Three years after the doors of a beloved Washington County restaurant closed for good, a new eatery is preparing to bring its flavor back to Leroy. Darlene’s Restaurant, named in honor of longtime Creekbank owner Darlene McIlwain, is being readied for opening by new owner Holly Morris, and the people behind it say the goal is simple: make it taste and feel like home again.
McIlwain owned and operated Creekbank in Leroy for 38 years before she decided to close the restaurant in 2023. For many families in this small north Washington County town, the closing left a hole that no other business has filled. Now Morris, who grew up in the community, is working with restaurant manager Rani Cortes to open a new place that carries McIlwain’s name, her cooking traditions and, organizers say, her continued involvement.
No official opening date has been set. The operators say they are targeting the end of October.
A New Building, a Familiar Name
Darlene’s Restaurant will not operate in the old Creekbank building. It will open in a different location, but organizers say the food and atmosphere will remain true to the original establishment. McIlwain is expected to continue playing a role in maintaining the legacy she built over nearly four decades, which the new team sees as the key ingredient in the whole effort.
Naming the restaurant after its former owner is a deliberate signal to longtime customers. In small Southern towns, a restaurant is often known as much by the person behind the counter as by the sign out front, and a name like Darlene’s tells people exactly what kind of meal and welcome to expect. Rather than rebranding the memory of Creekbank, the new owners are leaning into it.
Morris and Cortes said the community’s response to the reopening plans has been overwhelming.
“It’s something that’s been missing ever since the Creekbank closed. It’s been the one thing that everybody has wanted back. I think that’s why we had such a good response to it,” Cortes said. “The key to that is if you want it to be similar, you have to have the foundation, and Mrs. Darlene is our foundation. She’s our icon essentially.”
A Hometown Owner Chasing a Childhood Memory
For Morris, the project is personal. She grew up in Leroy and said preserving familiar traditions was central to her decision to open the restaurant.
“You don’t get that overnight if you don’t get that without bringing something familiar to your community back, it’s what we crave from our childhood,” Morris said. “I grew up here. I ate there multiple times a day sometimes so it’s important to get it right and for it to feel familiar.”
That sense of getting it right is a common thread whenever a long-running local restaurant is revived. Regulars tend to remember specific dishes, a particular seasoning, the way a plate was served or the sound of the dining room at lunch. Recreating that experience in a new building is a challenge, which is why the involvement of the original owner matters so much to the new team. With McIlwain on hand to guide the kitchen, the operators hope the transition feels less like a new restaurant and more like the return of an old friend.
Why a Small-Town Restaurant Means So Much
In a community the size of Leroy, a single restaurant can serve as far more than a place to eat. It is where farmers and timber workers stop for breakfast before dawn, where church groups gather after Sunday services, where high school teams celebrate a big win and where families mark birthdays and anniversaries. A local restaurant can also be the easiest place to catch up on news, see neighbors and welcome newcomers.
A 38-year run like Creekbank’s means an entire generation of residents grew up with it. Children who ate there with their parents later brought their own children. That kind of continuity is increasingly rare, as rising costs, staffing challenges and changing habits have made it harder for independent restaurants in rural areas to stay open. When one closes, residents in small towns often have to drive to a larger community for a sit-down meal, which is part of why news of a revival tends to generate so much excitement.
Cortes’ description of the reaction, that bringing the restaurant back has been “the one thing that everybody has wanted,” reflects just how deeply Creekbank was woven into daily life in Leroy.
About Leroy and Washington County
Leroy is a small town in Washington County in southwest Alabama, located along U.S. Highway 43 north of Mobile and not far from the Tombigbee River. It is a close-knit, largely rural community where many residents have deep family roots, and the town is perhaps best known across Alabama for the athletic tradition of Leroy High School, whose teams have long drawn strong community support.
Washington County holds a special place in state history. Created in 1800 as part of the Mississippi Territory, it is the oldest county in what is now Alabama. The county is also home to the site of Old St. Stephens, which served as the territorial capital of the Alabama Territory before statehood in 1819. Today the county seat is Chatom, and the local economy has long been tied to forestry, timber and wood products, along with industrial plants along the Tombigbee River corridor and agriculture.
The county is sparsely populated compared with neighboring Mobile and Baldwin counties, and communities like Leroy, McIntosh, Millry, Fruitdale and Chatom rely heavily on locally owned businesses. A family restaurant in a town like Leroy is often one of only a handful of places where people can sit down for a hot meal without leaving the area.
What Happens Before Opening Day
Opening a restaurant, even one with a built-in fan base, involves a long checklist. In Alabama, food service establishments must obtain a permit from the local county health department, which operates under the Alabama Department of Public Health, and pass an inspection before serving the public. Operators also typically need a business license, and a new location may require work on kitchen equipment, ventilation, plumbing and fire safety systems to meet code.
Beyond the paperwork, a new restaurant has to hire and train staff, finalize menus, line up food suppliers and test recipes. For a team trying to faithfully recreate dishes that residents have eaten for decades, that testing phase can be especially important. Soft openings, limited menus or trial runs for friends and family are common ways new restaurants work out kinks before they open fully to the public.
Because of all these moving parts, opening dates often shift. The operators of Darlene’s Restaurant have not announced an official date, and while they are aiming for the end of October, residents may want to watch for updates from the restaurant before making plans.
Carrying a Legacy Forward
Restaurant revivals built around a founder’s name have a long history in the South, where family recipes are often passed from one cook to the next rather than written down. When a longtime owner stays involved, as McIlwain is expected to do, the new team can learn the small details that customers notice most: how long a dish simmers, which brands of ingredients were always used, how portions were plated and how regulars liked to be greeted. Those details are difficult to reproduce from memory alone, and they are often what separates a true continuation from an imitation.
Cortes put it plainly when she described McIlwain as the restaurant’s foundation. For the new owners, having the original owner’s blessing and guidance is also a way of honoring the relationships she built with customers over 38 years. Many of those customers are likely to walk through the door on opening day hoping to recognize something familiar, and the operators appear to understand that expectation well.
The approach also gives the new business a head start that most restaurants never have. Instead of introducing itself to a skeptical public, Darlene’s Restaurant opens with a ready-made community of people who already know what they hope to find on the menu and who have been asking for it for three years.
What Readers Should Know
- The restaurant: Darlene’s Restaurant, named in honor of former Creekbank owner Darlene McIlwain.
- Ownership: Holly Morris is the owner; Rani Cortes is the restaurant manager.
- The legacy: McIlwain ran Creekbank in Leroy for 38 years before closing it in 2023, and she is expected to continue playing a role at the new restaurant.
- Location: The restaurant will operate in a different building from the original Creekbank.
- Timing: No official opening date has been announced, but operators are targeting the end of October 2026.
For a town that has been waiting three years to get a favorite back, the promise of familiar food in a new home has already stirred plenty of anticipation. If the new team succeeds in its goal, Leroy residents may soon find that walking into Darlene’s feels a lot like walking back into their own childhoods.