A taste of a long-shuttered local favorite is about to make a comeback on grocery shelves across Mobile and Baldwin counties. The signature coleslaw once served at Cock of the Walk, the catfish restaurant that closed its Mobile-area locations more than a decade ago, will soon be sold in stores throughout the region.
Packaged in 16-ounce tubs and priced between $4 and $5, the coleslaw will be available at Cain’s Piggly Wiggly stores in Fairhope, Loxley and Foley, along with five Greer’s Market locations in Mobile, Fairhope, Robertsdale, Perdido, Florida, and Pensacola. Mike Rickels, president and CEO of Keelboat Concepts Inc., which owns the franchise rights to Cock of the Walk, said orders for the retail product began this week, with the coleslaw hitting Greer’s shelves first and Cain’s Piggly Wiggly stores shortly after.
Cock of the Walk’s Mobile location on Halls Mill Road operated from 1984 to 2005, and the chain also ran three different locations on the Eastern Shore at various points between roughly 1990 and 2003. Since the Mobile-area restaurants closed, fans craving the chain’s fried catfish, cornbread and coleslaw combo had to make the drive to Pensacola, where the chain is headquartered.
At the restaurant, the spicy, fresh coleslaw is served at the table with every meal and refilled as often as diners like. Rickels said the recipe hasn’t changed since Cock of the Walk was founded in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1977, calling it a formula that “has stood the test of time for almost 40 years.” He said the recipe is closely guarded, comparing it to how tightly Coca-Cola protects its own formula.
Rickels said customers have been asking for the coleslaw to be sold in stores for almost as long as the chain has existed, and the company has been considering the move for years. When Cain’s Piggly Wiggly teased the news on Facebook, the post drew hundreds of likes and was shared widely, with commenters expressing excitement about no longer having to make their own batch at home.
Shoppers eager for an early taste can sample the coleslaw at the Greer’s Market in Fairhope on Friday afternoon, where tubs will be available for purchase before the official rollout the following week. Customers who bring an empty coleslaw container to the Pensacola restaurant will also receive a free order of fried dill pickles.
Rickels said the company is now working on packaging its fish breading and cornbread mix for retail sale as the next products to hit local store shelves, with an eye toward eventually distributing Cock of the Walk products more broadly.