Catfish Cabin Closed
By Bonita Wilborn
For anyone who hasn’t yet heard about it, Catfish Cabin in Albertville closed its doors at the end of business on Sunday, February 28, 2021. If like me, you wanted to go there to get one last helping of those delicious hush puppies and slaw, and you didn’t go this past weekend, I’m sorry to tell you that you missed your chance.
Many businesses have closed in the past year, since the pandemic hit in February of 2020, and according to a spokesperson from the restaurant, the loss of revenue from COVID restrictions played a role in Catfish Cabin closing as well.
Catfish Cabin has been a landmark restaurant in Albertville, Alabama, for 44 years. Still, all good things must come to an end, and that is true for the beloved restaurant where steak, chicken, catfish, and other seafood items would be enjoyed.
The following statement was taken from the Catfish Cabin Facebook page.
“To our many customers and friends, after 44 of serving Albertville and all of the surrounding communities, it is with heavy hearts that we must announce we will be closing Catfish Cabin at the end of the business day on Sunday, February 28. We want to thank everyone for your loyalty and patronage over the years.”
There is a Catfish Cabin restaurant located in Athens, Alabama. At present, that location is to remain open.
I first learned of Catfish Cabin’s impending closing on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, when I received a text from my niece at 6:05 AM. Not exactly what I expected to be awakened by that day, but I was glad that I received that text because it came in a timely enough fashion so that Ricky and I could make plans to be one of the hundreds that helped in the send-off for Catfish Cabin.
Ricky and I arrived at Catfish Cabin and got our name on the waiting list at approximately 11:40 AM on Saturday, February 27. We were told upfront that there would a 45 minute to an hour wait. On a normal basis, that’s longer than we would wait, as there are many restaurants to enjoy a meal. However, this was not a normal basis sort of day. This was our last opportunity to ever eat a meal at Catfish Cabin in Albertville.
It was a warm, sunshiny day, and we anticipated a large crowd. So we gave them our names and took a seat outside to wait for our time to dine. While sitting on the bench outside of Catfish Cabin patiently awaiting our name to be called, Ricky and I made conversation with some of the folks that were also waiting. I thought it was interesting to see how far people had traveled to take place in the send-off; and how much people are willing to tell total strangers about their life.
The first we talked to was a woman originally from Wisconsin. She is married to a man from Oneonta, Alabama. Although she didn’t say that specifically, it appeared that they had met online, and then she came to Alabama to marry him. That’s not exactly what I would do, but it does seem to be a growing trend in America, and it works out well for some people. We learned all about her family and that she has a daughter and son-in-law that live in Finland. He is in the United States Military, and they are stationed there with the plan to make Finland their permanent home when he retires in two years.
Another couple we made conversation with is from Gadsden. He is a 23-year veteran football official, now retired. They were very friendly and even took the time to walk by our table and say goodbye to us as they were leaving.
We also talked some on a personal basis with our server, who lives in the Albertville area. With the business closing, we were concerned about so many people being unemployed. She told us that Catfish Cabin’s owner also owns several other restaurants and that the employees will be given the option of working in one of those other businesses. We also learned that she is raising her two grandchildren after her son was murdered. It’s amazing what you learn if you just sit and listen to people. Everyone has a story, and it seems they’re ready to tell it.
Catfish Cabin Closed