Dixie Fish Company opening this week

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Photo by Katie Turpen.

New Orleans native Mason Jambon plans to open Dixie Fish Company in the former Bahama Breeze location on U.S. 280.

In 1986, Mason Jambon was barely out of high school when he casually walked into Commander’s Palace in New Orleans wearing a blue blazer and tie to apply for a job as a food runner.

“I had no idea where I was applying or who I was applying with,” Jambon said. “I was probably a food runner for two years because I couldn’t carry a tray correctly. It took me a long time to work my way up.”

After years climbing the ladder at Commander’s Palace under head chef Emeril Lagasse, Jambon served as the general manager at Red Fish Grill for 15 years and then ran the House of Blues in New Orleans for eight years.

Now Jambon is bringing New Orleans culinary expertise to Birmingham. Dixie Fish Company, a restaurant specializing in local seafood and local beer, is set to open Sept. 7 in the former Bahama Breeze building on U.S. 280 — and Jambon, his former mangers and Executive Chef Greg Collier are behind it.

Jambon recalls regularly passing the empty building when he moved to Birmingham two years ago. It did not take long for him to decide it was perfect for his seafood restaurant concept.

“To have a facility like this to do what we want to do is just great,” Jambon said.  “We wouldn’t have done the deal if we wouldn’t have found this building.”

Jambon’s vision for the restaurant encompasses all things Southern. For him, the fresher the food, the better the food — and that means staying as local as possible.

“[We will have] fresh Gulf seafood at a really reasonable price point. We want to be the anti-chain,” Jambon said. “That means we’re not flying in stuff from California, not getting frozen crab legs from Alaska. Were trying to not only to source the seafood from the Gulf but also the accompaniments.”

The menu certainly knows it’s serving Alabamians. The Buffalo Oyster Poppers are Auburn-themed and Crimson Shrimp and Grits Alabama-themed. Neighboring Southern states are also represented.

“We’re doing a catfish platter from Mississippi. We’re doing grouper sandwiches from Florida and a few New Orleans dishes,” Jambon said. “[We are showcasing] different regional cooking styles from the South done with as much local ingredients as we can.”

Jambon and chef partner Greg Collier are working on a non-seafood entrée that he is particularly excited about serving.

“We’re a seafood restaurant, but I think one of our best-selling dishes is going to be the Dixie Chicken. He does it in a sweet tea marinade then fries it and coats it with tobacco pepper jelly,” Jambon said. “Then there’s the hot mac and cheese with this cold cheesy whip cream made in the back that melts over the whole thing.”

In addition to the food, Jambon said the bar will have nine local beers on tap and specialty Southern-style cocktails made with Southern distilled liquors. One thing diners won’t see around the restaurant is typical seafood restaurant décor.

“It’s just as much Dixie as it is fish,” Jambon said.

Outside, a patio will feature an outdoor bar, stage, fire pit, a big screen television broadcasting football games and picnic tables painted in SEC team colors. College football crawfish boils and musically themed Sunday brunches are also in the plans.

Whether planning the menu or the décor, Jambon and his team live by one motto that they hope Birmingham diners will appreciate and enjoy as much as they do:  “Alabama if at all possible and Southern at all costs.”