Ezell’s Fish Camp would be easy to miss if you’re not careful. On Alabama Highway 10, once you cross the Nanafalia Bridge across the Tombigbee River from Marengo County into Choctaw County, you take the first road to the right, which curves back and takes you alongside the river to a parking lot. Ezell’s is the rambling structure with the tin roof.
You’re pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but you have arrived at a wonderful place where the location, the historic building and the warm wait staff make you feel like you’ve traveled back in time.
Mary Ann Ezell Hall sits in one of the original two rooms that once made up the dogtrot cabin where she lived until she was five years old. With rough-hewn log walls and a fire going in the fireplace even though it’s 64 degrees outside, the cozy dining room is her favorite spot. “I just love it,” she says.
The cabin was used as a trading post during the Civil War before Mary Ann’s grandfather, Charles Agnew Ezell, bought it and ran a ferry across the river in the days before a bridge was built. His son, C.A. Ezell, lived in the cabin and worked as a commercial fisherman on the river. Soon, his family outgrew the cabin, but C.A. continued to operate it as a hunting and fishing club.
The spot was known for fish fries in the yard, where catfish and hush puppies sold for 50 cents a plate. In the 1930s, it evolved into a restaurant. Mary Ann took over Ezell’s Fish Camp from her father nearly 40 years ago. Today, her son Agnew helps her run it.
Over the years, Ezell’s has expanded – the back porch was enclosed, two party rooms were added (the Poplar and the Cypress, named after the paneling) and a deck was built – but hasn’t changed much. Customers “expect to see the same deer heads or pictures,” Mary Ann says. “We don’t move anything. If you do, you get in trouble.”
They don’t change the menu very often, either. Customers expect fresh fried catfish filets, crispy, melt-in-your-mouth hush puppies and sweet, crunchy cole slaw, accompanied by large glasses of tea. Other popular items include the fried dill pickles, shrimp and oysters, ribeye steaks and burgers served with home fries.
While Mary Ann ran the original Ezell’s Fish Camp, her brothers Charles and Joe opened several Ezell’s Catfish Cabin restaurants in other states. Today, Catfish Cabin locations remain in Memphis, Tenn., Monroe, La., Columbus, Ga., and Phenix City, Ala.
The original eatery in Lavaca seats 300 people, making it a popular spot for after-rehearsal dinners, family reunions and other special occasions. “It’s pretty much a destination,” Mary Ann says.
During hunting season, she says, there’s “a sea of camouflage” in the dining rooms. Bikers love it, too – on New Year’s Day, she says, some 400 bikers gathered there from all over the state for black-eyed peas and greens.
Because of its proximity to the river, flooding has closed the restaurant several times. A seawall has helped prevent that problem. “The building, to me, is worth saving, because you can’t replace it,” she says.
You can’t replace Mary Perry, who has waited tables there for the past 47 years, either. “People come in the door looking for Miss Mary,” says Mary Ann.
She’ll be 85 this year, but Miss Mary says she would much rather be working at the restaurant than sitting at home with nothing to do. “You just never know who’s going to come in every day,” she says. “There’s always something different.”
She’s now waiting on the fourth and fifth generations of some families. “It’s so important to talk to people, remember the children and grandchildren, talk about the illnesses and births in the family,” Miss Mary says. “It really and truly is a family restaurant.”
Ezell’s Fish Camp is located at 776 Ezell Road in Lavaca, Ala. The phone number is (205) 654-2205. Ezell’s is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.