Starnes Catfish Place: 1978-1996 | Southern Foodways Alliance arrow left envelope headphones search facebook instagram twitter flickr menu rss play circle itunes calendar
June 6–July 29, 2022
SFA Film Residency ⟶
October 21–22, 2022 (tentative)
2022 Fall Symposium: Barbecue

Support
the SFA
Support
the SFA
June 6–July 29, 2022
SFA Film Residency ⟶
October 21–22, 2022 (tentative)
2022 Fall Symposium: Barbecue

Oral Histories

The SFA oral history program documents life stories from the American South. Collecting these stories, we honor the people whose labor defines the region. If you would like to contribute to SFA’s oral history collections, please send your ideas for oral history along with your CV or Resume and a portfolio of prior oral history work to annemarie@southernfoodways.org.

< Back to Oral History project: Restaurants of Oxford’s Past

ORAL HISTORY

Martha Starnes, original owner

Billy Starnes was a commercial fisherman who caught everything that would brush up against his line at Sardis Lake. In 1979, he talked his wife into expanding their fish and bait shop business to include a cafe, where he could show off his finest catch, as well as some of his personal recipes. Starnes Catfish Place in Abbeville quickly became a popular spot. With their famously generous plates of fish, slaw and their unique onion salad, the couple couldn’t keep the crowds away. Billy Starnes passed away in 2001, but Martha kept feeding the masses. Ms. Starnes took ownership of Abbeville Catfish in 2004, a restaurant she and her husband originally opened in the early 1990s and sold a few years later. A few things have changed, but the great food and warm welcome have certainly stayed the same.

Date of interview:
2004-07-22 00:00

Interviewer:
Amy Evans

Photographer:

Download Transcript

“

He fished, along with [having] the store. [H]e caught catfish and, well, everything out there. And... for the first two years, we served his fish. And it was wonderful. [A]nything wild has a better taste. All the commercial fish has -- one bite tastes like another... And it got so big, we had to start buying fish. ~ Martha Starnes

Other Project Interviews

Interview

The Mansion: 1942-1967

For many years, Aubrey Seay managed the cafeteria at the University of Mississippi, establishing lifelong relationships…

Interview

Ron Shapiro – Moonlite Cafe at the Hoka Theater (1978-1996)

Ron Shapiro made his way to Oxford in the late 1970s, and the town hasn't been the same since. Soon after arriving, he…

Interview

Annie Isaiah – Isaiah’s Busy Bee (1971 – late 1990s)

Born in Oxford, Georgia Isaiah spent thirty years cooking for two chancellors at the University of Mississippi. When…

Interview

Charles Reagan Wilson – Isaiah’s Busy Bee Cafe (1971 – late 1990s)

Charles Reagan Wilson moved to Oxford to teach at the University of Mississippi in 1981 (he later served as the…

Interview

B&B Cafe: 1920s-late 1960s/early 1970s

Photographer Martin J. Dain visited Oxford in the early 1960s to document William Faulkner's fabled Yoknapatawpha…

Interview

Angelo Mistilis – Mistilis Restaurant

Tom Mistilis arrived in the United States from Greece in the early part of the twentieth century. After making his way…

WORKING TOGETHER

WE CAN CULTIVATE PROGRESS.

The Southern Foodways Alliance drives a more progressive future by leading conversations that challenge existing constructs, shape perspectives, and foster meaningful discussions. We reconsider the past with research, scrutiny, and documentation.

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

Alex Raij Txikito

Let’s Stay in Touch

Sign up for the SFA newsletter to have the latest content
delivered directly to your inbox.