By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

HOOVER—When teenagers Michael and Melissa Lee took part-time jobs at a restaurant in their hometown Helena, they knew they wanted to make a little extra money. What the brother and sister team didn’t know is they would find a career in the restaurant business.

“It started out as a winter job just washing dishes,” Michael said, adding he roped his sister into helping out busing tables one weekend.

The Lee siblings have come a long way from their teenage jobs in Helena. Michael worked his way up from washing dishes and learned his way around the kitchen while Melissa learned the ins and outs of the front end of the restaurant business.

After 15 years working together in Helena, the two decided to set out on their own.

“We decided to break out on our own and try our own thing,” Michael said.

“We always knew we wanted to own our own place,” Melissa added.

Michael and Melissa now own and operate Mikey’s Grill, a thriving restaurant off Valleydale Road in Hoover.

The Mikey’s menu has “a little bit of everything” with a slight Cajun twist, Melissa said, and almost everything is made from scratch using Michael’s own recipes, right down to the sauces.

“I don’t know how he comes up with it,” Melissa said, adding she is always a willing taste tester.

Fresh seafood is a staple at Mikey’s. All of the seafood is caught by Greg Abrams Seafood in Panama City, Fla., and delivered straight to the restaurant.

“All of our seafood is fresh from the Gulf Coast,” Melissa said. “It was swimming yesterday and it’s here today.”

One of the most popular dishes is the sautéed grouper Oscar topped with hollandaise sauce, jumbo lump crab and asparagus.

Make sure to try the fish with Michael’s homemade tartar sauce, which Melissa said is fantastic.

Another favorite is Mikey’s sautéed snapper with pecan fried shrimp on pecan butter sauce.

Along with fresh fish, the pecans are harvested from trees on Michael and Melissa’s family’s land.

Each meal is made to order, so Mikey’s can accommodate a number of dietary restrictions and allergy needs.

“We try to do everything we can…(so) anybody can walk in here and have something,” Michael said.

Don’t let the main courses steal the show, Mikey’s offers a variety of savory appetizers, including boudin patties filled with sausage, rice and herbs and the seasonal specialty fried green tomatoes, stuffed with crawfish, boudin, crab meat and completed with Cajun sauce.

“You won’t find it anywhere,” Michael said of the fried green tomatoes. “When those green tomatoes come in, we can’t keep them (in stock).”

Mikey’s also serves desserts, from homemade ice cream to cheesecakes and bread pudding made by Michael and Melissa’s mother.

“It’s a family affair,” Melissa said.

“Mama makes some good desserts,” Michael added, noting her bread pudding is a classic customer favorite.

Mikey’s aims to serve up fine dining food in a casual atmosphere, Melissa said, adding the restaurant has a neighborhood feel.

“A lot of people saw me growing up,” Melissa said, noting a lot of her regular customers knew her and Michael when they were teenagers in Helena.

Mikey’s Grill is located off Valleydale Road at 4524 Southlake Parkway, Suite 7. Hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m-2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturdays from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant is closed Sundays and Mondays.

Mikey’s Grill takes reservations. For more information, visit Mikeysgrill.com, Facebook.com/MikeysGrill or call 538-7637.