Southern Breeze 2007 Summer Issue - (Page 67) story by MICHELLE ROBERTS MATTHEWS photography by C. ROSS Chakli Diggs describes the cuisine at NoJa as “Mediterrasian” like this Loup de Mer in tomato consomme with tapenade (opposite). Chakli (above, second from left) and his staff—Fernando Vera, James Bolger, and Jason Raybon—have created a restaurant that would be at home in any big city. Comfortable Diggs The success of NoJa in downtown Mobile is no surprise to chef/owner Chakli Diggs C hakli Diggs has just one regret about opening NoJa, his remarkably successful, upscale restaurant in the heart of Mobile: He wishes he’d done it a long time ago. Now that the city’s downtown area is finally reaping the benefits of years of longpromised renovation and renewal, Chakli is planning to take full advantage of the city’s growth and odd lack of locally owned restaurants. With his confidence, experience, and talent, Chakli is about to take downtown Mobile by storm. Chakli was born in Ethiopia, where his father was a physician and his mother ran a small farm. Food was as plentiful as it was fresh when he was a child. Almost everything the family ate— dairy products, poultry, fruits, and vegetables—came from the farm. His mother was a purely organic grower, Chakli says. His family loved to entertain. “There was always cooking going on. Ethiopian food is very pungent and flavorful, so when someone’s cooking, it’s all over the place,” he says. He was also influenced by Swiss friends of the family who owned a hotel. With an upbringing like that, it’s no surprise that at 19 he entered Hilton International’s management training program in Germany. After earning a degree in hotel restaurant management from Michigan State University’s business school, he worked for Marriott and Pepsi-Cola. Meanwhile, tired of the constant travel his jobs required, he started to gather ideas for the restaurant he desperately wanted to open. Over the years, he had visited his sister in Mobile. He settled there himself in 1991 to be close to his mother, who was very ill, and he decided Mobile, which was on the verge of a renaissance, would be “a fantastic place to open a restaurant.” Chakli opened the 36-seat Bienville Bistro on Conti Street in February of 1992. “It was pretty much an instant success,” Chakli says. “I brought something completely different to Mobile.” After four booming years, he made “the typical mistake a beginner does,” moving to a larger location. Two years later, Bienville Bistro closed. He worked for a couple of area hotels for a few years, always planning to try again in downtown Mobile. He made his move in 2005, opening NoJa (which is an abbreviated form of North Jackson, the street where it’s located) in March. The restaurant is housed in an 1840s townhouse with a wrought-iron balcony and a lush courtyard in back. With an open kitchen, exposed brick walls, brightly colored local artwork and funky lighting, it’s the kind of restaurant that would be at home in any big city. The wait staff is quietly efficient and knowledgeable, and the food, which Chakli describes as “Mediterrasian,” is always the freshest possible—Chakli insists on it. The menu changes four times a year. “We pride ourselves on seeing the plates wiped clean,” says Chakli, who personally visits each table to ensure that diners are pleased with their NoJa experience. His next venture will be another downtown eatery serving true tapas, or small plates. Then he plans to open his “dream restaurant,” which he says will be “an outrageous concept to prove Mobile has really arrived. I know it will work.” Mobile will continue to wait patiently to see what Chakli has up his sleeve. Michelle Roberts Matthews is a foodie and freelance writer in Mobile. Summer 2007 67
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