Bob Carlton, longtime writer who has covered food and all things Alabama for 45 years, retiring from AL.com
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — On his X profile, the bio for Bob Carlton is short, yet covers far more than any one sentence ever could.
'I write about Southern food and culture and all things Alabama for The Birmingham News, AL.com, This is Alabama and It's a Southern Thing,' the line reads.
It's a description that has covered the breadth of Carlton's work for decades at The Birmingham News, then transitioning into the digital age with AL.com and its subsidiary, This is Alabama, working as everything from a copyeditor to a book reviewer, film critic, feature writer and food reporter since 1980. On May 30, Carlton will retire from the news organization he has spent his entire professional life.
'My whole career has been a real rewarding career for me, especially these last couple of months that I've gotten to reconnect with people I've worked with and people I've written about,' Carlton said on the 'Down in Alabama' podcast with Ike Morgan Monday.
Carlton, who first started at The Birmingham News as a summer intern in 1979 while a student at the University of Alabama, is one of the longest tenured journalists at AL.com, covering a large swath of Alabama culture in the decades he's worked at the News.
Although his career has covered everything from writing about Jimmy Nabors' pool table to the 40th anniversary of the Woodlawn/Banks high school football game, Carlton's best known work in recent years has been his coverage of Southern food and those who make it, many of those newspapers pieces nailed to the walls of countless restaurants across Birmingham and the whole of the state.
During his time covering food, which he took over for former News food editor Jo-Ellen O'Hara in 2008, Carlton has covered the rise of Birmingham's food scene on the national stage, from Frank Stitt's Highlands Bar and Grill named Most Outstanding Restaurant in America by the James Beard Foundation in 2018 to a local scandal a few years later when the foundation disqualified Timothy Hontzas of Johnny's Restaurant in Homewood from getting an award after a report of him allegedly yelling at an employee and several customers.
Among the countless stories he has written throughout his career, Carlton counted his obituary of Bright Star owner Jimmy Koikos as among his favorite pieces. It was an assignment he received after getting a call from the late restauranteur in the early part of 2019.
'He said 'Come out to the restaurant. I want to talk to you about something,'' Carlton recalled. 'He had found out he was dying of cancer and he said 'I want you to write my obituary.''
Carlton worked for months on the piece, talking to everyone from former Alabama football coach Gene Stallings to members of Koikos' family. The piece ran on November 16, 2019, the day Koikos died.
'It was really special that he trusted me to write that story,' he said. 'In a bittersweet way, it was one of my favorite things that I've ever worked on.'
Carlton said he has different things he'd like to do in life after journalism, from travelling with his family to volunteering, but don't expect him to go away entirely.
'I have the opportunity, and I believe I'm going to take advantage of it, to do freelance work on a limited basis, so you might not see the end of my byline' he said. 'I may be back on the site again in a very sporadic basis in a couple of months after I take some time off.'
Looking back over his career, Carlton said he has had a rewarding career.
'The thing I enjoy most about my job is that I get to meet everyday people who do everyday, but remarkable, things and they're unsung heroes, if you'd like,' he said. 'You get to interview them and hear their stories. Some of them I've become friends with through writing about them because they're just nice people ,neat people, people you'd like to know better. I couldn't pick one person from that, but there are dozens of people like that I meet and continue to meet.'
You can listen to the full interview here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eater
a day ago
- Eater
A Popular Downtown Restaurant Is Moving in Next to the House of Blues
Four years after opening in Chicago, Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley is moving into a larger home. They'll remain in River North inside a space that neighbors the House of Blues and in the shadow of Marina City. A July opening is likely inside the former Katana. Kelley says the menu will remain the same. He's adamant in keeping the same experience at all his restaurants for dinner and weekend brunch. Kitchen + Kockails debuted in 2020 in Dallas. Kelley has since opened locations in Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Atlanta. More locations are on their way. There aren't many Black-owned restaurants in Downtown Chicago, which makes Kitchen + Kocktails a unique success story. The restaurant's formula takes an elevated approach to soul food, with dishes like Caribbean jerk lamb chops and Southern fried catfish, and puts diners in a dining room with Instagram-worthy photo opportunities. Kelley says their current space is almost certainly crowded on weekends: 'Every year our sales have increased,' he says. That's quite an accomplishment, knowing the downtowns across the country struggled during the pandemic with fewer office workers and tourists. Chicago wasn't immune to those challenges. So an opportunity to double down on their commitment to Chicago presented itself in the former Katana space that also housed Bin 36 wine bar at 339 N. Dearborn. Kelley is particularly excited about an upstairs space, which they'll call the Assets Lounge, where customers can watch the big games. There will be a new private dining room, and Kelley wants to start welcoming corporate events, too. Kelley is hopeful the restaurant will attract concertgoers from the House of Blues, which hosts a variety of musical genres. That gives Kelley a unique chance to showcase his brand to new audiences. Adding weekday lunch is a possibility as well. 'We hope to show all of Chicago what we are and what we do,' he says. Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley, 339 N. Dearborn, planned for a mid-summer opening Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Arnold Schwarzenegger 'couldn't believe' son Patrick's nudity on 'The White Lotus': 'All of a sudden, I see the weenie'
Like father, like son. Arnold Schwarzenegger was stunned to see his son, fellow actor Patrick Schwarzenegger, follow in his footsteps with a nude scene on The White Lotus. The father-son duo sat down for Variety's newest Actors on Actors to chat about the biz and nepotism when the topic predictably veered to Schwarzenegger's experience of seeing his son's "weenie" on television. "I couldn't believe [it]. I said to myself, 'I'm watching your show, and I'm watching your butt sticking out there.' And all of a sudden, I see the weenie," Schwarzenegger said. "What is going on here? This is crazy." That's when the former California governor realized they had something in common. "Then I said to myself, 'Well, Arnold, hello. You did the same thing in Conan and Terminator, so don't complain about it," he told his son. "It was a shock to me that you were following my footsteps so closely." The proud papa continued, "Your acting surprised the hell out of me. Not that I didn't know you're good. But it was just unbelievable, the kind of stuff that you did in the show." The young Schwarzenegger broke out in the recent season 3 of Mike White's acclaimed dramedy The White Lotus, playing a wealthy finance bro on vacation with his Southern family in Thailand who unravels following an incestuous encounter with his younger brother (Sam Nivola). He previously spoke about watching the show with his family, including mother Maria Shriver, and how they "had different reactions to seeing me completely nude." 'My dad thought it was hilarious. My mom didn't even really understand what was happening," the actor recounted during an appearance on Today earlier this year. "You know, everyone had a different kind of thought.' His fiancée, model Abby Champion, he added, 'melted into her chair' and "was kind of flustered by it."Arnold first commented on the shock of his son's nudity after he attended the season 3 premiere of the show back in February, writing on Instagram alongside photos with Patrick on the red carpet: "I could claim to be surprised to find out he has a nude scene, but what can I say — the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Elsewhere in the Actors on Actors interview, Patrick spoke about navigating the industry as a nepo baby and how he considered going under an alias to distance himself professionally from his famous parents. "It took a while for me to get to a point where I was less worried about living in your shadow versus wanting to do it the way I thought I should do it," he told his dad. "I'm glad you kept the name, because now I can take credit," Arnold said in response. "You joined a very short list of people: You know, Jamie Lee Curtis — I think she's one of the greatest actors in history. If you show you have the substance, you can get rid of the whole idea of nepotism." Watch the segment in full above. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Book Review: ‘Beach House Rules' is delicious high end Southern chick lit
Charlotte Sitterly and her 14-year-old daughter, Iris, are suddenly shut out of their comfortable life in an upscale coastal community in North Carolina. They've lost access to their money, car and even home after husband and father Bill was arrested on suspicion of financial fraud. With no where else to go, they wind up at a beachfront former bed and breakfast in Juniper Shores where a group of single women and their children live, sharing the domestic chores and forming strong, familial-like bonds. Written by bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey, 'Beach House Rules' is delicious, high end Southern chick lit, a fun novel to stash into a tote with your towel and sunscreen on the way to the pool this summer. It has everything you need in a modern beach read – romance, mystery, family tension and even an anonymous social media blogger with tons of attitude who dishes under the handle @junipershoressocialite. Boasting about 'sharing bad behavior and delicious drama in North Carolina's most exclusive zip code,' the Instagram account gradually becomes popular reading for the entire community. 'The mayor's wife debuted not only her new emerald necklace (a birthday gift from her husband) but also her new décolletage (a birthday gift from her surgeon),' the snarky mystery blogger writes in a typical post. At the former bed and breakfast, members of the 'mommune' promise to follow the beach house rules: keep secrets, visit the beach daily and make a snack for someone else if they get one for themselves. Owned by Alice Bailey, a young widow three times over who has no children, the house becomes home as well to three other women and their kids, who are allowed to live rent free while they sort out complicated life situations. Bailey is dubbed the 'Black Widow' by the blogger, who speculates that she may have killed her husbands. The anonymous poster also speculates on Bill Sitterly's guilt or innocence, as well as various romantic relationships among the townsfolk. There are plenty of surprises as the story develops, always centered on the power of female friendships and the importance of family. ___
