It was your last chance to enjoy the old Southern breakfast or the Alabama barbecue. Sunday, July 19 was the final day for Dick Russell’s in Mobile.

After 70 years of serving Alabama folks and visitors, a chapter in the state’s culinary history has closed. This is a permanent closing. Done. Fine. Sine die.

The closing time was Sunday at either 2 p.m. or whenever the food ran out, whichever came first.

The restaurant was on Highway 90 West in the Tillman’s Corner area of Greater Mobile and had operated seven days a week. They won a Lagniappe Award for breakfast and the Alabama BBQ Hall of Fame, awarded for lunch and dinner.

They also operated a catering service. Inflation of most all food prices, starting in the Biden Administration, affected all of Dick Russell’s operations and required some menu price increases. This included a temporary surcharge on all egg orders – 50 cents per egg – during last year’s period of “eggflation.”

The restaurant’s lease ended. Longtime co-owner Jimmy Popple said the business was highly demanding, and he is ready to retire. He also said it is time to step aside to make room for rapid commercial growth in Tillman’s Corner.  Just days ago, a Chick-fil-A opened near Dick Russell’s.

Founded by Dick Russell in 1953 on Craft Highway in Prichard, the iconic local restaurant moved to its current location on Highway 90 in Tillman’s Corner in 1982.

Celebrated for its legendary made-from-scratch breakfast biscuits, barbecue, and hand-patted burgers, it was an inaugural inductee into the Alabama Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2015.

After decades under the ownership of Dick Russell’s children, the business was turned over to five long-term employees in January 2026 in an effort to keep it running, though the arrangement ultimately did not prevent the closure.

To its loyal customers, it feels as though we need a Visitation, Memorial Service and Celebration of Life for Dick Russell’s, the restaurant of the people.

Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler is a freelance writer about the colorful and positive in Alabama — her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].