ABOUT

Upscale American Cuisine
A restaurant unique to our Community

In the spring of 2019, in less than one minute, a dream came to life. Sylvia Smith and Ephraim Kadish, spotted the 86 yr old Armory in Foley, Alabama, occupied then as the Old Antique Mall. After nearly 2 years of searching for the perfect location and property, this was the right one, with no doubt. Local and Company Food+Drink would become a reality! The first challenge was to figure out how to covert this old concrete block structure into being a property the community could be proud of, and become a part of a great restaurant and gathering place for the locals.

She was built in 1934 by The Civil Works Administration, a short-lived job creation program established during the Great Depression to rapidly create mostly manual-labor jobs for millions of unemployed workers. The jobs were temporary, for the duration of the hard winter of 1933–34. President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveiled the CWA on November 8, 1933. In only 2 years, CWA workers laid 12 million feet of sewer pipe and built or improved 255,000 miles of roads, 40,000 schools, 3,700 playgrounds, and nearly 1,000 airports, and the old Armory in Foley, Alabama. You guessed it, not a single wall is square, nor is the floor level or flat, but she's still a beauty!

The design and decor, by Sylvia Smith and Ephraim Kadish, is industrial chic, and was given its personality and interest by embracing the existing steel and concrete elements, then combining those with reclaimed woods, and adding mid-century, soft velvet, semi-circle sofas and cozy banquette seating with comfortable cushions. Tables and chairs are a mixture of elegance and handcrafted barn-wood. Carefully selected lighting sets the mood, as does the arch windows of the dimly lit wine cellar. The large restrooms, originally the weaponry and ammunitions bunkers for the infantry, were preserved as much as possible, revealing the security bars in the interior windows. However, the ladies restroom was redesigned with a much more feminine flair; and ladies, you just have to see it!

The beautiful bar in the lounge area was designed and built by a local artist, Nick Bottjer, owner of Foley Custom Guns on Hickory Street in Foley, Alabama. It began by tossing around ideas of a steel mezzanine above the bar to house the heating and air conditioning, and then the question was how to soften the mood. Sylvia and Ephraim, met with Nick and decided on natural woods and softly lit resin, and then Nick went to work on the months-long project. Perfectly located near the private dining room and the back entrance, the bar is a beautiful example of the talents and creativity that is abundant in this small Alabama town. The “community” designed bar is a gathering place, and the heart of the social experience, where handcrafted cocktails, and freshly squeezed fruit juices are included in the full set-up of alcohol, beer and wine. It’s the bar where everyone feels welcome, introducing the guests to other guests and creating a gathering place and warm hospitality for our local friends.

The Tasting Room, a private dining room along the east side of the restaurant, is the perfect place for wedding receptions, wine pairing dinners, birthday parties, baby showers, family reunions and celebrations.  With a reservation, together we will plan the details of your event.  Our Chef will create a custom menu for your event, along with handcrafted cocktails and a curated wine selection.

With the advantage of unusually high ceilings and great bones, we feel very privileged to have reclaimed a well-known, history-filled building in a growing city, and changed its use, elevated its stature, and created a community servicing restaurant with great food, in a fun, casual atmosphere. Local and Company was created from the desire to have a great restaurant in a local community where the attention to upscale dining had primarily been placed in the tourist areas of Baldwin county. A seasonal restaurant was not something the partners wanted, because beautifully presented, delicious food comes from a highly skilled staff who are not eliminated from the team when tourist season ends, but instead they become part of the family.

After an extensive renovation, and preserving every detail of her architectural character possible, Local and Company Food+Drink, has become a shining star in the community. A full service, upscale American cuisine restaurant with a comfortable, welcoming dining experience. This is a restaurant creatively designed for the locals, their family and friends; all, who are our guests.

Executive Chef Ira Gallon, who worked under chefs such as Ephraim Kadish, and also well known, Charlie Palmer & Bradley Ogden, directs the delicious scratch kitchen.  The owners Ephraim and Sylvia, purchased an Arabian horse farm in Foley, Alabama, where they are developing Belvedere Farm, a Wedding and Event Venue, and also where they are growing much of the fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs used by the scratch kitchen at Local and Company.  Our menu will delight those seeking a light lunch, or those who want to venture out and try something new. The Saturday lunch menu, 11:00 - 4:00, is now a brunch menu, by popular demand.  A thoughtfully curated wine list selected to share a few tried and true favorites, but more-so to give the local community an opportunity to explore something new from the smaller, handcrafted wineries.

We are here for community. Local and Company is a place to gather with family, friends and neighbors, old and new.  Join us and enjoy.