Hagy’s, History, and Hushpuppies

Hagy’s Catfish Hotel is the full Tennessee ticket, serving amazing food and hospitality on the bank of the Tennessee River since 1938.

Head to Hagy’s and order your catfish fried whole. You’ll be glad you did. (Credit: Toby Sells

A ribbon of blacktop traces the seam of the Shiloh National Military Park and takes you back in time and into the lap of classic Tennessee dining and hospitality right on the Tennessee River.

Hagy’s Catfish Hotel is a slice of Tennessee history served with a side of hushpuppies. A Hagy has occupied that bottom land on the bank of the river since 1828 and operated a restaurant there since 1938. Today, a third Hagy generation continues to serve up fried catfish, Southern charm, and feel-good doses of nostalgia to regulars and newcomers alike. The tradition makes the “hotel” one of the oldest family-run restaurants in the country.

The hotel began as a shack. It was built by John Hagy, son of Henry and Polly Hagy, who’d docked their flat boat and laid claim to the bottom land there in 1828. The shack was used to store cargo from steamboats passing on the river. It was later occupied by Union soldiers during the Battle of Shiloh.

John’s shack earned the name “Catfish Hotel” during the early 1930s when Norvin Hagy entertained friends there at cookouts. He became well known for his delicious catfish, hushpuppies, and hospitality. Guests who had arrived by river often had to spend the night as the good times pushed into the evening and nightfall made it unsafe to travel the river. (No, there’s not a place to stay overnight now, as much as I would have liked to.)

In 1938 Norvin held a political campaign gathering at the site for his old friend Gordon Browning, who was seeking his second term as Tennessee governor. After tasting the catfish and hushpuppies, Browning recommended Norvin open a restaurant. With the help of his wife, Dorothy, and sons, Jack and Bob, the restaurant opened and became a success.

In 1975, fire destroyed the original building. The current building opened as the Catfish Hotel a year later.

Credit: Toby Sells

Jim Hagy, the restaurant’s current owner and Norvin’s grandson, started bussing tables there at age 11, hauling dishes up and down a wobbly ramp (“that wouldn’t meet codes now”) to the downstairs kitchen.

Back then, he and his family lived on Hagy Lane, that winding road that leads to the restaurant and the river. Except for the hotel and the battlefield, there’s not much else around that part of Hardin County. So, Hagy and his cousins split their time exploring or working at the restaurant.

The trip out there is a central component to the restaurant’s vibe. Then, its huge gravel parking lot ends at the river. So, there are no other errands to run or even think about while you’re at the Catfish Hotel. You’ve gone there — and only there — on purpose. Getting there and being there is part of the experience. It’s a bubble disconnected, a little world of its own that gives visitors room to unwind, enjoy the view, and commune with friends and family over plates of steaming-hot planks of perfectly fried Southern-style catfish.

Its huge gravel parking lot ends right at the river. (Credit: Toby Sells)

Inside, Southern elegance meets down-home Southern charm. The waiting room (for which you surely must wait at peak times) is polished and well-appointed, lit with a gorgeous and massive chandelier over dark hardwood floors.

The dining room — and almost every other wall surface of the entire restaurant — is covered with historic photos of the Catfish Hotel, news clippings, old menus, printed stories, maps of the area, and a host of paintings and souvenirs lovingly collected and curated to fit the space. (I loved the painting of a Tennessee angler pulling in a catfish and a sign that reads “eat til it ouches you.”) The dining room is bathed in outdoor light, streaming in from a wall of windows. The gorgeous view looks out past the parking lot and on to the Tennessee River.    

Yes, Hagy’s has fried catfish fillets, butter-braised lemon pepper and cajun style catfish dishes, and even fried catfish tacos. But the restaurant’s signature dish is whole fish. These come bone-in, tail-on, and golden brown.

The rustic presentation is like dining on a plate from the past.

Finding the right fork-and-knife approach to a whole catfish and taking care to watch for bones, slows down the dining process, makes you focus on it, relish the flavors, and elevates the Hagy’s experience beyond a place just for a quick bite. Again, it’s classic Tennessee dining that leaves no doubt as to why thousands upon thousands have for decades made the trek down that remote, winding road.     

We spoke with Jim Hagy recently about what makes the hotel special and what keeps the crowds coming back.

Credit: Toby Sells

State & Beale: What’s a great story from the restaurant’s early days that you recall?

Jim Hagy: You didn’t have refrigeration back then. They had country ham, which was easy to take care of. The catfish, of course, was caught fresh all the time right out of the river. They had chicken, too, and had this gentleman who worked with them and they had a chicken pen. So, when people would order chicken, he’d go out there and ring the chicken’s neck and cook the chicken. Fresh fried chicken! How amazing is that?

But the catfish was really the thing. People loved it. The hush puppies were a great recipe. They had a lemon rub pie that was part of that original menu. They’d cut those potatoes fresh as people were roaring them. It just kind of became a thing. It’s not the only fish camp kind of place that people would drive to, but it ended up taking off.

SB: When you were coming up in the restaurant, was the food always the same?

JH: The catfish has always been the same — the recipe for that and the process for it. It's never been written down but it was always passed down, word of mouth.

My father and my uncle, who took it over after my grandfather died in the early 1960s,  they started adding things to the menu. People wanted steak and they did that. They added fried shrimp and other types of seafood. They added chicken tenders, of course. They are on [the menu] now.

By the time I came along, people were really wanting to eat something other than fried fish. So, we've got a fantastic lemon pepper and cajun-seasoned catfish. We're doing fish tacos. I don't know what my grandfather would say about that. (Laughs)

SB: Before I went to Hagy’s, I’d never seen whole catfish on a menu. Can you talk about that?

JH: It really is the best. When I was working there at 11 years old, that’s all people ordered. They were called “fiddlers.”It was just the culture name in that region and they still do, I guess. [Fiddlers were] these little, bitty, small catfish.

SB: Who visits the Catfish Hotel?

JH: There are regulars, people that we’ve known for years. Then, there are regulars in the sense that come every year or they’ll come every two or three years. Then, there are some who come every single week.Then, there are park visitors who come.

Barbara, our manager, and her husband, Joey, they do an amazing job. They have people who know them and love them. I tease Barbara and I say she’s like a celebrity. Everybody knows her. She’s been there so long and she’s incredible with the customers and really enjoys it so much and she enjoys the people.

SB: What keep people coming back?

JH: Over the years, people have had all these experiences there and they pass those down. People often tell us they get a lot of peace and joy when they come down here. That makes us really happy. The restaurant business is not always the easiest business to make money in, but there’s a whole lot of reward that comes from seeing people just enjoying themselves and enjoying the history of that place.   

{This interview was cut and condensed for clarity and space concerns in print.]

Credit: Toby Sells