by Al.com
Some might call opening a restaurant along a stretch of road that’s home to more open fields than businesses a risk. However, Grib Anderson, the owner of The Market at John Hall Store, would call it a dream come true, nearly two decades in the making.
The Market at John Hall Store, located on Vaughn Road in the small community of Cecil, gets its name from the historic John E. Hall building that today houses the restaurant, which has become a gathering spot for residents of Pike Road, Fitzpatrick and other east Montgomery communities. Throughout the past century, the building, dating back to 1913 and now known as a local landmark, has been home to several businesses, including a general store where Anderson once sold vegetables as a kid.
“I’ve lived in Cecil my entire life,” Anderson said. “When I was younger, I would walk up the road to the John Hall store with a basket of vegetables. At the time, it was a general convenience store, and they let me sell my veggies up there. At the end of the day, they would always have a $20 bill for me. Looking back, I think it’s kind of funny because it’s like it was always 20 bucks, you know, but it was like they were helping fuel my dream.
“They really gave me the support to try to be a young entrepreneur and start thinking about how to run a business. That just progressed into me writing down business ideas in a notebook, and the very first idea that I wrote down in that book was putting a restaurant at the store. So, it all started back then with a veggie basket and walking up the road, trying to see what I could do.”
Anderson, who graduated with a business degree from Auburn University of Montgomery, began leasing the John Hall building, which sat vacant at the time, in 2021 and spent about a year renovating it before officially opening in April 2022.
The Market offers diners a full menu of American and Southern dishes for lunch and dinner, including everything from burgers to pizza, a selection of steaks, shrimp po’boys and more. The restaurant also offers daily specials like fried catfish and hamburger steak throughout the week. Then on Friday and Saturday nights, things kick up a notch with the addition of specialty dishes Anderson calls their five-star plates.
Among the noteworthy five-star plates, which change from week to week, offered in the past is “The Cecil Quail,” which Anderson created with his mentor, former executive chef Brian Armagost. The dish consists of bacon-wrapped quail stuffed with Conecuh sausage and cornbread dressing and topped with crispy onions as well as parsley flakes before being served over creamy grits, collard greens and tomato gravy.
Not only was the dish popular among The Market’s customers, but it also got the attention of Garden and Gun magazine, in which writer T. Edward Nickens called it “the best quail I’ve ever eaten, by a long stretch” in a 2024 article. For a business with only a little over two years under its belt at the time, Anderson said the praise was just another dream realized.
“I never expected that I would be featured in there when I opened the restaurant,” said Anderson. “When I found out they wanted to have it in the article, I was so shocked, but it is a delicious and beautiful dish. As soon as you see it, you just go, ‘wow!’ I mean, it’s got that appeal, and it’s got every Southern food you could think of.”
And while they aren’t quite as elaborate as the Cecil Quail and The Market’s other five-star plates, Anderson said the restaurant’s bacon cheeseburgers, which are hand-pattied in house, as well as the oysters they bring in fresh each week from Bayou La Batre are some other offerings that have developed a strong following among its customers.
Of course, the food isn’t the only draw The Market has going for it. Another major appeal of the restaurant, in addition to its diverse and always-evolving menu, is its lively and welcoming atmosphere.
“It’s the kind of place where people of all ages feel welcome,” said Anderson. “We have a great atmosphere. It’s very family-oriented and very centered around the community since, you know, we couldn’t do what we do without our customers.”
Its indoor dining room is rustic and comfortable, with messages written on dollar bills taped behind the bar, candid photos in frames and taxidermy mounts adorned to the walls. Meanwhile, its outdoor area — where The Market offers live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights — with its twinkle lights, picnic tables and open space for kids to play freely in, is the picture of rural charm.
“You’ll see deer when you’re sitting out there and across the road, we’ve got a pasture full of cows,” said Anderson. “Then in the restaurant, you know, I’ve got about 30 different species of animals mounted. I joke and say it’s like a local museum.”
Both The Market’s indoor and outdoor dining spaces will likely be busier than ever this weekend, when the restaurant marks its 3-year anniversary on Saturday, April 19th, with a crawfish boil, live music, local vendors and more. With hundreds expected to attend, Anderson said it’s a chance to celebrate with the community that has made his dream such a success.
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