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Columbia institution Lizard's Thicket celebrates 35 years of great home cooking

Gwen Fowler Gwen Fowler
Discover writers share all of the places, activities and adventure that South Carolina has to offer. Read more from some of South Carolina’s locals and discover what’s happening in the Palmetto State.
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Lizard's Thicket serves up hearty meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

When Bob and Anna Williams opened the first Lizard's Thicket in 1977, they saw a need for a place where a family could get home-cooked food for a reasonable price.

More than 45 years later, it's clear the couple had the right idea. From that small restaurant, Lizard's Thicket has grown to 13 restaurants with 600 employees who serve more than 12,000 diners every day. 

People around Columbia know The Lizard or The Thicket, as it's often called, is the place to turn when you need a hearty breakfast or a meat and three for lunch or dinner.

The menu hasn't changed much since Lizard's Thicket opened in 1977.

It's the kind of place where the waitresses know the names of regular customers and what they're going to order, and they may call to check on them if they don't show when they're supposed to.

It's a regular stop for politicians passing through the Midlands, including former President Bill Clinton.

The Columbia institution extended its boundaries in late 2012, opening a restaurant in Florence.

The first Lizard's Thicket opened on Broad River Road in a five-room house.

More women were working outside the home and didn't always have time to prepare meals, said Bobby Williams, son of the founders and the chairman of the company. And the Thicket was easy on the family budget; in those days, a meat-and-three plate was $2.95, and tea was 35 cents.

Founder Bob Williams came up with the name Lizard's Thicket for the restaurant.

But what exactly is a lizard's thicket? Bobby Williams can't say exactly, but he can tell how his father came up with the name.

"We lived in Birmingham, Alabama back in the '60s," he recalled. "There was a joint in western Alabama called Lizard's Thicket. My father had heard the name; he hadn't been there, but he just thought it was a funny country name, and it was sort of a restaurant, a joint, I'd say."

When Bob Williams moved to Columbia, he planned to open a restaurant and name it Anna's Country Kitchen, after his wife. Bobby Williams said that when his father went to the phone company, he learned that name was taken.

"So he was stumped and he said just name it Lizard's Thicket," Bobby said. "I lived in Birmingham at the time and I still remember him calling me and saying he was going to name it Lizard's Thicket, and I just thought to myself, ‘He has lost his mind.'"

Bobby Williams said his father was an idea man, but it was his mother who made everything work.

"He was a great thinker," he said. "He figured the whole thing out, but my mother was the backbone, as far as the recipes and the cooking, and she was a cheerleader."

In 1978, the second location opened.

You'll find Lizard's Thicket restaurants in Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, West Columbia, Cayce, Blythewood and Florence.

One thing that worked especially well for the Williams is buying restaurants that had been closed and converting them. Some of the present locations were once Shoney's, Long John Silver's or other restaurants. That meant lower startup costs.

Bob and Anna Williams' seven children - four sons and three daughters - all worked in the restaurants in the early years, usually seven days a week. The four sons continue to do so. Several offspring from the next generation work in the business as well.

Much has changed over 35 years, Bobby Williams said. There are more requests for meal choices to avoid food allergies or for gluten-free or low-carb diets.

One thing hasn't changed: Fried chicken remains the top choice of Lizard's Thicket diners.

"We skin our chicken," Williams said. "We've probably thrown away a million dollars worth of chicken skin over 35 years. It's healthier. That's the way my mother did it, and that's the way we continue to do it."

Save room for banana pudding, a sweet way to top off a meal from popular meat-and-three chain, Lizard's Thicket.

Also popular are macaroni and cheese, green beans and mashed potatoes.

The restaurant tries to serve as many South Carolina foods as possible, including Adluh Flour, and collards from W.P. Rawl in Lexington, and squash and cabbage from local farmers.

In addition to the delicious country food, it's the employees at Lizard's Thicket who keep customers coming back.

Often customers have a favorite server that they see regularly, some two or three times a day, seven days a week.

"They know what they're going to eat when they come in the door," Bobby said. They know exactly how they want their coffee. They know our product, a lot of times better than some of our employees do. They know what it's supposed to taste like."

Gwen Fowler
Discover writers share all of the places, activities and adventure that South Carolina has to offer. Read more from some of South Carolina’s locals and discover what’s happening in the Palmetto State.