Billy McKinnon tried to be a stockbroker but he couldn't sink his teeth into the profession.
In the late 1960s, he left a job in New York City and returned to his roots, settling in Atlanta. His first wife hailed from New Orleans and had family contacts with the owners of Galatoire's, a respected old-school restaurant known for its culinary excellence.
For three months, Mr. McKinnon worked for free at the Bourbon Street establishment. He learned the food business and mastered Creole and Cajun cuisine.
"He did whatever he was told to do," said his son, William Boston McKinnon III of Bethesda, Md.
In 1972, Mr. McKinnon opened McKinnon's Louisiane on Cheshire Bridge Road. In 2002, the restaurant celebrated its 30th anniversary and today it's still going strong at its Buckhead location.
In 2002, the founder sold the business to Aziz Mehram, who'd worked at the establishment for years.
"His knowledge of food and my expertise in service made this happen," Mr. Mehram said. "It's a trend we continue to this day."
In recent years, William Boston McKinnon Jr.had moved to coastal Darien in South Georgia. Last Tuesday, he was in North Georgia when he suffered a fatal heart attack while picking fruits and vegetables at a friend's house. He was 74. A graveside service will be 11 a.m. todayin the Palmetto Cemetery in Brunswick. Whitfield Funeral Home in Demorest is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. McKinnon was born in Milledgeville, but raised in Savannah. He majored in business administration at the University of Georgia and after college put his bachelor's degree to use at a New York City firm.
"He was a good financial person," his son said, "but he didn't have the passion. "In the 70s, there were not that many fine-dining choices in Atlanta. He realized something was missing."
Nowadays, McKinnon's is an Atlanta tradition often lauded by food critics and out-of-town visitors in this restaurant chic city. Mr. Mehram credits the success of the business to the man he respected like a father.
"His taking care of the menu made McKinnon's what it is now," he said. "No doubt about it."
The menu includes items like chicken livers with andouille sausage and crawfish etouffee. Mr. McKinnon jokingly called his eggplant "the baby laxative" in a 1990 article that appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Why? Apparently a pregnant woman ordered the dish and went into labor after she'd devoured the dish. Other pregnant women did likewise.
"If the baby doesn't come in 48 hours, the dinner is on the house," he said at the time.
At home, Mr. McKinnon spent hours poring over recipes in one of his 400-plus cookbooks to prepare lunches or dinners. A.D. Frazierof Mineral Bluff has dined many a time at the motorcycle lovers' log cabin in the Rabun County town of Tiger.
"His hospitality was fantastic," Mr. Frazier said. "We had wonderful meals on his screened-in porch overlooking the mountains."
Mr. McKinnon sold the restaurant when he was 65.
"It was a lot of work, going from 10 a.m. to midnight, six days a week," his son said. "I think he got tired."
Additional survivors include his wife of six years, Elizabeth Forbes McKinnon; a daughter, Clerc Nightingale McKinnon of Atlanta; a sister, Marjorie Simpson of Savannah; and five grandchildren.
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