When someone recommends a place to eat I’ve never heard of before, and I make a point of checking it out and have an amazing meal, I wonder why it took me so long to discover it. This is the case with Neighbors Seafood and Chicken in the Tillman’s Corner area of Mobile.

I had a meeting in Downtown Mobile recently and decided to go to Neighbors for lunch. I had fried oysters on my mind. Not knowing what to expect, I arrived at a full parking lot and people standing in the alcove just inside the entrance waiting for their takeout orders. The dining room was almost full, and the kind lady at the cash register laughed as it became evident I didn’t know what I was doing.

“Sit wherever you like,” she instructed me, so I grabbed a 4-top where I could observe what was happening. I had decided on oysters before I arrived because my friend told me they were “awesome.” Truth be told, the fried chicken looked really good, too, but I stuck with my plan. “I’ll be back,” I thought. 

As I was enjoying every morsel, including fried oysters, turnip greens, butter beans, fries, and cornbread, I asked the server, “Who owns this place?” It was the attractive lady who had greeted me and was interacting with everyone in the restaurant, including guests, servers, and the busy cooks coming in and out of the kitchen to deliver the food.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed this meal. Before I finished, I made plans to come back. My problem with restaurants is that I find something I like, and have a hard time branching out. I love oysters, and these were some of the best I’ve had. But that fried chicken has been calling my name ever since I stepped in the door at Neighbors.

When the owner, Deana Muscat, had a minute, I introduced myself and mentioned that I have a newsletter called Scenic 98 Coastal, which we write about good restaurants we enjoy along the Gulf Coast. “I’ve seen your newsletter,” she said, which always makes me happy. We agreed to meet again so that I could interview her and get the history of the restaurant.

When I returned the following week after the lunch crowd had died down, and before the dinner crowd arrived, we sat down in Deana’s office, where a gentleman introduced as Mike Kelly was waiting. “I’m not part of this story,” he said, “I’m just here to provide a bit of the history.” It turns out, Mike, who couldn’t have been nicer, was a lot more involved than he let on.

Deana's father, Pete Potter, with no experience, purchased an existing restaurant in 1992, changed the name to Neighbors Seafood and Chicken, and operated it with his wife, Jo, Deana’s mother. Deana grew up in Mobile and graduated from Auburn with a degree in Business and Fashion Merchandising. After college, she began working in the food industry with Sysco in Atlanta. There, she had twin daughters and a son. 

In 2000, Deana moved with her family to Mobile, where she continued with Sysco, and took over the Neighbor’s food services account from Mike, who worked with a competitor, Merchants Foodservice. “For years, I tried to get Deana to come work for Merchants,” he tells me. 

In 2011, Deana stopped working in the food industry to raise her children and launched an online clothing store that hosted trunk shows in people’s homes, and Mike took over Deana’s food service accounts. Then COVID happened, and the world stopped.

“The trunk shows stopped, and Mom and Dad didn’t want to catch COVID, so they called me to come run the restaurant. They left and never came back. I had worked a bit in the restaurant growing up, but didn’t have a clue how to run a restaurant. I went through the filing cabinets and pieced together all the notes Dad had.” She tells me they stayed busy with takeout during the pandemic. “Anyone who had a drive-thru was equipped to survive COVID.” 

Her dad, who had worked in the paper products business before buying the restaurant, developed all the recipes and was process-oriented. “He designed everything and created the operations that are the backbone of the business,” says Deana. “The name, Neighbors, comes from our neighborhood, where everyone gathered on the porches and visited. It was a simple life.”

She tells me everything is made from scratch. They prepare fresh vegetables and procure the freshest locally sourced seafood and meats. After her parents turned over operations to Deana, she scrambled to learn all she could about running a restaurant. Mike was there often, delivering food products and observing the change in command. He knew Deana was overwhelmed by it all. 

The next three years were hard. Her father contracted  COVID and passed away in 2023. Deana went through a divorce, and two Philippine sisters who had worked at the restaurant with her father from the beginning decided to return home in 2022. A lot was going on. After a long career, Mike retired from Merchants in June 2024.

Growing up, Deana learned from her parents that hard work can overcome a lack of knowledge or experience. Over the years, Mike had become a family friend whom Deana trusted. She immediately seized the opportunity to bring him on board to help with the operations, just about the time the Philippine sisters decided to return. 

“They are the glue that holds the kitchen together. When Mike came in less than a month after retirement, things began to settle down. Our customers and the people who have been working here for so long are like family. People like to be recognized when they walk in the door. Mike has seen a lot of restaurant operations in his career, and he told me the key is just being here.”

You feel the warmth of the Neighbors' family atmosphere when you walk in the door. The food is excellent, and as I sat, enjoying my oysters and vegetables, I could hear tables talking about how good their dishes were that day. You can tell that everyone is welcome and appreciated by Deana, Mike, and the staff.

After our visit, it seemed to me that Deana and Mike really love what they do and are loved by the people around them. That’s a good recipe for success. They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and Deana is using a more sophisticated system to manage the restaurant these days. It’s a learning process, but she seems to respond well to a challenge.

There is also a saying that “Great necessities call out great virtues.” I believe Deana and Mike have that in spades. I can’t wait to go back to Neighbors again and again. It’s worth the drive to West Mobile. Heck, I just may see you there!

PS: I did go back for the fried chicken. Excellent!