Have you ever had dinner plans with a group, but no one could agree on what to eat? If barbecue, Chinese or American is an option, you might not have to compromise. Ahi's Restaurant, which opened in Auburn, Ala., earlier this year, offers a selection that may seem strange at first - until you meet the owner, that is.

Bill Brown's career path has been an unusual one. After serving in the military, he transferred from Germany to LaGrange, Ga., and became a police officer. Brown and his wife, Nece, who worked as a food service cook, also in the military, decided the area was lacking a quality restaurant.

Taking Nece's culinary expertise, he left the police force and they opened Café Nece. Brown speaks highly of Café Nece's loyal clientele, including executives from Lowe's home improvement stores, who would visit when they were in town to survey the local stores.

The Lowe's representatives got to know Brown and eventually offered him a position within their management program. Brown found it to be an offer he couldn't refuse, so he left the restaurant business for Lowe's. During the 13 years he served as a general manager of Lowe's, he found it hard to leave the food preparation and hospitality sector behind.

"I'd go into the store and cook for the employees in the middle of the night," Brown explains.

Upon retiring from Lowe's in 2005, Brown became involved in the Opelika area, including an active stake in the Wok-n-Roll Chinese restaurant. With his friends' encouragement, Brown had contemplated entering the restaurant business on his own again and accepted a partnership at Wok-n-Roll. When the restaurant made the list of the 100 best Chinese restaurants in America, he knew he had a chance to make it on his own.

Brown acquired a location, formerly Golden Rule Bar-B-Q on College Street, and began work. He started with a complete overhaul of the exterior before moving inside. One of Wok-n-Roll's main cooks signed on for the new restaurant, and he's now its namesake.

During one of the initial tours of the building, Brown discovered a large pit in the kitchen, no doubt the barbecue pit left from the kitchen's original purpose. Rather than renovating the kitchen and replacing it, Brown brought in the "pit master," who left Auburn when Golden Rule closed.

This partnership allowed Ahi's to offer its wide array of culinary options. Brown's goal is to provide more than a meal or a place to work, however.

"It's rewarding to get up and go to work," Brown explains. "It's not just a place where the young people come to work. I teach them presentation and customer service to make sure they can qualify for bigger and better things. We thrive on repeat business and making people happy."



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