BROOKHAVEN — Kelly and Becky Allen once stood on a lot at 526 US51 South where a massive ditch ran through the middle of the property. “It would cost a million dollars to fill in that ditch,” Becky joked to her husband. They decided to open the first K&B Seafood location at 307 US51 North in 2011 instead. 

12 years later, K&B seafood will return a dream to where a ditch once was. A construction company had filled in the ditch with dirt over time allowing for the new location of K&B seafood to open up there. 

Work is nearing completion on the future home of K&B Seafood, general manager Liz Wallace said. The staff hopes to be in the new location on US51 South before the end of the month and serving customers. Construction has been a learning process, Wallace said. 

Employee Nick Freels said they still have a few more things to finish in the kitchen there including installing the vent hoods, having the gas equipment tested and getting their inspections done. Wallace said they will need to get the driveway finished in front of the location and wants to keep things a surprise before they open. 

“Everyone has their own expectations. We have kept it under wraps. We want everyone to be surprised when they come in,” Wallace said. “It will be different. We are still keeping the fresh market and adding more to our menu in the coming months. We have a few things up our sleeves and plan to add more.” 

The new location will have tables inside for people to sit and eat. Wallace said her and her husband Casey Wallace look forward to being able to visit with customers and get to know them more. K&B will announce a grand opening at a later date. 

K&B will cook with a couple of Gator Pots, the newest pot is a Frankengator Pot with six jet burners. Freels said the pots allow them to cook more at once and have a quicker boil. 

The current K&B location on US51 North will close when the move is complete. It was opened in 2011 and actually opened a week later than planned because Wallace went into labor. Kelly died in 2015 but has left an inspiring legacy with his dreams for the business. A framed picture of him holding a fish sits by the cash register in his memory. 

“I know if Kelly was still here he would be tickled to see us running around like chickens with our heads cut off. He would have made this go a lot smoother,” Wallace said. 

Her mom Becky is the owner.  Wallace said it took Kelly and Becky worked three jobs to open the business and Becky helped with the restaurant when she could once it opened. She has been instrumental in the business and it would not be where it is today without the family.

Freels said they are ready to get into the new location. Wallace said she will miss their neighbors Snowhaven and wishes they could take the snow cone stand with them to the new location. She added they are excited to bring her stepdad’s dream back. 

“It was always his starter plan. It got busy and consumed us. We didn’t know which way to go when he died,” Wallace said.”We finally decided to branch out and finish the dream and now we are here. We want to give back to the community and now we will have the space to do so.”