Miles Gilman

Between running Granny Clark’s Restaurant in Dublin and working full time in real estate, Miles Gilman doesn’t have much free time; but he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I don’t like being bored,” he said. “I love my work, and it’s easier because I’ve got great employees.”

Gilman graduated from Dublin in 1996, and went on to Tarleton to study math and business. During college he cooked part-time at the now-closed Buckboard Restaurant next to Relax Inn, working for Cliff and Sharon Weible. “They taught me a lot, and it was really beneficial to work there,” he said. “It was a well-run restaurant for years and years.”

He graduated from Tarleton and decided to earn his masters in business. After business school, Gilman went to Le Cordon Bleu chef school in Austin. During chef school, the restaurant Our Place — now Granny Clark’s — in Dublin went on sale, and Gilman decided to buy it.

The learning curve to running the restaurant was steep for a while. “That was the greatest challenge I’ve ever had,” Gilman said. “Those first couple years I wasn’t making any headway. There were so many times we almost went out of business, and my life would have been completely different. But we didn’t, and I give that credit to God.”

“I remember people telling me that if you open a restaurant you need a backup plan,” Gilman said. So in 2008 he earned his real estate license. Since then, Gilman has been balancing his two jobs.

At Granny Clark’s, it took Gilman a few years to find a comfortable management style. “I’m not a micromanager. In fact, I’m very much hands off,” he said. “I’m there every day, but I had one employee tell me that they work harder when I’m not there because they like talking to me when I’m there. My employees and I are good friends and I often coach their kids in little league.”

Gilman is at Granny Clark’s for breakfast almost every day, but during lunches he’s often working real estate. He wouldn’t be able to cover both jobs without the help of his wife, Sara Gilman. The couple met when Gilman first bought the restaurant, and Sara was working as a server. “We just became close, and I could rely on her,” he said. “And here we are. For 13 out of the 15 years [I’ve had Granny Clark’s], she’s been involved.”

In 2014, he opened a real estate company, Gilman Properties. His real estate company is based in the same building as Granny Clark’s, so he can stay close when he’s at his other job.

Working in real estate ties in nicely with his work as a restaurant manager. “My favorite part of being a realtor is the math,” Gilman said. “Everything’s math — square footage, floor plans, room sizes, the price per square foot, appraisal prices.”

Gilman has loved math since high school. “I think that one connection between Granny Clark’s and Gilman Properties is the math,” he said. “Every business has math but these are heavy math and that’s probably what attracts me.”

In the future, Gilman plans to keep doing what he’s doing now. “Every time I walk into Granny Clark’s, I feel like God brought us here,” he said. “[God] said, ‘You’re staying here,’ so my plan is just to run Granny Clark’s and Gilman Properties until my wheels fall off.”

When he’s not working, Gilman is very involved in the community, especially with sports. “I help run the Dublin Youth Football League and the Dublin Pee Wee Basketball Association,” he said.

He and his wife have three children, all of whom are involved in athletics. Their oldest, Kyson, is 14, Myla is 10, and Nolan is 8. “I’ve got the best family,” he said.

Gilman’s mother, Brenda Gilman, still lives near Dublin. His father, Dr. Frank Gilman, passed away when Gilman was in graduate school. “My dad had incredibly high standards for me, and he’s probably where I got [my work ethic] from because he would work at Tarleton all day, then come home and work in the fields until it was dark, seven days a week.” Gilman said.

Gilman’s advice to Dublin graduates is to work hard and try to achieve what they want, even if it seems out of reach. “Don’t ever put a ceiling on what income you can make,” he said.

Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other grads, email publisher@dublincitizen.com.