Longtime Favorite Globe Restaurant Reopens in Tiny Space 10 Years After Closing

A singular restaurant concept that was beloved in Northport for almost 20 years and failed to thrive on the other side of the Black Warrior River has been reborn in a tiny new space in North Tuscaloosa.

Longtime residents of West Alabama will remember the Globe Restaurant, which was a staple of downtown Northport's Main Avenue for 17 years. There, chef Jeff Wilson owned and operated a special restaurant named after Shakespeare's theater in London where he specialized in international cuisine.

Wilson closed the Northport eatery in 2009, citing "the complete destruction of our nation’s financial system" in an interview with this reporter in another lifetime. He then attempted to revive the concept in Tuscaloosa's Temerson Square near the corner of 4th Street and 23rd Avenue, but the concept failed to launch and Wilson permanently closed the Globe less than a year after opening there.

His longtime location in Northport has been home to Billy's Sports Grill since 2013, and the original Avenue Pub took over the Globe's short home in Temereson Square.

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Now, after more than a decade, Wilson and his partner Becky Price are serving up "the cherished recipes of their grandmothers" out of an extremely small space on New Watermelon Road just before it crosses over Lake Tuscaloosa, off the parking lot of Jalapeños Mexican Grill.

Wilson called the space a "food truck without wheels" in an interview with the Tuscaloosa News, the first outlet to report the arrival of the new space. 

After a few months of preparations, Chef Jeff, Becky Price and members of their families started serving customers in the new space this week, with the holiday weekend serving as their soft opening.

The menu offers appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrees and desserts made from scratch and cooked to order by either Wilson or Price, primarily served to-go out of a drive-thru window, though there are a few seats under umbrellas outside the kitchen.

Some entrees, like the Emerald Curry, Salmon Caliban and Oberon Strip are returning favorites from the Globe's storied history.

Wilson said he hopes old fans of the restaurant and anyone who never got the chance to visit will give the new Globe Etcetera a try. They're open now from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at 1825 New Watermelon Road in north Tuscaloosa.

For more coverage of restaurant and retail development around west Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.