Miller Philips ’05 – Bronco Burgers and Lifelong Friends
Miller Philips ’05 recalls going to the old Mansion on the Hill for football games as far back as he can remember. His father, Allen Philips ’81, was a DKE and Miller knew he wanted to follow in his footsteps, “I wanted to see if I could go experience some of what I had been hearing about my entire life,” Miller said.
The Psi Chapter gave Miller the experience he had been hoping for and friends for life. “I think the most important thing I took away from Psi Chapter was the relationships and lifelong friendships I made with my pledge brothers and other pledge classes as well. I absolutely couldn’t pick one person out that influenced me, other than my entire pledge class. My pledge class was so tight and close; we leaned on each other throughout college and got through any and all adversity together.”
Miller grew up working in his family’s restaurant. His mother and father owned the beloved Flamingo Café in Destin, Florida, for 20 years. After graduating in 2005 with a degree in restaurant and hospitality management, Miller followed in their footsteps and opened Another Broken Egg Café in Mountain Brook, Alabama. “The café was a very young restaurant franchise when I came on board. My childhood friend’s father, Tommy Green, opened the first one I’d ever seen in Destin and I knew it was a perfect niche for today’s market. It worked out extremely well and I learned more from them than I could have ever learned anywhere else.”
Today, Miller has opened a second restaurant called Boshamps Seafood and Oyster House in the old Flamingo Café building on the Destin Harbor. It’s a culmination of all the bar napkins sketches, traveling, and restaurant observations that my sister, dad and mom had made over the past 25-30 years. It has proven to be the most challenging, demanding, and trying venture of my lifetime, but also the most rewarding, as I’ve been dreaming of this place since I was able to hold a fork.”
And of course in the middle of all this, Miller and his wife, Laurie, had their first child, William Miller Philips, last October. When he isn’t spending time with his family or at work, Miller enjoys fishing, hunting, and golfing. “I’m immensely terrible at one, moderately terrible at another, and terribly unlucky with all three, but it’s what I love.”
When reminiscing on his days in the DKE Chapter House, Miller recalls bronco burgers and fried chicken, and the exceptional staff at the house. “I love seeing Mrs. Julia and Mrs. Caroline for football games. They are hands down two of my most favorite women in the world.”
He doesn’t get to visit the Chapter House as often as he would like, but Miller could give you the first, middle, nickname, and last name of all of his brothers, along with their birthdays, and where they’re from to this day. “The only stories I have of my pledge brothers that are worth mentioning, are between all of us. We never told anybody about anything between us. If we did, it was more than likely a fabrication. We had each other, didn’t need anybody else, and if you know anything about my class, you’ve probably heard the stories, except they’re not even close to accurate. They are all actually ten times better.”