The Restaurant That Felt Like Home

Good food, hard work, and community came together at Uncle Mort’s.

Words by Jenny Lynn Davis | Images by Ryan McGill and courtesy of the Godfrey family

Mort Godfrey’s nickname was set before he even entered the world. By the time he was born, his oldest sister already had a five-year-old son, making Mort an uncle from day one. So when it came time to name his business, "Uncle Mort's" was an easy choice.

What started as a simple meat store grew into a beloved restaurant known for its country cooking, warm atmosphere, and the kind of hospitality that made every customer feel like family. Located along Highway 78 near Jasper, Alabama, Uncle Mort’s became a community staple, serving breakfast all day and smoking meats that could draw in hungry passersby with their aroma alone. But before there was a restaurant, before the expansions and the bustling dining rooms, there was simply Mort Godfrey and his determination to build something lasting.

Mort and his wife, Jean, started their business humbly. They had a farm in the Nauvoo area, raising livestock and curing meats. The farm’s success inspired them to open a small meat store where locals could buy smoked hams, sausage, and other country favorites.

It wasn’t long before customers began asking for more than just take-home meats—they wanted a place to sit down and eat. Seeing an opportunity, Mort made a decision. “I’m just going to build restaurant,” he said. And with that, Uncle Mort’s was born.

The first dining room was small, but the demand was great. The Godfreys kept expanding, adding room after room to accommodate the crowds, and each room had Mort’s personal touch.

"Daddy had all these ideas in his head. He dreamed everything up," says Mort and Jean’s daughter, Patsy Green. "He designed everything himself, no plans, just what he saw in his mind."

Mort and Jean Godfrey

When it came time to secure funding for the restaurant, Mort took his vision to local banker John Oliver. But instead of formal blueprints, he sketched the entire layout on a brown paper bag and presented it to Oliver.

"That first set of plans is supposed to still be on file in Walker County," Janice says, laughing. "That was just Daddy. He made things happen however he could."

The heart of Uncle Mort’s was in the meals and in the experience. Families gathered around big tables, friends lingered by the roaring fireplaces, and kids sat wide-eyed as their plates arrived, sometimes with a Mickey Mouse-shaped pancake just for them. Customers would help themselves to roasted peanuts, cracking shells as they waited for their meals.

Mort himself was a constant presence, chatting with guests and making them feel at home. Jean was just as much a part of the business, greeting customers and keeping everything running smoothly. Their daughters, Janice, Patsy, and Linda, grew up in the restaurant, working hard alongside their parents.

(L-R) Patsy Green, Linda Stephens, and Janice Sanders

My daddy believed that even though we were girls, we should work as hard as anyone," Janice recalls. "There were no days off. If you worked, you worked until you couldn’t anymore."

While the atmosphere was special, the food was what kept people returning. Uncle Mort’s served breakfast all day, a rarity at the time, inspired by Mort and Jean’s love for eating breakfast while traveling. Customers came from miles around for homemade biscuits with red-eye gravy, sorghum syrup, and country ham.

Beyond breakfast, the menu featured ribeye steaks, smoked turkey, ribs, and catfish.

“We had a smokehouse beside the restaurant , and the smell of smoked meat would bring people in,” Patsy says. "People knew when they pulled into the parking lot that they were about to have something special."

The restaurant was also the Godfrey family’s home. The original meat store had been part of a service station, and when they expanded into the restaurant, they lived in an apartment above it. Their home became a home away from home for countless others.

Inside Uncle Mort’s

“People came no matter what, even when it flooded, they still showed up,” Patsy says.

The sense of community was undeniable. The restaurant was a gathering place, a spot where high school kids got their first jobs and regulars became like extended family.

"We must’ve gone through a thousand employees over the years,” Janice laughs. “John Oliver even made his daughters work for us because he knew my daddy would teach them how to work."

Beyond the restaurant, Mort and Jean put the same dedication into building their family home, which still stands near where the restaurant once was. "Daddy built things to last," Patsy says. "That house is still there, our family members still live in it, and every time I see it, I think about everything they worked so hard for."

Uncle Mort’s wasn’t just known in Walker County. Word spread far and wide, and people came from all over just to eat there. Even long after the restaurant closed, the name carried weight. "It didn’t matter where we went, even on vacations abroad, people recognized Uncle Mort’s name," Janice says.

For years, Uncle Mort’s thrived. But running a restaurant that never seemed to slow down took its toll. Janice and Patsy found themselves working endlessly, struggling to find reliable employees. In 2008, a fire damaged the restaurant, and the family made the difficult decision not to reopen. They had already been considering stepping away, and the fire sealed their choice.

Though Uncle Mort’s is gone, its memory is far from forgotten. People still talk about the food, the warmth, and the tradition it carried. Even now, the Godfrey family keeps part of that tradition alive, gathering once a week for a meal of biscuits and gravy.

"We don’t have sorghum syrup anymore because the man who made it for us in Mississippi is gone," Patsy said, "but we still make the same biscuits and red-eye gravy."

At its core, Uncle Mort’s was a testament to hard work, family, and the simple joy of a good meal shared with good people.

"My daddy had no education, no money, and yet he built something successful through hard work," Janice said.

That spirit, the belief that success comes from dedication, vision, and an unwavering work ethic, is what Uncle Mort’s leaves behind. And for those who were lucky enough to experience it, the memories of a meal at Uncle Mort’s will never fade. 78

Artwork donated to the Bankhead House and Heritage Center by Joey Sanders | Artist: Wanda Banks