In 1976, Oby’s restaurant opened in Starkville, Mississippi. In 2005, the Cajun restaurant found another home when an Oby’s location was opened in Oxford.
Don O’Bannon, founder of Oby’s, often ate at one of the local delicatessens in Honolulu where he was stationed at Pearl Harbor in the U.S. Navy. The food he ate there encouraged him to start his own restaurant upon his return to Starkville.
He traveled to places such as the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Delta and New Orleans to find his own inspiration to bring to Starkville.
Ten years ago, David Calhoun and Ayers Spencer brought an Oby’s to Oxford.
“We opened Oby’s in July of 2005,” Spencer said. “We have grown every year. David and I both grew up in Oxford so we have kind of seen the town really grow, and it’s not such a small town anymore.”
Spencer and Calhoun were both in the restaurant business in the Carolinas and wanted to come back home to Oxford. They were familiar with the Cajun flair of Oby’s and thought it would be a great fit for the college town.
“We have regulars that eat with us four or five times a week,” Spencer said. “We are happy to have them.”
According to Spencer, the shrimp po-boy, the chicken tender platter and the catfish platter are some of the best sellers on the menu.
Anne McGraw, a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi, is a huge fan of Oby’s.
“I love their chicken tenders,” McGraw said. “That is the one thing that I crave and have to have as soon as I get back to town. They have great sauces to dip them in too.”
One of Oby’s added touches is that most of their dipping sauces are homemade.
“I watch them put a case of honey in each time we make a big thing of honey mustard,” said Ben Thames, the assistant manager.
The Oxford menu includes specialty sandwiches, wraps, spuds, po-boys, soups and salads. For those feeling adventurous, there is also an alligator po-boy on the menu.
“We sell a lot of the alligator,” Spencer said. “It is pretty popular. People are kind of scared to try it, but once you try it, it really doesn’t have the gamey taste or fishy taste like you think it probably would. I tell people, ‘It tastes like a fried pork chop.’”
The Oby’s atmosphere is very unique. It has high walled booths that make for a quiet dining experience. They also offer catering services. They have catered events for different visiting collegiate teams, tailgates at the Grove, and they have catered to day-to-day businesses.
“We fed Alabama and Tennessee last year,” Spencer said. “That was the first time I had done football teams, but they were apparently very happy with it.”
Oby’s is located at 1931 University Ave. For more information or catering needs, call 662-234-4530 or visit their website obys.net to see the full menu.
Frances Phillips is a senior print journalism major at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. She can be reached at fnphilli@go.olemiss.edu.
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