When I moved to the Wiregrass area right out of college in 1990, I didn’t know too much about Daleville, Alabama.  I remembered my high school playing them in football and even going there for a band contest a time or two.

It didn’t take long for me to hear about a restaurant that has been a mainstay since 1968.  The building had been home to Daleville Baptist Church until they built a new building and moved to a new location.  With the building vacant, the McLin family purchased it and soon it was transformed into a gathering place of sorts for friends and family to enjoy some of the best food around.

When Cavin and I were newly married, it was a place we loved to tag along with his parents because they always picked up the tab.  It was also a great place for church socials. The old Sunday School rooms of the church made perfect dining rooms for private gatherings.  It just makes sense that a Baptist church was turned into a restaurant.  After all, some of the best Christian fellowship occurs when we break bread together. 

Even though we no longer live in the Wiregrass of Southeast Alabama, we are always looking for an opportunity to go to McLin’s.  Recently, Cavin’s mom came to visit and before I knew it, we were loading up and heading East to visit friends and enjoy some good food at McLin’s.

That day we went back in time.  We were once again tagging along with Cavin’s mom, but missing his dad who is no longer with us.  We were meeting up with old friends in one of the old Sunday School rooms.  We were telling old stories and laughing until we cried.  Some things never change… like the perfectly salted onion rings, the medium rare ribeye, the homemade coleslaw, the amazing fried shrimp. 

The only things that had changed were the prices from the menu in 1968, and this time we were the ones picking up the tab!

Sampling the South… some things never change, and that’s ok!