DUANE SHERRILLEditor

The Seafood Place is now open on Atlantic, offering a sit-down restaurant with fresh seafood straight from the Gulf to the table.

The restaurant is owned by Kimberly and Paul Householder and opened their downtown business a couple of weeks ago. Their ribbon cutting was held last Friday. Their restaurant opened after they sold fresh seafood for several years.

Mrs. Householder said it is a miracle they have come this far. “I tell everyone this is a God business and I’m a recruiter and now I sell fish,” she said. “My husband was retail management and now we own a restaurant. This is all insane.”

She recalled that they thought about getting into the seafood business on a Sunday. By Thursday they had two of their licenses, Friday they were meeting wholesalers in Biloxi, Mississippi. Seven days later they had 931-Seafood as their phone number. Four weeks after thinking of it, they were selling fish on the street with Department of Agriculture approval and all of their licensing.

They were in business for eight weeks next to Mike’s Tire and Brakes. The location had been for sale for nine years but didn’t sell until the Householders located there.

“What are we going to do?” she recalled saying after they found themselves without a store front when the property where their original location was sold. She noted they found a new location while just driving down the road and rented that location for six years.

“Every single time we thought we were done and out of business, God really just appeared,” she said. “The best thing I ever cooked in our almost 30 years of marriage was Chinese carryout and Italian delivery. All of these are my recipes.”

The change from just selling seafood to also serving seafood at a restaurant is a big leap for the couple although there is a tremendous upside.

“Everybody wanted our seafood and we knew we would have to change so people could come and sit,” she said. “This could potentially be crazy if we do it right.”

They are open Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. They can be reached at 931-SEAFOOD. Online they can be reached at theseafoodplace.net. They are located at 105 NW Atlantic in Tullahoma.

“Our crab cakes are insane,” she said. “Our crab cakes aren’t like anything you’ll get at another restaurant. They are pricey but for every two pounds of crab I only use one cup of breading. Really I’m not charging enough for the crab cakes I’m serving. They are well worth the money.”

While being downtown and opening a restaurant, The Seafood Place still offers a market where people can go to buy fresh seafood to take home.

“We bring in at least three or four different types of fish every week,” she said.

They used to have to go to Orange Beach to get fresh fish every Wednesday, for a year and a half. “We had three vendors in Orange Beach and we would drive over to Mobile and meet with two other vendors,” she recalled, noting there was eventually an agreement to meet their suppliers in Pulaski to save the long trip to the Gulf. They now meet with their suppliers every Tuesday and Thursday.

She noted that any fish that they have had on hand for three days is food savored and sold at half price. “It’s still a beautiful product and we aren’t making any money on half priced fish,” she said.

Mr. Householder noted that customers will be treated to some excellent food when they come to The Seafood Place.

“Everything is fresh and everything is wild caught,” he said. “We will make your trip worth it.”

Their first location is now their bakery so the separate counter of their downtown location is where to get the product to take home. They also offer local lamb and Angus beef.

As for their offerings, he said breakfast at The Seafood Place is a breakfast like none other.

“Breakfast is different,” he said. “A different type of eggs benedict and some of the best biscuits and gravy around.”