Mule-ground grits deliver popular product to restaurants

ATHENS - Luke is the mule behind the mill, and spinning circles around the local grits industry is just part of his job. <br> <br> Luke is an enormous red mule. He&#39;s the inspiration and labor behind Red Mule grits, which can be found in grocery stores and top restaurants around town. <br> <br> Attached by a harness, Luke walks around in circles, which puts a series of gears and shafts in motion to grind corn at the Mills & Miller farm. <br> <br> The farmers say Luke shows what can be accomplished with ingenuity and hard work -- quality products from a neighborhood producer. <br> <br> Luke&#39;s grits, cornmeal and English porridge can be found in Athens restaurants such as Five and Ten and Aunt Bea&#39;s, where guests have praised his handiwork. <br> <br> Five and Ten owner Hugh Acheson was recently named one of the top chefs in the country by Food & Wine magazine. He says he&#39;s gotten phenomenal feedback on Luke&#39;s work. <br> <br> Owner Tim Mills says he got the idea for a mule-powered production system from stories he heard of South Korea farmers. <br> <br> The mill, built four years ago, can produce 100 pounds of corn meal and grits in an hour using 10-year-old Luke&#39;s labor. Luke also powers an irrigation system designed by Mills that keeps the farm watered during the summer months.