Chain restaurants offer basically the same exact menu, prepared and served up in a replicated atmosphere, city to city. That’s their whole objective, to deliver an identical experience over and over, whether you’re in Los Angeles or Lower Alabama. Locally owned and operated restaurants offer one-of-a-kind dining options that are far from cookie cutter. (Check out these other great reasons to shop local http://instaylocal.com/) In fact, local restaurants and signature specialties would be impossible to replicate elsewhere (think NYC pizza outside of NYC, it’s never the same).
It’s time to break the chain!
At locally owned restaurants the Fish House, Atlas Oyster House and Jackson’s Steakhouse we specialize in Gulf Coast and Southern Cuisine, and it’s our passion. Our menus offer dishes you won’t find anywhere else, always made with fresh, local ingredients such as:
- Pecans from Renfroe Pecans
- Fresh fish from Maria’s Seafood
- Cheese from Sweet Home Farm
- Local oysters from Appalachicola
When you eat at our restaurants, you know you will be treating your taste buds to homegrown cuisine. We challenge you to find Grits a ya-ya (or anything close to the creamy goodness) at a chain restaurant!
Eating at hometown restaurants also supports your community and those who rely on its operation for their livelihoods. From the kitchen to the wait staff to those behind-the-scenes, it’s all run by friends, family and neighbors who care about, work and live in the community. Whether you live in the area or are just visiting, you will get a true sense of hometown flavor by savoring some local culinary specialties, surrounded by the people who live there.
So when you eat at the Fish House, Atlas Oyster House, Jackson’s Steakhouse or any other local restaurant in town, think of it as giving back to your community in addition to getting an authentic, good-for-your-soul meal and personal experience that can’t be replicated anywhere else. There’s no place like home.
We encourage you to eat local when you travel to other places too. There is no better way to get a taste of a city’s culture than experiencing some of its restaurants. What are some of your favorite local spots from places you’ve visited?
Tags: local restaurants, oysters, Pensacola
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Love the local food choices. After watching Food Inc its hard to eat in chains. Not sure where you get your steaks but we love the beef from Hastings Farm in Bay Minette – http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M16893
I recently had a chain restaurant experience that backs my preference of sticking to locally-owned restaurants right up by truly grossing me out. At first, every thing about the (mid-grade, non-fast food, nationally advertised) place seemed normal – meaning ‘as expected’, given that I expected a replicated experience. But then I excused myself to the restroom before ordering and had an entirely different experience on the way there. The path to the throom passed by the open kitchen door, and my eyes got stuck on the 2” (no kidding) layer of food on the floor in there. A 2 inch thick muck of mashed potatoes, greens, burger droppings, etc. – seriously. Presumably dropped by cooks and wait staff rushing orders out (and tracking them out on their feet). This is a seriously busy restaurant off I-10 that looks and serves identically to its Pcola installation, where it’s (sadly) just as busy. My friends and I were desperate to eat and already seated, but I sent each of them to the restroom to check out the sights, and they agreed to leave.
Maybe the delivery of the replicated experience is more in my expectation/presumption as in reality? I expected an identical dining experience, so I would have assumed I was getting it had I not been jolted into taking a closer look. Maybe people working in chain stores aren’t as invested as those working their own local baby that has their own name on it? I don’t know, but what I do know is where I’ll never eat again!
I also saw Food Inc (http://www.foodincmovie.com/) and it was quite an awakening experience. There are so many ways we can support our local community. Shopping local is not always the cheapest choice, but it is the most ethical choice. It is an encouragement and a wonderful example of commitment to see a local restaurant show support of the local community.
Hi, I applaud your blog for informing people, very interesting article, keep up it coming
Thanks, Beau, Caroline, Rich and Simple recipes for writing on our blog!