Story and photos by Emmett Burnett
You may not know about Irvington Alabama, but you should.
For in this unincorporated community, about 24 miles from Dauphin Island, stands a beacon of seafood, the Lighthouse Restaurant. Many claim it is the best in Alabama.
Proclaiming first place is quite a claim, considering the multitude of great eateries in coastal Alabama. But to the folks who dine here, seafood superiority is not bragging. It is a fact.
Lighthouse accolades are many, including a Bayou La Batre Area Chamber of Commerce’s Taste of the Bayou’s “Judge’s Choice Winner” for best gumbo. A “Best Seafood” title was bestowed upon the Lighthouse in Mobile’s Lagniappe newspaper’s Nappies Awards.
“That is a big deal to us,” says Randall (Randy) Stork, who co-owns the restaurant with his sister, Lucretia Stork. Pointing at various award banners, plaques, and signs displayed in the lobby, he adds, “Seeing all of the other great seafood places in our area, and yet we win, means a lot to me.”
Customers agree. Sharron Upton and Shirley Presnall are frequent visitors from Satsuma, Alabama, a 60-mile round trip. “I mean, look at this,” Sharron says, referencing a fork-impaled golden fried shrimp with a rich aroma only surpassed by its taste. She adds, “The food is just great.”
The restaurant’s address is 12495 Padgett Switch Road. Randy concedes, “We are not an easy place to come to. It is off the beaten path. When seeing our dining room packed, knowing people drove past a lot of good restaurants to be here, tells me we are doing something right.”
The “something right” includes combo platters of fish, oysters, shrimp, crab claws, stuffed crab or crawfish tails. Other favorites are fish dinners of mullet, catfish, grouper and flounder.
For the saltwater impaired, the Lighthouse’s 12-ounce ribeye, homemade 8-ounce or 10-ounce hamburger steaks, Philly cheese steaks, chicken, pork chops, hot roast beef, and numerous others are excellent choices.
Daily specials are handwritten on an erasable ink board. On today’s visit the Wednesday special is corned beef hash or fried pork chops, each with two sides, selected from scalloped potatoes, turnip greens, pickled beets and onions, big white lima beans or fried okra as side choices.
“Try this, it’s a customer favorite,” says Randy’s wife, Kisha Stork, as she sets the table with a whole flounder. It is called ‘whole’ because it almost covers the whole plate. A bottom feeder no more, the flounder rises to the occasion.
“Everything here is good but the signature dish is our crab claws,” Kisha adds, while serving a platter piled high with fried just right crustacean appendages.
One would be hard pressed to find someone in the Irvington/Bayou La Batre area who has not enjoyed fresh Gulf crabs from the Lighthouse, keeper of the claw. Crab claws are popular for take-out or dining in. On today’s visit, virtually every table includes crab claws, either as a side, main course, or both.
The gift of shellfish are from local waters, hook, line and pincher. Actually all fish items served are local, from “up the road.”
“Up the road” means Bayou La Batre, the seafood capital of Alabama, a few miles away. Randy notes that his restaurant’s seafood journey derives from Bayou La Batre’s fishing boats, then cooked to your liking, and served fried, blackened, grilled, and more.
He also adds, “Our catfish is from Mississippi and our banana pudding is from my grandmother.” Her recipe has not changed since 1984.
The other recipes and the restaurant have been in Randy and Lucretia’s family since its 1983 startup.
The Lighthouse legacy originates with the brother and sister’s grandfather, Earl Stork, who in the early days of operation insisted the restaurant close on Sundays. Randy recalls, “My grandfather told me, ‘Son, if you can’t make it Monday through Saturday, Sunday isn’t going to help you.” The Lighthouse still lives by that creed.
Continuing the family-run restaurant through the years, uncles, aunts, parents, and other relatives made the Lighthouse shine. Family members worked in every aspect of the business, from operations to stirring gumbo.
The Storks’ culinary techniques were handed down through family generations. Randy and Lucretia obtained the family business around 2020.
But the restaurant of renown originated much smaller, basically, in what is now the foyer. The business and the building grew over the years. Today it seats about 150 and often.
At 11 a.m. customers literally file in as the doors open. On busy days, by noon patrons wait for a table.
The customer base is diverse, ranging from tourists (Bellingrath Gardens is 13 miles away) to area workers, business people, and devoted fans. “We have people from all over,” says Randy. “Last week a couple from Thomasville (Alabama) visited, a 240 mile round-trip.”
Regardless of miles traveled, seafood lovers seek the best and to many, Irvington, Alabama is their destination to a beacon, the Lighthouse Restaurant.
The Lighthouse Restaurant
12495 Padgett Switch Road, Irvington, AL 36544
251-824-2500
Hours: 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday;
11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday; closed Sunday
