Waverly eatery serves up clean food, Southern style
Story by Allison Law, photos by Brooke Echols
Driving into Waverly, Ala. – population 185, give or take – is a throwback to a slower, simpler time, with its tiny post office and historic homes along the main thoroughfare that’s still a two-lane street (thankfully, U.S. 280 was routed around the town).
Careful, or you’ll drive right by The Waverly Local, the Southern-cuisine eatery opened by executive chef Christian Watson and Andy Anderson, a partner in the Wickles Pickles company. Watson and Anderson revived an old commercial space that was originally the home of one of the first Ford dealerships in Alabama.
Over the years, the space housed two restaurants — Peyton’s Place and then the Yellowhammer Cafe. When that restaurant closed, it sat vacant for five years, but Anderson, who lives across the street, kept his eye on the building. When the timing was right, the childhood friends decided to open their own restaurant.
It needed a good cleaning and some repairs, but they took care not to compromise the building’s historic integrity. The result is an atmosphere that is understated, but clean and comfortable. The booths and banquettes are custom-made, and the copper tables, bar and host stand are hand-made by a local metalworks artisan. The floors were cleaned a bit and sealed, but the imperfections that add character remain.
“We really just wanted to accentuate what was already here, not mask it and cover it up, but kind of revitalize it,” Watson says.
Inspiration
It was the rich history of the building that inspired Watson to start reading old cookbooks, some dating to the late 19th century. These cookbooks featured foods that were clean and real, and recipes that were simple and Southern — which is exactly what Watson and Anderson wanted their restaurant to be. “You’ll never see microgreens or coconut foam here,” Watson says.
The menu is small, by design. Watson wants the focus to be on the execution of the cooking.
“This isn’t a fine dining restaurant, but we serve fine dining food. Our service is fine dining style without the pretentiousness. We’re Waverly; there’s no pretentiousness here,” Watson laughs.
Before going to culinary school, Watson lived and worked on a farm for three years, an experience that gave him a deep appreciation for small farming operations and fresh, healthy food.
He uses as much locally sourced food as possible, preferring to use local farmers and purveyors to keep money in the community while still using quality ingredients. The eggs, dairy products and the majority of the vegetables are local, and they only serve domestic Gulf seafood (with the exception of a smoked salmon BLT at Sunday brunch, which is wild Alaskan).
“The food we put on the plate is what we’d feed our family,” Watson says. “It’s clean. No antibiotics, no growth hormones, organic as much as we possibly can.”
The menu is seasonal and updated frequently, to reflect the availability of the local and regional products. A mainstay is the best-selling ribeye, served with horseradish cream; coming in a close second is the daily Gulf offering (barrelfish, on one recent day), served over caramelized mushrooms, peas, potatoes and asparagus with an orange rum vinaigrette.
But the menu is not all upscale entrees. The tasty burger is a double stack, served with all the trimmings and an herb mayo (and of course, Wickles Pickles).
The bar menu is seasonal as well – Watson and manager Spencer Bradley collaborate on the specialty cocktails and wine lists.
The restaurant was at first dinner service only, but Sunday brunch was added earlier this year; in late July, they added Saturday lunch.
“We’ve done things at our own pace and our own comfort level, so we do it right and we don’t compromise our integrity,” Watson says.
WTD – The Waverly Local from AREA on Vimeo.
The Waverly Local
1465 Patrick St. Waverly, AL 36879
334-539-6077
Hours:
4 to 10 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday;
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday;
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday for brunch
Visit The Waverly Local on Facebook for specials and live music lineups.
