A new restaurant in Orange Beach is taking the farm-to-table concept seriously — so seriously that owner Johnny Fisher and Chef Bill Briand often make the 60-mile round trip drive to Will Mastin's farm in Silverhill for vegetables.

Briand, who has worked in New Orleans for the past 16 years with chefs like Emeril Lagasse and Donald Link, says he wants Fisher's at Orange Beach Marina to be known for its commitment to using only local, fresh ingredients.

“Basically what we're trying to do here is utilize the freshest Gulf seafood possible, smokers, house-cured meats and local vegetables to give people an experience here they can't get anywhere else,” he says. “I'm excited to have a kitchen that is dependent on that.”

When Briand started cooking in New Orleans, his restaurants purchased about five percent of their ingredients from local producers. By the time he left to become executive chef at Fisher's, the restaurants were sourcing more than 90 percent of their ingredients locally.

He'd like that trend to catch on in south Alabama, and Fisher, who worked with Lulu's for seven years to establish a commitment to local ingredients, shares the same vision.

The upscale second floor of the restaurant has been open for about a week, and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, Fisher says. Soon, the dockside ground floor of the restaurant will be transformed into a more casual dining area with a different menu — innovative takes on ribs, sandwiches and burgers.

And Fisher and Briand's vision for the restaurant isn't just about the food. The staff and suppliers are like family, and they hope their customers will taste the love in the food.

“We put thought and love into everything we do, from picking out our ingredients, to creating the menu, cooking the food, taking reservations and serving guests, ” Fisher says. “Everybody's doing what we love, and everything else just falls into place.”