Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Tuscaloosa and Northport!
Good Neighbor Podcast Northport
Catfish Charlie's: Savoring the Legacy of Family and Flavor with Stacy Shuttlesworth
Have you ever encountered a place that feels like a warm hug from the past, where the flavors transport you to fond memories and the ambiance wraps you in comfort? We had the pleasure of chatting with Stacy Shuttlesworth, the heart behind Catfish Charlie's, a family-run culinary haven in Northport that has long served as a touchstone for the community. From their lip-smacking US catfish to shrimp burgers that'll have you hooked, Stacy walks us through the story of this cherished establishment, giving us the scoop on their freshly constructed patio where breezes and catfish tales are as plentiful as the charming Southern hospitality.
Catfish Charlie's isn't just a name; it's a legacy reborn through Stacy and her husband's labor of love, reviving the family business with a dedication to the original recipes and the essence once crafted by her parents. The episode takes us on a heartfelt journey through their family's commitment to quality, the involvement of their four children in the day-to-day hustle, and how they've navigated the tides of triumph and challenge, especially during the uncertain waters of COVID-19. Join us as we pull up a chair and dig into the story behind the food, discovering why this isn't just a restaurant, but a beacon of tradition, taste, and community spirit. #GNPNorthport #CatfishCharlies #CatfishCharliesNorthport #NorthportAL #Tuscaloosa #EatLocal #Seafood #Catfish #OneBiteAndYoureHooked #ShrimpFix #NomNom
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Patricia Blondheim.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. I'm your host, patricia Blondheim, and today we have good neighbor Stacy Shuttlesworth, and Stacy is the co-owner of Catfish Charlie's here in Tuscaloosa well, not Tuscaloosa in Northport Stacey how are you today?
Speaker 3:I'm doing great. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:I'm doing fine, thank you. So Catfish Charlies has become a standard, an absolute favorite inside of Northport. For those of us that don't know about Catfish Charlie's, tell me all about it.
Speaker 3:So Catfish Charlie's is a to-go only. We're a cook-to-order restaurant. We serve US catfish, shrimp burgers, po'boys, chicken wings, just all that good stuff that you love.
Speaker 2:And it's got this really great kind of coastal vibe. I know it's in the middle of Northport, but you didn't you just you just constructed a large patio where people can sit and eat, if that's what they decide to do yes, we did.
Speaker 3:We just added on to our patio and we love that kind of outdoor vibe where you can sit and enjoy and and enjoy. It's always got a nice little breeze sitting out there. We try to have some shade with, you know. Just some nice ambiance, just something a little different do you still have that?
Speaker 2:um the big ice machine, the big ice dispenser, um vending machine next to your um?
Speaker 3:next to your restaurant. There is one that is next to us. We don't own that, um, but it is next to us. We don't own that, but it is next to us and it stays pretty busy.
Speaker 2:I thought that's brilliant, See, I thought when I saw both of those together. I know you don't own it, but that's brilliant because it's so close to the lake.
Speaker 3:Oh, and it's very convenient for us to get our ice and stuff too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's just terrific. So tell our listeners about your journey, Stacey.
Speaker 3:You're the co-owner. I know that you own it with your husband. Tell us a little bit about your journey and how you ended up here here. And it was open for several years and they decided to close shop. And just a casual conversation with my dad one night on what it would take to get it back open kind of opened this. I get obsessed with these ideas that I get and my husband and I have four children and I knew when my twin girls went back to school that I'd want to go back to work, and so the obsession around opening this back up, you know, went on for a couple of years until COVID happened. And then, after COVID, we decided to just go for it. And here we are now and it's doing great and we've got a great customer base and everyone comes to see us every weekend that are pretty regular, and we're just obsessed with it now even still, and just love what we do. We really do.
Speaker 2:Well, I remember when the first Catfish, charlie's the one that your parents owned closed in Northport and there was such an atmosphere of disappointment around that Like, oh, it's gone. That was where you got the best, you could get the best food there. And then I wonder what's going to happen. And then you come and pick it up, you know like it's a legacy and have offered even a better experience than the one that people were upset about losing before.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, we definitely try to keep in tune with the way that my parents originally did everything. You know, our recipes are the same and we just really try to stick with the same you know, atmosphere, the same food, the same customer service everything that they started.
Speaker 3:We want to continue, for sure. And you know we're a family based business. My children my daughter helps me work and our smaller children will come in and help us, and you know it's just definite. When you say legacy, it's just. I've never thought of it in that way. But, yeah, I hope I'm staying true to what people remember them being great and I hope that we can maintain the standard that we have created now.
Speaker 2:Well, it sounds like you're doing a great job and you're a really busy person. It was hard to get you here. I mean, you've got, you are a one-armed paper hanger. It was hard to get you here. I mean, you've got your, you are a one armed paper hanger and it's really a miracle we get to speak together. But I don't know if you have time for fun. But if you do, what, what, what do you do?
Speaker 3:Well, there isn't a whole lot of time for fun, but when you know, we're here four days a week now, and so the three days that we're not, I do enjoy being home. I am a homebody. I like being home with my kids and we like to travel and visit the beach. We've got family that lives here and there and we just really like to focus on our own space at home and it's work, just is the main involvement around my life, and then with the kids. If it's not work, it's the kids, I guess you could say. So staying busy is my middle name per se.
Speaker 2:Well, if you're like most business owners, then you've found that your life is a kind of a squiggly line, with some, you know, with some hurdles to jump over and some challenges that you've had to overcome. I mean, that's just the entrepreneurial journey. Was there a challenge that kind of stands out for you as something that has brought you to this place?
Speaker 3:There have been a lot of trials and tribulations through this whole business journey in general. I mean, the very first one was the year that COVID happened. Was the same year that we had wanted to open, so that was delayed for a year. And then you know, just for every hurdle, the only thing you can do is just get up and get past it. I mean really. So my husband and I ran into an accident in December and he broke his hip and not having that extra help from him has been really taxing on. You know just the mentality of keeping everything together with work and then again at home. So you know it just well. Like they say, if it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger. And that's all we can do is just get up and try to be stronger and push through it for sure.
Speaker 2:Well, what's? What's something that you want our listeners to take away about Catfish Charlies?
Speaker 3:Um, well, I feel like we'll stay pretty stay pretty transparent, you know, on our social media and that you know I try to keep everyone in tune with what we're doing and what's going on with us. But mainly that we're a family-owned business, we're a small business, you know we do this for our kids to have a future, you know, and we appreciate all of the local support. We have people that come from all over to come eat with us and we're just so grateful and appreciative of the continued support because it just surpasses all of our expectations every weekend. It just really does.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's amazing and it's a real party atmosphere out there, everyone waiting to get their food. They seem to be enjoying being out there, being having the whole vibe. Even the weight doesn't really bother people that much. They seem to really be buying into the whole Catfish Charlie's charm. And I don't know I think I said vibe before. I'm going to say vibe again. It's really unique, it's really fun. How can people who have not been to Catfish Charlie's find you?
Speaker 3:So you could just simply Google Catfish Charlie's and we pop up on Google. I'm also on. My main social media outlet would be Facebook is where I post the most, but of course we're also on Instagram and Snapchat. Um, but of course we're also on instagram and snapchat. I believe I've even got a tiktok out there. You know that I try to work on keep in touch with all the different genres of people. You know um, but yeah, we're open, like I said, four days a week, 10, 30 am to 8 pm, and um just happy to serve whomever and come hungry. That's all I can say. It's just come hungry, we'll feed and come hungry.
Speaker 2:That's all I can say. It's just come hungry, we'll feed you. Come hungry, it's delicious. Thank you so much, stacey, for coming by and sharing and taking the time to do this. I appreciate it.
Speaker 3:Yes, ma'am, Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. This has been. I have been looking forward to speaking to you, even though it's taken what seems like forever to get a hold of you. Well, not a hold of you. But you know, with you, with my schedule.
Speaker 2:So it just speaks to speaks to how much people love Catfish, charlies.
Speaker 3:Oh, I love that so much. I'm just so grateful. My heart is just so warm.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast, northport. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpnorthportcom. That's gnpnorthportcom, or call 205-809-4910.