After 45 years of serving barbecue plates and welcoming regulars through its doors, Dick Russell’s BBQ in Tillman’s Corner is closing for good — and this weekend, the community will get a chance to take a piece of it home. The longtime Mobile-area restaurant, which announced its closure in mid-July, is holding a public estate sale Saturday, offering everything from dining chairs to light fixtures to the restaurant’s well-known styrofoam cups.
A Community Fixture Since the 1980s
Dick Russell’s BBQ has been part of the Tillman’s Corner community, an unincorporated area on Mobile’s southern edge, since the 1980s. Over four and a half decades, the restaurant became more than a place to grab lunch — it grew into a gathering spot where generations of families marked birthdays, caught up over coffee, and settled into the same booths week after week.
That long history is part of why the announcement of its closure last month hit so many people in the Mobile area. For a restaurant to operate in the same community for 45 years is no small feat, and its shutdown marks the end of an era for South Alabama’s local dining scene.
Lining Up for a Piece of History
Former office manager Stephanie Chestnut said the emotional pull of the restaurant was obvious even before the estate sale officially opened. People were already waiting in the parking lot Friday morning hoping to buy items once the doors opened.
“We know a lot of people in our community wanted pieces,” Chestnut said. “We’ve got people that want to take a chair home just because they remember sitting in it when they were a kid.”
The sale includes a wide range of items pulled from the restaurant’s dining room and kitchen: cups, light fixtures, baskets, tables, chairs, decor and more. Chestnut said one item in particular has generated steady requests.
“I had a lot of people asking me for Dick Russell styrofoam cups,” she said. “I’ve got a bunch of those still left.”
Employees Reflect on Decades of Loyal Customers
For the staff who spent years behind the counter, the closure is bittersweet. Former employee Marilyn Hall said watching the restaurant wind down has been especially hard because of the relationships built with regulars over the years.
“We have a lot of loyal ones who came every morning, drank coffee, sit for an hour or two,” Hall said, describing the customers who treated the restaurant like a second home.
“They are here six, seven days a week and they’re heartbroken,” she added. “We’re heartbroken.”
Hall said she had expected to spend the rest of her career at Dick Russell’s. “It’s sad because I was planning on retiring from here,” she said, noting that every piece of furniture and every fixture leaving the building carries a memory for the people who worked there.
Looking Ahead
Even as the physical restaurant closes, Chestnut said the bonds formed inside it will outlast the building itself. “We will forever love Mobile,” she said. “This has been very difficult for us to move on in our lives as well. And love, that’ll never change.”
The estate sale is open to the public Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Organizers expect steady turnout throughout the day as longtime customers and curious neighbors alike stop by to browse what remains of the Tillman’s Corner institution and, for many, to say a final goodbye.