that side of town. It allows us to bring our product out to people who can’t normally get into the bar because at our bar is 25 and up. So, the people that’s 25 and under now can taste our food. So it’s helped a lot, and it’s taking it to different communities.

How has having the food truck enhanced your business?

Well, going out into the community, a lot of different people get to see us now who knew nothing about us. You got people stay on the south side who pass by there every day, and they have never just pulled in. So, you know, having that food truck which is our billboard when we’re moving through the community, lets people know that there’s something on the south side and come on in. It is grabbing more customers that wouldn’t have came had they not seen us out in the community because they never heard of us either or they don’t come on that side of town.

What advice do you give somebody watching today who wants to get into being an entrepreneur?

Ginger: Let me say this. It is hard work. It is tremendous work from building it out to planning it to financial to staffing to scheduling to all of that stuff. It is hard work. So, if you’re not ready to work hard, and you’re not dedicated to it, don’t get into having your brick and mortar or even a food truck because it’s a lot of work. But it’s so rewarding in the end because you see something that you’ve built from the ground up and now look at it flourish.

Cliff: I think it’s a mindset. I think you got to go into it saying, “Okay, I’m going to do whatever I have to do to make this success, which follows along with what she was saying about the hard work. It is really hard work. My first two years I was in that building 16 hours a day, every day for the first two years doing whatever I had to do. I’m an electrician, so I did a lot of stuff myself. It is tough, but it’s nothing like saying that’s mine, you know. That’s mine. You’re going to have to work for it to be yours, but in the end, it will work.

Ginger: This is our fifth year. We’re made five years to the end of this month. We made five years, and we started during the pandemic. So imagine that, you know. We got started, then the pandemic hit, and we couldn’t stop. So, we had to keep going. So, you know, you had a lot of wins, a lot of losses, and but it’s all evened out.

Cliff: We still get those now. You still have wins and losses even in year five, because in our industry, you have to deal with people, and you also have to deal with inebriated people. So, when you’re dealing with them people, it makes it tough, but it also shows you how to work around and be able to maintain and keep going.

Congratulations on five years! Now if people want to find you, how can they do so?

We’re located at 2416 Windsor Spring Road in South Augusta. You can follow us on our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok: @cliffismssportsspirits.