On a Friday night in Trussville, Alabama, the game doesn’t always end when the final whistle blows. Oftentimes, it continues around a table of cheese fries or shrimp & grits at Walk-On’s.
For this tight-knit community, it’s common to see young athletes and their families filling the tables after a game. Parents catch up while teammates eat together and talk about the night. And for many local teams, Walk-On’s has become a regular stop—a place to grab a meal and spend a little more time together after the game.
For Landon Meynard, general manager of Walk-On’s in Trussville, those moments are part of what makes the restaurant’s connection to local sports so meaningful.
“Walk-On’s is deeply invested in the community, especially in feeding our local teams,” Meynard says. “We want to be a place where teams can come together after a game, where families can celebrate their kids, and where the community can rally around the athletes and programs that mean so much to them.”
More than a game
(Walk-On’s/Contributed)
There’s a reason restaurants and sports have always gone together. In Alabama, athletics are part of the fabric of many communities, bringing together students, families, alumni and fans around the same teams and schools.
Walk-On’s was built with that connection in mind. Founded in Baton Rouge in 2003 by former LSU basketball walk-ons Brandon Landry and Jack Warner, the restaurant grew from their experience as athletes who had to earn their opportunities.
Today, that philosophy extends beyond the brand’s Louisiana roots. Walk-On’s restaurants are involved with the sports communities in the cities where they operate, supporting programs at different levels and creating relationships with the people who make those communities what they are.
For Meynard, that local involvement is especially important because of the role sports play in bringing people together.
“When you support a local team, you’re supporting more than the players,” he says. “You’re supporting their families, their coaches, their schools and the community around them.”
Showing up for the hometown team
That support takes different forms across Alabama. In Birmingham, Walk-On’s partnerships include UAB football and basketball, the Birmingham Stallions and Birmingham Legion, along with high schools and middle schools including Hewitt-Trussville, Hoover, Parker, Clay, Fairfield, Woodlawn, Moody and Springville.
The Huntsville location works with UAH, Alabama A&M and schools including James Clemens, Bob Jones, Sparkman and Columbia, and the Rocket City Trash Pandas, among others.
In Montgomery, Walk-On’s supports Alabama State University, Auburn University at Montgomery, the Montgomery Biscuits and Montgomery Catfish, as well as area schools and community organizations.
And in Dothan, the recently opened location has partnerships with Dothan High School.
The partnerships give each Walk-On’s location a way to connect with the schools, teams and organizations in its area. For the Trussville restaurant, that means building relationships with local programs and welcoming teams into the restaurant throughout the year.
The walk-on spirit, close to home
That community focus also ties into National Walk-On’s Day, celebrated Sept. 17.
The day recognizes the walk-on mentality that helped shape the restaurant’s identity. As part of this year’s celebration, Walk-On’s is awarding $10,000 scholarships to walk-on student-athletes through its annual scholarship program. One scholarship will go to a Texas A&M student-athlete, with support from College Station franchisees Cory and Jenny Davis. Davis was a Texas A&M football walk-on himself.
Walk-On’s is also offering Rewards Members free Louisiana Loaded Nachos Sept. 16 and 17 at its locations. The dine-in offer requires no purchase and is limited to one redemption per account.
For the restaurant, National Walk-On’s Day is a chance to celebrate the idea that opportunity is worth pursuing. But that philosophy shows up year-round in the restaurants’ relationships with their local sports communities.
In Trussville and across Alabama, that means supporting the teams that are part of everyday life in their communities—and giving those teams a place to gather after the game.
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