“I grew up in Mobile and started working in restaurants when I was 18. I thought I was going to school for music, but that didn’t go my way, so I went to culinary school. I worked at Ox in Fairhope and opened Cereal Killer with a friend when a spot opened at The Mill. We are reopening today in that same location as Sea Wolf with an emphasis on sea food.

The last few months have been stressful. We tried to stay open and did okay with curbside and takeout, but the stay at home order devastated us. When it got down to $10 a day, we closed and reevaluated. I never thought we would have to stay closed this long. Quitting was never an option, there is too much riding on this. All you can do is adapt. We had been thinking about changing the restaurant for months and showcasing seafood, so this was the time to do it.

I was looking for names and found a battleship named Sea Wolf. This became an homage to the restaurants like Zeke’s and Old Bay Steamer that my family loved to go to, and to the fish fries at our house. It is a celebration of being this close to the bay and the bounty of the sea. We will eventually add wild-caught seafood and maybe some bycatch seafood leftover in the net, such as porgy, bluefish, and octopus. Everything is edible, even if it has a different texture.

I was a line cook at the Battle House, NoJa, and Von’s Bistro. Working in different kitchens was a good education to learn different cooking and management styles. Kitchens are like pirate crews, with many personalities and backgrounds. That is what makes them special. Some of the best meals I have had is family meals with people I work with.

When I was eight years old, I went to China for the World Martial Arts Competition for a month. We stayed in villages and temples. When I first got there, I was sick and losing weight because I refused to eat the things I had never seen before. My dad told me I was going to eat or fly back home by myself. I started eating everything, including octopus, and it shaped how I look at food. Asian food still inspires me and influences the food I cook today.

After China, I started watching the Food Network and Iron Chef. My parents signed me up for a cooking club where I got recipes, spoons, and tongs in the mail. They are so supportive and even helped at Cereal Killer when all of this first went down.

In my spare time, I create restaurant concepts. I have 12-15 ideas at home. I would love to own a couple of restaurants with different concepts and styles of food. Maybe branch out to Mobile and Pensacola.

Sea Wolf will be open 11-3 for lunch. We are open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights with curbside and takeout. We are starting with a limited menu of Street Caeser, King Pao Chicken Sando, Coconut Shrimp Banh Mi, fish tacos, shrimp and grits. Of course there will be Truffle Tots. I am so happy to be open again and we appreciate the people who have supported us through this.”