The Ark: Riverside’s Catfish Tradition Keeps Locals Coming Back

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Some restaurants become popular because they are new.

Others become local landmarks because generations of families continue returning to the same tables, ordering familiar favorites and sharing stories about meals enjoyed years before.

The Ark in Riverside belongs in that second group.

Located along U.S. Highway 78 near the Coosa River, The Ark has been serving customers since 1930. Its menu centers on catfish, shrimp, steaks and other familiar Southern dishes, while its long and colorful history has made the restaurant part of the identity of Riverside and eastern St. Clair County.

A Restaurant with a Story Unlike Any Other

According to local histories, The Ark began when E.O. “Red” Thompson converted an old dredging barge into a floating restaurant during Prohibition.

The barge was positioned in the Coosa River near the boundary between St. Clair and Talladega counties. Local legend says Thompson could move the operation toward one side of the river or the other when authorities approached.

Customers reached the floating establishment by boat or gangplank, where they could order catfish, hush puppies and drinks. The original barge eventually burned and sank, and later versions of the restaurant were constructed on land before the present Riverside location was established.

That history gives The Ark a character that cannot be created through decorations or marketing.

It was built through nearly a century of local stories, changing owners, longtime employees, regular customers and families who have continued returning from one generation to the next.

Catfish Remains the Main Attraction

The Ark serves a broad menu, but catfish remains the food most closely connected with the restaurant.

Popular selections include fried catfish fillets, catfish nuggets, jumbo shrimp, seafood platters and catfish-and-shrimp combinations. Diners also mention the hamburger steak, onion rings, fried okra, Cajun fries and hush puppies among the familiar favorites.

The restaurant’s shrimp-and-catfish meal has also appeared on Alabama Tourism’s 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama list, giving the Riverside restaurant recognition beyond the immediate community.

Local reporting has credited the restaurant with using U.S. farm-raised catfish and freshly prepared produce. The fish-and-shrimp combination has been described as one of its strongest sellers, while the menu has continued to expand with sandwiches and homemade desserts.

More Than a Place to Eat

The Ark’s appeal is not limited to the food.

The restaurant has welcomed longtime regulars, travelers passing through Riverside, race fans visiting Talladega and customers who simply want a familiar Southern meal in a casual setting.

Its walls have displayed photographs, newspaper clippings and racing memorabilia collected through the years. NASCAR drivers and other notable visitors have stopped at the restaurant, particularly during the years when race-weekend crowds regularly filled the area.

The building even became a movie location in 2019 when it was transformed into a 1960s diner for the Netflix film The Devil All the Time.

Those stories add another layer to the experience. Customers are not simply walking into a seafood restaurant. They are entering a place that has witnessed decades of East Alabama history.

Supported by the Community

The strongest local restaurants often survive because the relationship between the business and its customers goes both ways.

When restaurants are busy, the community supports the owners and employees. When difficult times arrive, loyal customers can help keep the doors open.

During the pandemic, customers reportedly lined up outside The Ark for takeout orders, helping the restaurant and its employees through a period when indoor dining was unavailable. Some employees have worked there for decades, and longtime customers are described as being treated more like family than occasional visitors.

That loyalty helps explain why The Ark remains part of the local dining conversation after so many years.

A Riverside Tradition Worth Rediscovering

There are newer restaurants with modern dining rooms, changing menus and the latest food trends.

The Ark offers something different.

It offers a familiar plate of catfish and shrimp, a basket of hush puppies, a casual atmosphere and a connection to the history of the community surrounding it.

For someone visiting for the first time, it is an opportunity to experience one of East Alabama’s best-known longtime restaurants.

For regular customers, it is another chance to return to a place that feels familiar.

And for Riverside, The Ark remains proof that a restaurant can become much more than somewhere to eat. It can become part of the story of a community.