Simple. Southern. Good. These words are the first thing you see before entering the doors of Sunday Diner, a southern comfort food restaurant centered around family values.
The McKissack family moved to Rabun County in 2016 after being drawn to a listing on Craigslist for a restaurant for sale in the heart of Clayton, Georgia. Chris and Michael were experienced in the restaurant business and decided to leave Maryland and Michael’s corporate job to move to Georgia and start the family business.
“I really think of the diner as an extension of my home and those people I’m welcoming into my home, and we’re just enjoying cooking for them and serving them and taking care of them,” said Chris.
Chris and Michael wanted the business to be centered around their family so their children, Mary Beth, Sarah, Britt and Ben have always been around to help work at the restaurant. Before Mary Beth moved to Augusta to start her family, she and Sarah baked all the homemade desserts that were served at the diner.
Their other employees are also a part of the family, and the McKissacks want everyone who works there to feel treated fairly and cared for.
“You can kind of see that we are not about ordering people around,” said Chris. “We’re about talking to them like we would any of our family or anyone else.”
The McKissack family moved to Clayton with an attitude of service, and through their hospitality and care put into their cooking they have been welcomed into the community with open arms.
This story was produced by Ashtin Barker as part of the 2025 Woodall Weekend Workshop.
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