Michael Donahue
Catfish at Cozy Corner Restaurant? The barbecue place?
Yes. Just one day a week — on Sundays, says general manager Bobby Bradley.
“We only did it one Sunday, which was this past Sunday,” Bradley says. “But it sold pretty well. People gave us compliments on it. People said they would be back to try it. We do a two-piece plate for $10.99 and a three-piece plate for $12.99.”
The catfish plates come with two sides and bread.
Catfish has never been sold at the 735 North Parkway location, which opened in August, 1977.
But catfish at Cozy Corner isn’t exactly new. From 1986 to 1988, Cozy Corner had another location, which was called “Cozy Corner Catfish and Ribs,” says Bobby’s mother, Val Bradley.
The catfish recipe came from her father, Raymond Robinson, who founded Cozy Corner, Val says.
“I think daddy just wanted to try the fish,” Val says. “Just try it out and see how things would go. We got that location. I think it did very well from what I remember. Biggest problem back then was employees. He was having trouble getting someone to run it like he wanted. Then he got his cousin to run it.”
Finally, she says, “He just decided to stick with the ribs.”
The family doesn’t have the original recipe, Bobby says. “The recipe is nowhere to be found, but the family members that were there were instrumental in figuring out how we wanted this to taste. I wasn’t old enough, but the people that were there and were old enough remember how it tasted. We knew what was in it, but didn’t know the exact ratio. We figured out ratios we wanted. It’s not 100 percent, but we tried.”
Asked to describe the catfish, Bobby says, “It’s just good seasoned catfish. It’s not going to be bland. I do know that.”
Don’t look for catfish at Cozy Corner the rest of the week.
“It is going to be every Sunday,” Bobby says. “I have no interest in selling fish every day. I don’t want to become a fish restaurant. It’s just a special thing and I plan to keep it special.”
