Oby's: Bringing a taste of New Orleans to Starkville since 1976

STARKVILLE — While the New Orleans-style po-boys, muffulettas, red beans and rice, gumbo and other favorites on the menu beckon, so, too, does the warm embrace of nostalgia at Oby's.

Firmly anchored at its location on Academy Road, the restaurant was once on the outskirts of the city, right off what was old Highway 25, leading into the busier parts of town as it intersected with Highway 12. It was much like a getaway, a lonely outpost away from campus for students when founder Don O'Bannon opened it in 1976.

But those days have long passed. These days, neighborhoods and businesses surround Oby's. Still, students, alumni and tourists flock to the restaurant as they always have. Eating at Oby's is a rite of passage.

On game days during the fall, the line to get in can snake its way around like "It's a Small World" at Walt Disney World. Few people would expect anything less.

"It starts at 10:30 when we open up until we close at 9," said David Albritton, one of the Oby's managers. "We'll have a little break during the ballgame, but even then people will still come. And if they don't go to the game, they'll come knowing it's not as busy."

For a rabid and loyal Bulldog fan like Rick Faucette of Tupelo, Oby's is a reliable place to go before, during and after a game. Or anytime of the year, for that matter.

"I have been eating there since they opened; the food never disappoints," Faucette said. "The menu is basically the same over the years with minor tweaks. I never fail to run into a familiar face from all over the alumni base and new generation of students. Oby's never has forgotten its roots: good food, fair prices and great service. It truly has stood the test of time."

For nearly 50 years, Oby's has become a benchmark to visit. It has expanded a few times over the years, including enveloping the hair salon that was once next to the main dining area. The front awning was enclosed to provide a little protection from the elements, and a back portion was added as well. Oby's can seat about 165, but it can seem much more.

"I love Oby’s because, obviously, the food is delicious," said Tanya Finch of Booneville. "But the atmosphere is just perfect — casual and fun. The perfect place to hang out with your family and friends."

The restaurant has resisted design movements to look more contemporary. It has remained as it always has: a sea of brown, broken up by advertising signs, dolls, antiques and quite a bit of Coca-Cola memorabilia. Many of the decorations came to rest inside Oby's with the help of a Columbus antiques dealer, Beth Reed. She and her husband sold O'Bannon everything in the Old Country Store they had behind their house, and the collection of signs, dollhouses, miniature cars and trucks and more made their way to the restaurant. The Coke collection includes an old 1928 delivery truck and a vending machine O'Bannon purchased.

The decorative motif resembles a Cracker Barrel, but tidier. And none of it is for sale. The walls in the original dining room are made of wide planks of wood, the ceiling comprises mostly wooden slats (the ceiling over the front counter is not), complementing the earth-toned restaurant tile flooring. Brown tables and chairs are flanked by booths of headboard with — what else? — maroon benches. A large brick fireplace serves as the centerpiece of the room, the full length of its mantle decorated as well. Look up, and you'll see a large Tabasco sign hanging from the ceiling, and ode to O'Bannon's desire to infuse a New Orleans and south Louisiana feel to the menu.

People notice the decor, but really, they're here for the food. The food includes the signature crowd-favorite fried shrimp po-boy. Dressed with lettuce, tomato and mayo, its closest rival is the roast beef po-boy. The beef is made in-house and is accompanied by a thick, rich brown gravy to dip or dunk the sandwich — or waffle fries, for that matter.

For Faucette, it's the gumbo and catfish that makes him happy. For Finch, the shrimp po-boy is her choice.

"I don’t get to go as often as I’d like anymore, but I absolutely loved going when I was at MSU and in the years following when I lived in Starkville," said the class of 1992 graduate. "The shrimp po-boy is my absolute favorite. My old school pic is the chicken tenders with their honey mustard. That honey mustard is so good I would drink it if it was socially acceptable."

But there's much more to the menu than just the po-boys of course. Appetizers include Rotel and chips, ultimate fries and chili cheese fries. The signature po-boys include oysters, catfish, alligator, smoked turkey, ham and cheese, smoked sausage, corned beef and more.

Po-boys not what you're looking for? Oby's has nearly a dozen salads, as well as several wraps. The muffuletta is joined on the specialty sandwich menu by a Philly cheesesteak, Reuben, and ultimate chicken club and something called the Kid N' Chicken — grilled or fried tenders, Monterrey Jack, jalape?o bacon, topped with creole mayo, lettuce and tomato.

Maybe looking for something a little more? Platters of chicken tenders, red beans and rice, jambalaya, fried catfish, fried oysters are available, as well as heartier fare like potato soup, seafood gumbo, chili, clam chowder or chicken and sausage gumbo.

Baked potatoes also are popular, either as a basic spud, a chili cheese spud or a super spud with butter, sour cream, ham, turkey, bacon, black olives, mushrooms, green onions, and melted cheddar and Monterey Jack.

The variety of the menu, served on pewter plates since 1976, keeps bringing people back, especially during football weekends.

"People are coming to Oby's sometime during that weekend, Friday, Saturday or Sunday," Albritton said. "We're going to see them. And some we see all three days."

Oby's also caters, and tailgaters in The Junction often order chicken tenders, catfish with the fixings, po-boys and sandwich trays; and when it's colder, soups, gumbo and jambalaya.

"We'll do five to 10 catering orders, but you're also talking big orders of $2,000-$3,000 before we even open the doors," he said. "That's a good way to start the day."

Oby's has a second location in Oxford, which was opened by Ayers Spencer and David Calhoun in 2005. The restaurant veterans decided to come back home, spending time with O'Bannon to make sure they got it right when they opened their restaurant. In 2020, O'Bannon retired and ceded the original Oby's to the two men he trusted the most.

"David and I both grew up in Oxford, and we both went to Mississippi State for some college, and afterward we got in with a different restaurant concept in the Carolinas," Spencer said. "He was in North Carolina, I was in South Carolina, and we always talked about doing something closer to home in Mississippi and where we grew up."

Spencer went to work for O'Bannon for a few years to learn the concept and the recipes to that they could launch a successful franchise, which they have done.

People come to Oby's for a reason whether it is in Starkville or Oxford.

"I think it's the variety of the menu. A lot of things you can't just get anywhere," Spencer said. "On that note, we might have something to fit everybody that's ready to eat something. I don't want a sandwich, well you can get a salad, a baked potato, a catfish platter. The variety is something we offer more of than a lot of restaurants."

The quality of the food, the large portions and the service have always been a trademark of Oby's, and Spencer said that legacy will remain.

"We've tried to carry that on as well to where we don't want to sell anything we're not wiling to pay for and eat ourselves," he said. "We put that emphasis on it, all the managers have been trained on it, and it's worked out well ... it's not going to work out every time, but we'll work through it and make it right when it isn't perfect."