Melody Folsom Hill, daughter of former Alabama governor “Big Jim” Folsom, opened AJ’s Steakhouse with her late husband, Doug Hill. / W.C. Mann
CULLMAN – AJ’s Steakhouse has been a Cullman institution since 2006. After 11 years and multiple “best steak” awards, owner Melody Folsom Hill has decided it’s time for something new. She sat down with The Tribune to reminisce about her life as a restaurateur, and to talk about her decision to turn the page.
The early days
Hill began, “We opened Aug. 1, 2006, when our daughter was 11 months old. And she’s AJ; that’s who we named it after. She was named after my brother Andrew Jackson. He passed away when I was two months pregnant. My husband and Jack were real close, and they wanted to go into the restaurant business together, but it just didn’t happen.
“My husband worked 10 years at Western Sirloin in Moulton, and the Littrells and the Chenaults helped us get started. The Littrells and the Folsoms have been friends since the 1940s, so when my husband decided to open his own restaurant, they fully backed us. The first six years, they were our business partners, then, after that, we were on our own.
“We had thought about selling when it got so populated, and everything went wet, because my husband didn’t want to sell alcohol. He wasn’t a prude; he was the first one to drink a beer with the ball game. He just didn’t want to sell it, said that was just too much, and we’d have to worry too much about everything.
“His dream was to own his own restaurant, so he was self-made. Nobody handed him anything; he worked for it. He was a cook for 30 years. He just passed away last year; he was diabetic and went into septic shock. He just always worked; he was a workaholic.”
The decision to close AJ’s
“After this year,” Hill admitted, “it’s been really difficult to come here every day. It’s not as much fun, you might say, because he’s gone, and our dream is not together any more. I just felt like it’s time to be with my daughter.
“I hate it, but it’s just part of that chapter in my life, and I need to go to a different one. It’s a lot with one person, and I’m just not as passionate about it as I used to be. It’s just time to go. We had to go in all together, when I was pregnant. My husband was like, ‘Do you trust me?’ And I was like, ‘Completely,’ because we had been together 14 years before we had a daughter. I knew he could do it, because he was a workaholic and he had a passion for it. But when he’s gone, it’s just not the same; and I know he would want me to do what makes us happy. My daughter’s 11, and you know we’re not promised tomorrow. I just want to be able to spend the weekends with her, and go to church with her, things like that we have not got to do.”
What’s next?
Hill once worked as a dental surgical assistant, and she says she would like to return to the field.
“For me,” said Hill, “hopefully I’ll go back to work for a dentist. That’s what I did. I worked for a periodontist before here, in Birmingham. It fascinates me–the surgical aspects of it, and seeing the results before and after. And I’m not weak-stomached; that was a blessing!
“I’m ready to be able to work 9-5, and take my daughter to church on Sunday, and not have to rush back to work. I lost three siblings really young, and I don’t want to be about what I could have done or should have done.
What do you want Cullman to remember about AJ’s?
“After being 11 years here, I love Cullman. I’m from Cullman, born and bred. When we first opened, they were standing out the doors, welcoming us, and we’ve had some wonderful patrons that have come probably every Friday or Saturday night for 10 or 11 years. It’s like a family.
I’ve had some of the girls that have worked for me for 10 years. It’s kind of like they’re all my children. I’ve got some that are cosmetologists, some that are pediatric therapists, culinary chefs. It’s just exciting to know that we were a part of that. These kids were like our family. We might not have all had the same last name, but they were all my kids. I’m so proud of all of them.
“We were a family. We thought of our customers as family. We remembered what booth, what drink they liked, what server, when their birthdays were. I take pride in that. I’m going to miss all my customers, but I’m ready to start a new chapter.”
AJ’s Steakhouse will close on Sunday, Aug. 20.
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