The Restaurant Entrepreneur

Noell Broughton is a serial restaurant entrepreneur if there ever was one. Catch your breath because his story has the energy of a hurricane! It is a twenty-six-year career history with plenty of twists and turns and a lot of memories and fun along the way. Buckle your seat belts, the ride is not over.

Born and raised in Mobile, Noell attended McGill-Toolen High School and the University of South Alabama “back in the day.” He started working at Ruby Tuesdays at the mall while in school and was there for two years. “As soon as I started working at Ruby Tuesdays, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I love every aspect of the restaurant/bar business,” he says.  

When he turned 21, Noell began bartending at the Baley Café in Mobile. At 23, he had an opportunity to open 14 South, a restaurant on Church Street in Fairhope. He also opened a live music venue, Monsoon’s on Dauphin Street in Mobile. He operated Monsoon’s for ten years. “I love live music, and I’ve owned a bar on Dauphin Street since 1996.” Four years later after opening 14 South, someone approached him about purchasing the business, and he couldn’t turn them down.  

He and Wendell Quimby then partnered to open Café 615, a popular café and bar in downtown Mobile. While doing Café 615, Noell also opened Studio 5’4”, a take-off on Studio 54, the famous nightclub in New York City notorious for celebrity sightings and shenanigans, and used the same logo but swapped his actual height as a humorous nod and marketing ploy.  

After selling Café 615 to two of his managers, he opened a sandwich shop called Noell Bs. He operated Noell Bs for three years before selling it. He then partnered with David Shipman, who owned Cell Block, and opened the Brickyard on Dauphin Street. He and David still own and operate the Brickyard, a live music venue where he maintains his office.

In 2015, a year after Paddy O’ Toole’s on Airport Boulevard in Mobile closed after thirty years of operating, Noell and David opened Lucky – Irish Pub & Grill and then opened a second location in Saraland two years later. Of course, St. Patrick’s Day is the biggest day of the year for any Irish establishment, and Noell had everything ready for the huge party, complete with tents and entertainment. Then Covid happened on St. Patrick’s Day in 2020, and the city closed everything.  

Needless to say, it was a blow. “If this had been my tenth year of operating, we wouldn’t have made it,” he says. “We were fully closed for two months in all our establishments. Then we were allowed to operate at 50% capacity. I have really good and loyal employees, so we were able to survive.” Once restrictions were lifted, “People were itching to get out, and business has been booming ever since!”

Noell and his friend, Bobby Kilpatrick from Fairhope, would often meet for a drink at the old Fairhope Pub to catch up and talk about how great it would be to operate a restaurant/bar/music venue in that location. In 2015 the space became available and Noell, David, and Bobby opened Bone and Barrel. It’s a great venue open 7-days a week with live music on an outdoor stage Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. It’s where I go to watch Alabama basketball with friends during the season and the food is good!

About the same time, Noell was visiting friends in Nashville and ended up in Santa’s Pub. It is a Christmas-themed bar complete with Karaoke and the owner dressed up in a Santa outfit. He loved it. Guess what, Noell, David, and Bobby now operate the “oldest Christmas bar in Alabama“ on Church Street in Fairhope. The Little Whiskey Christmas Club is so much fun. It has a strong “late night” younger crowd but has upped its food offerings to attract more restaurant folks.

The location has had many restaurants over the years and Noell says, “It’s hard to change people’s perception once something has been established. Little Whiskey offers good food, a great bar, and live entertainment throughout the week. Be sure to check out Santa’s Living Room. It’s a fun place. You can walk from Little Whisky to Bone and Barrel, just a few feet apart from each other in Fairhope.  

Back to the Brickyard on Dauphin Street. Great bar and live music but it doesn’t serve food. No problem. Noell opened Debris on Dauphin next door where Boo Radleys used to be. We reviewed it in last week’s issue of Scenic 98 Coastal. “Really good” does not begin to describe it. Mark Strickland is the chef, and he knows what he is doing. The menu has a New Orleans flare, and everything is made from scratch. The best part- the most important part- is the bread comes straight from Leidenheimer’s bakery in New Orleans. If you know, you know.

How many people are familiar with the geodesic dome on the Causeway called Traders? If those walls could talk. Glad they can’t. Noell got a call from a friend, Curtis Ragona who had a working relationship with the owner of Traders who was interested in selling. Curtis called Noell to see if he would be interested in partnering together and purchasing the property. “I didn’t even look at the books,” he says. Traders has existed forever and has been pushed around by a hurricane or two.  

They took over in March and set out “not to clean it up but to update with new paint and TVs”. Traders now has a frozen drink machine and Noell plans to build a new pier so that it will be accessible by boat. Traders is open seven days a week, 2:00 PM Monday thru Thursday and at noon Friday thru Sunday. It’s a good place to wet your whistle for sure.

I asked him if he has partners in all his establishments. “Yes. I have partners in everything I do. The service industry is so much work and requires you to be there all the time. There is just so much going on.”

So, what’s next? Why stop now? A brand-new restaurant is underway in the old Catholic Services Building in Mobile. Called Grace, it is located at 555 Dauphin Street, it’s “gourmet goes casual,” says Noell. This will be a full-service restaurant with two bars, one downstairs in the restaurant and one upstairs on the roof, “the first rooftop bar in Mobile,” he says.  “Everything is more fun with a bar!” Grace will open around late October.

I have to say, Noell Broughton is a high-energy dynamo who is easy to like. He obviously loves what he does and is good at it. I’ve been to almost every establishment he operates at one time or another and each is different. He has the touch. I appreciate all Noell brings to the Scenic 98 Coastal communities and enjoyed visiting with him last week. But, seriously, I’m exhausted.